The scene is set (Act 1 Scene 1) Montague and Capulet servants clash in the street, the Prince threatens dire punishment if another such brawl should take place, and Romeo tells his friend, Benvolio, of his obsession with Rosaline.
The lovers meet for the first time (Act 1 Scene 4) Romeo is persuaded to attend a masked party at the Capulet household. Not knowing who she is, he falls in love with Juliet the moment he sees her, and she, equally ignorant that he is a Montague, falls just as instantly for him.
Romeo risks death to meet his loveJuliet again (Act 2 Scene 1) When everyone has left the party, Romeo creeps into the Capulet garden and sees Juliet on her balcony. They reveal their mutual love and Romeo leaves, promising to arrange a secret marriage and let Juliet's messenger, her old Nurse, have the details the following morning.
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The wedding is held in secret (Act 2 Scene 5) Juliet tells her parents she is going to make her confession to Friar Laurence, meets Romeo there and, despite some personal misgivings, the friar marries them immediately.
Romeo angrily kills Juliet's cousin, Tybalt (Act 3 Scene 1) Romeo meets Tybalt in the street, and is challenged by him to a duel. Romeo refuses to fight and his friend Mercutio is so disgusted by this 'cowardice' that the takes up the challenge instead. As Romeo tries to break up the fight, Tybalt manages to killkills Mercutio and, enraged, Romeo then kills Tybalt. The Prince arrives and, on hearing the full story, banishes Romeo rather than have him executed.
The unhappy couple are parted (Act 3 Scene 5) Arranged by the Friar and the Nurse, Romeo and Juliet have spent their wedding night together. They are immediately parted though, as Romeo must leave for banishment in Mantua or die if he is found in Verona. Believing her grief to be for the death of her cousin, Juliet's father tries to cheer Juliet by arranging her immediate marriage to Paris. He threatens to disown her when she asks for the marriage to be at least postponed, and she runs to the Friar for advice and help.
The Friar suggests a dangerous solution to the problem (Act 4 Scene 1) Juliet arrives at the Friar's to be met by Paris, who is busy discussing their wedding plans. She is so desperate that she threatens suicide, and the Friar instead suggests that she takes a potion that will make her appear to be dead. He promises to send a message to Romeo, asking him to return secretly and be with Juliet when she wakes, once her 'body' has been taken to the family crypt.
Juliet is found 'dead' (Act 4 Scene 4) The Nurse discovers Juliet 's 'body' dead' when she goes to wake her for her marriage Paris. Friar Laurence is called, counsels the family to accept their grief, and arranges for Juliet to be 'buried' immediately.
Romeo learns of the tragedy and plans his own suicide (Act 5 Scene 1) Romeo's servant, Balthasar, reaches Mantua before the Friar's messenger and tells Romeo that Juliet is dead. Romeo buys poison and leaves for Verona, planning to die alongside Juliet's body.
The tragic conclusion (Act 5 Scene 3) Trying to break into the Capulet crypt, Romeo is disturbed by Paris and they fight. Romeo kills Paris and reaches Juliet's body. He drinks the poison, kisses his wife for the last time, and dies. Having learned that Romeo never received his message, the Friar comes to the crypt to be with Juliet when she wakes. He finds Paris's body and reaches Juliet just as she revives. He cannot persuade her to leave her dead husband, and runs away in fear. Juliet realises what has happened, takes Romeo's knife and stabs herself to death with it. The watchmen discover the gruesome sight and call the Prince, to whom the Friar confesses everything. Having heard the full story, the Montagues and Capulets are reconciled. Peace has been achieved, but the price has been the lives of two innocent young lovers.
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Romeo and Juliet - Entire Play
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The prologue of Romeo and Juliet calls the title characters “star-crossed lovers”—and the stars do seem to conspire against these young lovers.
Romeo is a Montague, and Juliet a Capulet. Their families are enmeshed in a feud, but the moment they meet—when Romeo and his friends attend a party at Juliet’s house in disguise—the two fall in love and quickly decide that they want to be married.
A friar secretly marries them, hoping to end the feud. Romeo and his companions almost immediately encounter Juliet’s cousin Tybalt, who challenges Romeo. When Romeo refuses to fight, Romeo’s friend Mercutio accepts the challenge and is killed. Romeo then kills Tybalt and is banished. He spends that night with Juliet and then leaves for Mantua.
Juliet’s father forces her into a marriage with Count Paris. To avoid this marriage, Juliet takes a potion, given her by the friar, that makes her appear dead. The friar will send Romeo word to be at her family tomb when she awakes. The plan goes awry, and Romeo learns instead that she is dead. In the tomb, Romeo kills himself. Juliet wakes, sees his body, and commits suicide. Their deaths appear finally to end the feud.
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Pick one of these key scenes from Romeo and Juliet to investigate the language.
Romeo and Juliet's First Meeting
The balcony scene, lord capulet argues with juliet, romeo and juliet's deaths, other scenes, teacher notes.
The following activities will help you explore some of these scenes with students using the RSC’s rehearsal room approaches.
Romeo and Juliet Meet (2010)
The activity can be found on pages 6-7 with resources on page 8.
The Balcony Scene (2018)
The activities on Romeo’s opening speech can be found on pages 5-7. You will need copies of the text.
Each activity can take between 20 and 40 minutes depending on time allowed for exploration and reflection.
You can also watch RSC actors rehearsing and performing key scenes on this page. After completing the above activities you might want to share these videos with students and ask them to think about why the actors have chosen the interpretation they have chosen.
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Romeo and Juliet
William shakespeare, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.
