Romeo & Juliet
In Verona, Sampson and Gregory (Capulet servants) complain
that they will not put up with insults from the Montague family.
Abram and Balthasar (Montague servants) appear and the four
start quarreling. Benvolio (Lord Montague's nephew) appears
and tries to break up the quarrel, but Tybalt (Lady Capulet's
nephew) appears and picks a fight with Benvolio. At length,
officers try to break up the fight, even while Lord Capulet
and Lord Montague begin to fight one another. The Prince of
Verona (Escalus) appears and stops the fighting, proclaiming
sentences of death to any that renew the fighting. At Montague's
house, he, his wife, and Benvolio discuss how melancholy Romeo
(Montague's only son) has been lately. Benvolio vows to find
out why. Speaking with Romeo, Benvolio finds Romeo is in love
with a woman who has sworn to stay chaste (Rosaline). Benvolio
suggests pursuing other women, but Romeo refuses. Separately,
Paris (a kinsman of the Prince of Verona) talks to Lord Capulet
about wooing his daughter Juliet for marriage. Capulet responds
that she is too young (nearly 14 years old) and must wait
two years to marry, and then only to the man whom she chooses.
Still, Capulet invites Paris to a party in the evening. Capulet's
servant is sent to invite guests, but he can't read the list
so he entreats Romeo to do so. Upon hearing of the party,
Benvolio convinces Romeo to attend and compare his unattainable
love Rosaline to more beautiful women to get his mind off
Rosaline. At Capulet's house, Lady Capulet speaks to Juliet
about her feelings for marrying Paris while Juliet's Nurse
listens on, telling stories of Juliet's childhood. Juliet,
although hesitant, promises to be courteous. Masked, Romeo,
Mercutio, and Benvolio head to the Capulet party. Romeo is
still depressed, saying he dreamt a fearful dream of an untimely
death that will result because of the evening's events, but
Benvolio just makes fun of him. At Capulet's house, the Montagues
attend the party (in masks), Romeo spies Juliet, and he falls
in love with her. Tybalt sees Romeo and takes up arms, but
Lord Capulet attempts to calm him, though Tybalt vows to revenge
Romeo's intrusion the next day. Juliet, too, falls for Romeo,
but falls into despair when her Nurse informs her Romeo is
a Montague, as does Romeo when he learns Juliet is a Capulet.
While leaving the party, Romeo hides in the orchard while
Mercutio and Benvolio call for him to come out of hiding and
go home with them; yet he will not. After they leave, Romeo
appears and speaks to Juliet under her window, saying "But
soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the East,
and Juliet is the sun!" By and by they swear their love
to one another. Juliet tells Romeo she'll send a messenger
to him the next day to learn the details of their wedding.
Having stayed up all night, Romeo visits Friar Lawrence's
cell and tells him of this new love for Juliet. Although Lawrence
is critical at first, Romeo eventually convinces him to marry
them. In the street, Benvolio tells Mercutio that Romeo did
not come home that night, and that Tybalt has sent the Montagues
a letter challenging Romeo to a duel. Romeo appears and they
tease him for hiding from them. Juliet's nurse and servant
Peter appear and Romeo tells her to tell Juliet to go to the
Friar's cell that afternoon to be married. The Nurse returns
to Juliet and, though she skirts around the message, she finally
tells Juliet the wonderful news. Soon, at the Friar's cell,
he marries Romeo and Juliet, and Romeo plans to visit Juliet's
bedroom that evening.
At the street, Benvolio and Mercutio encounter Tybalt and
Petruchio, leading to Tybalt and Mercutio fighting since Tybalt
tries to pick a fight with Romeo, but he refuses. Romeo tries
to break up the fight, but Tybalt slays Mercutio under Romeo's
arm, then Tybalt flees. As Mercutio dies, he declares "A
plague on both your houses," since he is only a friend
of Romeo's and not his kinsmen. When Benvolio informs Romeo
that Mercutio is dead, Romeo seeks out, fights, and slays
Tybalt in revenge. Benvolio convinces Romeo to flee. The prince
appears and Benvolio explains all to him, at which the Prince
exiles Romeo for slaying Tybalt. At the Capulet's orchard,
Juliet waits for Romeo when her Nurse appears and informs
her of Mercutio and Tybalt's deaths, and Romeo's banishment.
