Transcript Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet
Act Overviews
Prologue
Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands
unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two
foes,
A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life,
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Doth with their death bury their parents’
strife.
The fearful passage of their
death-marked love,
And the continuance of their
parents’ rage,
Which, but their children’s end,
naught could remove,
Is now the two hours’ traffic of
our stage,
The which if you with patient
ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil
shall strive to mend.
Prologue

Two similar families fight because of old
problems, when two children of the families
fall in love and kill themselves, ultimately
because they cannot be together. Their
deaths cause the two families to make up.
 Their story is going to take about two hours
of your time, and they will try to explain it
to you.
Act I, Scene I
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
Sampson and Gregory, Capulet servants, fight
with Abram and Balthasar, Montague servants.
Benvolio comes along and break it up.
Tybalt comes in and causes a ruckus again.
Prince comes by and tells them if they fight in the
streets again they’ll be put to death. “Your lives
shall pay the forfeit of the peace.”
Later… Romeo admits to Benvolio that he’s in
love… with Rosaline.
Act I, Scene II

Lord Capulet discusses with Count Paris the
possibility of Paris marrying Juliet.
 Capulet sends a servant out to deliver invitations
to his party, and the servant stops in the street and
asks Romeo (chance happening) if he can read the
invitations to him.
 Romeo and friends plot to go to the party so
Romeo can meet up w/ Rosaline.
Act I, Scene III
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Nurse and Juliet talk about Juliet’s happiness.
Lady Capulet discusses with Juliet the prospect of
marrying Paris and asks her to check him out at
the party.
Juliet feels she is too young to marry.
Nurse - loving and compassionate - only wanting
Juliet to do what will make her happy
Mother - only cares that Juliet marry someone
important who can take care of her and not
disgrace the family.
Act I, Scene IV

Romeo and friends are dressed up for the
masquerade ball. They will not be easily
identified b/c of their masks or costumes.
 Romeo is overwhelmed with sadness at his love
struck condition, while Mercutio tries to cheer him
up.
 Romeo’s lines foreshadow some negative thing
waiting to happen.
 The guys go to the Capulets’ party.
Act I, Scene V Quotes

Who said the following quotes and what do
they mean:
– “Is she a Capulet? 0 dear account, my life is
my foe’s debt.”
– "My only love sprung from my only hate Too
early seen unknown and known too late."
Act I, Scene V

Tybalt talks to Capulet about Romeo being at the
party and Capulet tells him not to worry about it
b/c Romeo isn’t harming anyone. Tybalt becomes
outraged, but Capulet doesn’t want anything to
ruin his party.
 Romeo spots Juliet across the room; it’s love at
first sight. Before they depart for the evening they
kiss.
 Then they discover their families are rivals.
Act II, Scene 1-2
“The Balcony Scene”

Mercutio and Benvolio think Romeo is still
in love with Rosaline, and they make fun of
his lovesick condition.
 Romeo returns to the Capulet home in
hopes of seeing Juliet again.
 R and J profess their love to one another
and decide to marry.
Act II, Scene 3

Romeo goes to see Friar Laurence.
 Romeo tells the friar that he is in love with
Juliet, an the friar is amazed that Romeo has
forgotten about Rosaline so easily and
suggests that he may be acting in haste.
 The friar agrees to marry Romeo and Juliet
in hopes that the marriage might end the
feud between the families.
Act II, Scene 4

Romeo meets Benvolio and Mercutio in the
street; he is excited and happy.
 The nurse comes along and gives Romeo a
msg from Juliet.
 Romeo tells her that Juliet should meet him
at Friar Laurence’s cell for their secret
marriage ceremony.
WOAH!!! They’re getting
married already?!?! Didn’t
they meet yesterday???
Act II, Scene 5

The nurse goes back to Juliet, who is
anxious for Romeo’s message, but the nurse
jokes around and talks A LOT before
passing Juliet the message.
Act II, Scene 6

Romeo and Juliet get married.
Act III, Scene 1

Benvolio and Mercutio run into Tybalt in
the street. Benvolio tries to keep the peace,
but Tybalt and Mercutio want to fight.
 Romeo enters the scene and tries to avoid
fighting with Tybalt b/c they are now
family, although Tybalt doesn’t know.
 Mercutio and Tybalt fight, and Mercutio is
slain by Tybalt.