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It's true that Romeo and Juliet have some spectacularly bad luck. Tybalt picks a fatal fight with Romeo on the latter's wedding day, causing Capulet to move up the wedding with Paris. The crucial letter from Friar Lawrence goes missing due to an ill-timed outbreak of the plague. Romeo kills himself mere moments before Juliet wakes up.
The two teenaged lovers, Romeo and Juliet, fall in love the first time they see each other, but their families' feud requires they remain enemies. Over the course of the play, the lovers' powerful desires directly clash with their families' equally powerful hatred of each other. Initially, we may expect that the lovers will prove the ...
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, penned in the early stages of his career and first performed around 1596, is a timeless tragedy that unfolds in the city of Verona.This play tells the story of two young lovers from feuding families, the Montagues and the Capulets. Romeo and Juliet's passionate love defies the social and familial boundaries that seek to keep them apart.
Full Title: Romeo and Juliet. When Written: Likely 1591-1595. Where Written: London, England. When Published: "Bad quarto" (incomplete manuscript) printed in 1597; Second, more complete quarto printed in 1599; First folio, with clarifications and corrections, printed in 1623. Literary Period: Renaissance.
Analysis. Sampson and Gregory, two servingmen of House Capulet, enter with swords and bucklers. Sampson angrily says he doesn't want to "carry coals"—in other words, he doesn't want to put up with any of the Montagues' nonsense. Gregory insists they will do no such thing. Sampson says he's looking forward to drawing his sword ...
In act 1, scene 5, Juliet accuses Romeo of kissing "by the book"; he certainly speaks by the book, like Astrophel studying "inventions fine, her wits to entertain" (Sidney's sonnet 1).
Juliet consistently interrupts and corrects Romeo's language. Act 3, Scene 1: This is the turning point of the play. With the death of Mercutio, the play transitions from a comedy to a tragedy ...
A key character (E.G. Romeo) 2. A key scene (e.g. Act 1 Scene 5) ... You will choose one question and write you essay style response. The Romeo and Juliet questions are usually questions 8 and 9 on the exam paper. ... Act 1 Scene 5 Romeo meets Juliet and they fall in love Tybalt wants to fight Romeo, but is stopped
Analysis. Capulet and Paris enter with a servant, Peter. Capulet is telling Paris that he and Montague have sworn to a peace agreement and expresses hope that they will be able to keep to its terms. Paris says he, too, hopes the men can stop living "at odds.". He asks Capulet if the man has thought any more about his "suit"—Paris ...
The wedding is held in secret (Act 2 Scene 5) Juliet tells her parents she is going to make her confession to Friar Laurence, meets Romeo there and, despite some personal misgivings, the friar marries them immediately. Romeo angrily kills Juliet's cousin, Tybalt (Act 3 Scene 1) Romeo meets Tybalt in the street, and is challenged by him to a duel.
The Forcefulness of Love. Romeo and Juliet is the most famous love story in the English literary tradition. Love is naturally the play's dominant and most important theme. The play focuses on romantic love, specifically the intense passion that springs up at first sight between Romeo and Juliet. In Romeo and Juliet, love is a violent ...
1. Explain how imagery and figures of speech make Scene 2 one of the most beautiful scenes in the play. Describe the imagery and figures of speech and illustrate how they are used. 2. Explain the ...
Flowers. One of the most famous lines in literature comes from Romeo and Juliet: "That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet" ( 2.2.45-46 ). Here, flowers symbolize ...
Toggle Contents Act and scene list. Characters in the Play ; Entire Play The prologue of Romeo and Juliet calls the title characters "star-crossed lovers"—and the stars do seem to conspire against these young lovers.Romeo is a Montague, and Juliet a Capulet. Their families are enmeshed in a feud, but the moment they meet—when Romeo and his friends attend a party at Juliet's house in ...
Analysis. Romeo comes out of hiding just as a light in a nearby window flicks on and Juliet exits onto her balcony. "It is the east," Romeo says, regarding Juliet, "and Juliet is the sun .". He urges the sun to rise and "kill the envious moon .". He urges Juliet to take her "vestal livery" and "cast it off.".
The following activities will help you explore some of these scenes with students using the RSC's rehearsal room approaches. Romeo and Juliet Meet (2010) The activity can be found on pages 6-7 with resources on page 8. The Balcony Scene (2018) The activities on Romeo's opening speech can be found on pages 5-7. You will need copies of the text.
Start studying Romeo and Juliet - Key Scene Essay. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
Critical Context. Romeo and Juliet is a perennial high school text, popular because of its young lovers—Juliet at fourteen is the age of a high school freshman, and Romeo is only slightly older ...
Analysis. Benvolio, Mercutio, and Mercutio's page are out walking around Verona, but Benvolio begs Mercutio to lead them home. It is a hot day, he says, and on such days "mad blood" often stirs—in other words, people get worked up more easily. Mercutio states that Benvolio is secretly hoping for a fight, or any other chance to use his ...
Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like Introduction, Main body 1: Prologue, Main body 2: Act 1 Scene 5 and more.
Romeo is a passionate, extreme, excitable, intelligent, and moody young man, well-liked and admired throughout Verona. He is loyal to his friends, but his behavior is somewhat unpredictable. At the beginning of the play, he mopes over his hopeless unrequited love for Rosaline. In Juliet, Romeo finds a legitimate object for the extraordinary ...
Romeo notes this distinction when he continues: Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief. That thou, her maid, art fair more fair than she (ll.4-6 ...
Suggestions for essay topics to use when you're writing about Romeo and Juliet. Search all of SparkNotes Search. Suggestions. Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. A Midsummer Night's Dream Brave New World ... Scene 2 Act 1: Scene 3 Act 1: Scene 4 ...