Juliet falls into despair, realizing she would rather Tybalt
dead than Romeo, but also that a banished Romeo is virtually
dead. At the Friar's cell, he informs Romeo of the Prince's
edict of banishment, putting him into despair. Romeo states
he would rather be dead than banished. The Nurse arrives and
tells Romeo that Juliet is sad too, but forgives Romeo. Still,
Romeo pulls a dagger and tries to kill himself, but the Friar
stops him and tells him to stay the night with Juliet, then
flee to Mantua. At Capulet's house, he and Paris set the wedding
date for Paris and Juliet to be three days hence. In Juliet's
bedroom, Romeo says a tearful goodbye to Juliet. After he
leaves, Lady Capulet appears and, while discussing Tybalt's
death, states she will send a henchman to mantua to kill Romeo
(though she never does). She then informs Juliet of her impending
marriage to Paris. Juliet tells her parents she will not marry,
but Lord Capulet commands it will be so. The Nurse, too, tells
Juliet she should marry Paris. In private, Juliet decides
to no longer trust the nurse and vows to kill herself if the
Friar cannot find a way to save her from marrying Paris.
At Friar Lawrence's cell, Paris informs the Friar of his upcoming
wedding to Juliet. When Juliet arrives to see the Friar, Paris
politely leaves. The Friar, hearing Juliet threaten suicide,
tells her of a "distilled liquor" she can take to
fake death. He explains the drug will keep her asleep and
seemingly dead for 42 hours, during which she can be placed
in the Capulet tomb. Then, when she wakes, Romeo can be there
waiting for her to take her to Mantua. Friar Lawrence send
Friar John to Mantua with an explanatory letter for Romeo.
Juliet returns to her father and apologizes for refusing to
marry, causing her dad to move the wedding up to the next
morning (two days early). In her bedroom, Juliet sends her
mother and nurse away, then, after much worrying over the
future, she drinks the vial of medicine and sleeps. Later
in the early morning, all feverishly prepare for the wedding
and Capulet sends the Nurse to wake Juliet. The Nurse wails
upon finding Juliet "dead", summoning the others
to find her and mourn. The Friar instructs all to prepare
Juliet for her funeral.
In Mantua, Romeo's servant Balthasar arrives and tells Romeo
that Juliet is dead. Romeo vows to see Juliet in her tomb
and poison himself there, buying the poison from a poor Apothecary
who illegally sells it to Romeo only because he (the Apothecary)
needs the money. At Lawrence's cell, Friar John reports he
could not deliver the letter to Romeo since he (John) got
stuck in a quarantined house while searching for Romeo. Friar
Lawrence heads to the cemetery with a crowbar. At the tomb,
Paris and his page arrive and Paris mourns Juliet's death.
Paris hides when he hears Romeo and Balthasar approach. Romeo
orders Balthasar to leave him alone, no matter what he hears.
When Romeo opens the tomb, Paris steps out and tries to stop
him by provoking him to fight. Romeo entreats Paris to simply
walk away and not fight, but Paris forces Romeo to fight him,
resulting in Romeo slaying Paris. In sorrow, Romeo lays Paris
in the tomb, while Paris' page secretly leaves to call the
watch. Romeo finds Juliet and mourns her death, then drinks
his poison and dies. Outside the tomb, Friar Lawrence arrives
and meets Balthasar who tells the Friar that Romeo has been
in the tomb for one half hour. Lawrence enters the tomb and
finds Romeo and Paris dead. Juliet then awakes and spots Romeo.
The Friar, upon hearing noises outside flees, leaving Juliet
with Romeo. Juliet tries to kill herself with Romeo's poison,
but can find none, either in the vial or on Romeo's lips.
In desperation, she stabs herself with Romeo's dagger. The
watch arrives, having found Balthasar and the Friar. The Prince
and Lord and Lady Capulet arrive and learn Paris, Romeo, and
Juliet are dead (amazingly to them, Juliet seems to have been
alive, and then newly dead again). Lord Montague arrives and
reports that his wife has died from grief over Romeo's exile,
then learns himself of Romeo's death. Capulet and Montague
make peace and swear to never fight again. They vow to build
solid gold statues of Romeo and Juliet and place them side
by side so all can remember their plight.
a Romeo &
Juliet bibliography
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