Mercutio dies, and he’s a little angry.
– “A plague o’ both your houses!/They have
made worms’ meat of me.”
Romeo kills Tybalt and, realizing what he’s
done, runs off to seek protection.
 The Prince arrives on scene and declares
that if Romeo does not leave Verona
immediately, he will be killed.

– “And for that offense/Immediately we do exile
him hence.”
Act III, Scene 2

Juliet is impatiently waiting for Romeo to
come to her window when the Nurse brings
the terrible news of her cousin’s (Tybalt’s)
death.
 Juliet is torn about how she feels. She’s a
little angry that Romeo killed her cousin but
also a little angry that her cousin would
have killed her husband had he not acted
first.
Act III, Scene 3

Romeo has sought refuge in Friar
Laurence’s cell.
 Laurence advises him to go see his wife and
then leave for Mantua in the morning,
where he will stay until the time is right to
make the marriage publicly known.
Act III, Scene 4

Paris visits the Capulets to discuss the
subject of him marrying Juliet, and even
after all that has transpired in the past day
(Tybalt’s death), Capulet decides Juliet
should marry Paris on Thursday, three days
away.
Act III, Scene 5

Romeo has spent the night with Juliet and leaves
for Mantua in the morning.
 Lady Capulet comes in to tell Juliet about the
arranged marriage.
 Juliet says she will never marry Paris, and this
angers her parents.
– “—get thee to church a Thursday/Or never after look
me in the face.”

Juliet begs her parents to postpone the wedding.
She asks the nurse for advice, and the nurse tells
her to accept her parents’ decision. She heads to
the Friar’s cell to ask his advice.
Act IV, Scene 1

Juliet goes to see the Friar and is distraught when
she sees Paris there making wedding
arrangements.
 Juliet tells the Friar that if he does not have a plan
to solve her problems she will kill herself.
 The Friar explains the following plan to Juliet:
– She will drink a potion that will put her in a deathlike
coma.
– When she wakes up two days later in the family tomb,
Romeo will be waiting for her, and they will escape to
Mantua together.
Act IV, Scene 2-5

(2) Capulet is making wedding plans and is so
relieved when Juliet comes home and apologizes
that he moves the wedding up to Wednesday.
 (3) Although Juliet is scared, she drinks the
potion.
 (4) It’s the next morning, wedding time, and
everyone is preparing.
 (5) Juliet is discovered “dead,” and her body is
carried to the family tomb.
Act V, Scene 1
In Mantua, Balthasar, Romeo’s servant,
comes from Verona to tell him that Juliet is
dead, and since Romeo hasn’t heard from
the Friar, he presumes this is true.
 He decides he will die next to Juliet and sets
out to find some poison.

Act V, Scene 2
Friar Laurence’s messenger says he was
unable to deliver the letter to Romeo.
 Friar Laurence goes to find Juliet so he can
be there when she wakes up, as he hopes to
hide her somewhere until Romeo arrives.
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Act V, Scene 3
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Characters:
– Chief Watchman
– Paris
– Second Watchman
– Page
– Third Watchman
– Romeo
– Capulet
– Balthasar
– Lady Capulet
– Friar Laurence
– Prince
– Juliet
– Montague
Act 5, Scene 3 - Overview

Paris comes to the tomb at night to lay
flowers on Juliet’s grave.
 Romeo enters and Paris hides at first but
then comes out and challenges Romeo, who
tells him:
– “Good gentle youth, tempt not a desp’rate
man… Put not another sin upon my head/By
urging me to fury.”

Romeo kills Paris.
 He drinks his poison and dies.
 Friar Laurence comes in just as Juliet is waking.
The Friar lets her know that her husband and her
husband to be are both dead and he will try to get
her into a sisterhood of nuns to keep her safe. She
tells him to go away.
 Juliet kisses Romeo’s lips in hopes of getting a
little bit of poison to kill herself.
– “…drunk all, and left no friendly drop/To help me
after? I will kiss thy lips.”
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There is no poison so she takes Romeo’s dagger
and stabs herself.

Many people enter the tomb and are
confused. Montague says that his wife died
of grief at their son’s exile.
 Friar Laurence explains all.
 Capulet and Montague finally realize that
their children have died for nothing and
they join hands and put their differences
aside.