Act 4
Scene 1:
- setting: Friar Lawrence’s cell
- character: Friar Lawrence, County Paris, Juliet
- plot:
- Paris is planning to arrange the wedding on Thursday, and Friar tries to persuade him to delay the wedding.
- Juliet arrives at Friar’s cell, and tries to avoid Paris’s compliment.
- Juliet asks for privacy to talk to Friar, and Paris leaves.
- Juliet begs Friar for giving her solution to the current situation.
- Friar gives her a vial containing a kind of sleeping portion: once Juliet drinks, she will appear to be dead. Then, people would think that she is dead, and take her out to the family cemetery. But, he will write a letter to tell Romeo their plan. And then, as Juliet wakes up after 42 hours, Romeo can take her to Mantua.
- Juliet agrees and leaves with the vial.
Scene 2:
- setting: a hall in Capulet’s house
- character: Capulet, Lady Capulet, Nurse, Servingmen, Juliet
- plot:
- Capulet is planning the details of the wedding.
- Juliet returns home, asks a pardon for her disobedience, and tells Capulet her agreement to marry Paris.
- Capulet is so happy, and moves the wedding to tomorrow.
Scene 3:
- setting: Juliet’s chamber
- character: Juliet, Nurse, Lady Capulet
- plot:
- Juliet asks Lady Capulet and Nurse to leave her alone, so that she can pray.
- She takes out the vail, but hesitates to drink. She is afraid if the plan not work: she wakes up alone in the cemetery, and Romeo hasn't come to save her. But, she eventually drinks the vail and lays down.
Scene 4:
- setting: a hall in Capulet’s house
- character: Lady Capulet, Nurse, Capulet, First Servingman, Second Servingman
- plot:
- The whole Capulet family is busy preparing for the wedding.
- Capulet hears the music that signals Paris coming, and he asks Nurse to call out Juliet.
Scene 5:
- setting: Juliet’s chamber
- character: Juliet, Lady Capulet, Capulet, Friar Lawrence, County Paris, Musicians, Peter
- plot:
- Nurse discovers Juliet is “dead”, and she cries out in pain.
- In response to the Nurse’s cry, Lady Capulet, Capulet, Paris and Friar all come.
- People all start to mourn for Juliet, while Friar attempts to comfort them by saying Juliet is in the heaven.
- All the preparations for the festival turn to the funeral.
- In contrast with the previous sad things, this scene ends with a comic interlude between Peter and the musicians.
Act 5
Scene 1:
- setting: Mantua, a street
- character: Romeo, Balthasar, Apothecary
- plot:
- Instead of getting some good news as what Romeo expects, Balthasar tells him the news about Juliet’s death.
- Romeo is overwhelmed, and plan to return to Verona tonight.
- He illegally buys a mortal poison from a poor Apothecary, and hopes to reunite with Juliet by using it.
Scene 2:
- setting: Friar Lawrence’s cell
- character: Friar John, Friar Lawrence
- plot:
- Friar Lawrence let Friar John to send the letter to Romeo, explaining their plan.
- But, the letter was not successfully delivered, and quarantined because of the plague outbreak.
- Friar Lawrence then realize that Juliet may wake up alone without Romeo’s coming; he orders Friar John to get a crow bar; he hurriedly goes to the tomb.
Scene 3:
- setting: a churchyard; before a tomb belonging to the Capulets
- character: Paris, Page, Romeo, Balthasar, Friar Lawrence, Juliet, Page, Firs Watchman, Second Watchman, Third Watchman, Prince, Escalus, Attendants, Montague
- plot:
- Paris arrives at the tomb, lays flowers, and mourns for his love to Juliet.
- Romeo appears with Balthasar, and he opens the tomb by using the mattock and the wrenching iron in order to see Juliet one last time.
- Paris sees, and thinks that Romeo who kills his cousin comes to desecrate Juliet’s dead body.
- They fight; Paris is wounded and dead.
- Romeo’s page sees the fight and goes to call the watchman.
- Romeo fulfills Paris’s wish: put him next to Juliet into the tomb. He kisses Juliet, drinks the poison and dies.
- Friar Lawrence arrives and discovers Romeo and Paris dead bodies.
- Juliet awakes, asks Friar where is his Romeo, then, she finds out their dead bodies.
- Friar hears the approaching sound of the watchman, and tries to persuade Juliet to leave, but she refuses. He flees.
- Juliet finds that there is no poison left. She kisses Romeo, and stabs herself to death.
- The watchman and the Prince arrives at the tomb with Capulets and Montagues.
- Lady Montague died of grief.
- Friar Lawrence tells the all things happen; he admits the whole thing was caused by his negligence, and he is willing to be punished by law.
- The Prince instead blames the deaths for the permanent feud between two households.
- Finally, two families reconcile.
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