Romeo and Juliet
Study Guide by Course Hero
What's Inside
ABOUT THE TITLE
Romeo and Juliet takes its title from the two young lovers
whose fates lead them to a tragic end.
j Book Basics ................................................................................................. 1
d In Context ..................................................................................................... 1
d In Context
a Author Biography ..................................................................................... 2
h Characters ................................................................................................... 2
The World of the Renaissance
k Plot Summary ............................................................................................. 5
Romeo and Juliet was performed during the Renaissance, a
c Scene Summaries .................................................................................. 10
g Quotes ........................................................................................................ 23
l Symbols ..................................................................................................... 26
time of considerable cultural, religious, political, scientific, and
artistic change across Europe. The movement centered on the
concept of humanism, which sought to use education to
empower citizens—and not just their rulers—to be virtuous and
to influence others' virtue.
m Themes ....................................................................................................... 27
Shakespeare's audiences lived within a strong patriarchal, or
e Suggested Reading .............................................................................. 29
male-controlled, community with strict moral values that often
conflicted with the individual's wills and desires. The patriarchal
structure meant that the father was the lord of his household
j Book Basics
with legal authority over everyone in it. Children were
considered property and were often given in marriage as part
of a political or financial transaction. Indeed, Lord Capulet's
AUTHOR
arrangement with Paris is partially a business deal in which the
William Shakespeare
marriage will enhance both men's prestige.
YEARS WRITTEN
Women, whether wife, mother, daughter, or servant, were
c. 1591–1596
powerless outside of their household roles. The roles of female
characters in Romeo and Juliet reflect the boundaries of their
GENRE
historical setting. Lady Capulet's influence, for example, is
Tragedy
restricted to how much she can affect her husband's thoughts
PERSPECTIVE AND NARRATOR
In the style of ancient Greek theater, a chorus sets the stage
for the audience in Romeo and Juliet.
and behaviors. Lady Montague has little visible impact and dies
parenthetically offstage in the final act. Her character can be
seen as a comment on the powerlessness of women. A young
daughter like Juliet, her family's wealth and prestige
TENSE
notwithstanding, would have had no direct authority over
Romeo and Juliet is written in the present tense.
others and only minimal control of her own life.
Romeo and Juliet Study Guide
Renaissance Theater
Renaissance theaters drew enthusiastic audiences from
across economic classes and social status, from peasant to
royalty, all of whom saw themselves exposed—and sometimes
ridiculed—in Shakespeare's dramas. The theaters gave
playwrights and actors the opportunity to critique social and
political realities by embedding them in entertainment. Romeo
Author Biography 2
a Author Biography
William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was an actor and a writer in
a leading theatrical company in London, the Lord
Chamberlain's Men, which performed his plays. After Queen
Elizabeth's death in 1603, King James I further legitimized the
company with a royal patent and changed its name to the
King's Men.
and Juliet, one of the first plays to combine tragedy and
comedy, delivers some astute criticisms of authority and
Shakespeare published most of his work from 1594 to 1613. He
abuses of power as it engages, even distracts, its audience
wrote Romeo and Juliet sometime between 1591 and 1596,
with suspense, romance, and violence.
close to the end of the Renaissance. It was common for
Renaissance authors to rework existing stories. The writer's
Theater mostly took place in open-air spaces. A simple
platform stage was surrounded by a multiple-story structure
with seats. A roof supported by pillars usually protected at
least part of the stage. These were simple venues without
artificial lights and with minimal props and sets, so the play's
language had to evoke in the imaginations of the audience
much of the detail that modern theatergoers are used to
seeing onstage. Shakespeare's extraordinary poetry made it
possible for the audience to visualize Juliet's incomparable
beauty, for example, even when her part was played by a boy.
Women were not allowed to act in Shakespeare's day, so
males played all female roles.
skill lay not so much in devising an original plot as in choosing
source material that would explore particular themes and
create roles for a standing troupe of actors. Shakespeare
based his version of Romeo and Juliet on a long narrative
poem, The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet, by Arthur
Brooke. The poem had been published more than three
decades earlier. For inspiration, Brooke had used a French
translation of an even earlier Italian tale, also based on the
characters of Romeo and Juliet, so English audiences who saw
Shakespeare's version were familiar with the story. Brooke's
poem and the translation he used have not stood the test of
time the way Shakespeare's play has. In Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare expanded the content and themes considered
Influence
worthy of drama, making romance a legitimate subject for
tragedy.
Shakespeare's play has been published in different versions.
An unauthorized edition, called the first quarto and probably
pirated, was published in 1597. Two years later a longer
h Characters
version, the second quarto, was published. It is considered a
more accurate text and was used as the basis for Romeo and
Juliet in the First Folio, the first collected edition of
Juliet
Shakespeare's plays, published in 1623.
Romeo and Juliet is so widely known and well loved that the
two doomed lovers have become an archetype, or recurring
symbol. Even in the early 21st century, when young lovers face
obstacles to their happiness, they are often likened to Romeo
and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet has also been reenacted in other
art forms, such as a ballet by Sergei Prokofiev and an opera by
Charles Gounod.
The daughter of Lord and Lady Capulet, and then wife to
Romeo, Juliet is the youngest character in the play at 13. As a
female and youth, she is powerless to control her own fate.
She has given no thought to marriage at the beginning of the
play, but within the five days the drama unfolds, she narrowly
escapes an unwanted union with Paris and dies as a result of a
secret one to Romeo. She rejects her role as daughter to
become a wife, going from obedient to disobedient, honest to
deceptive, and child to adult.
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Romeo and Juliet Study Guide
Romeo
Characters 3
when Romeo refuses Tybalt's challenge to a duel, Mercutio is
offended that his friend would show weakness. He fights in
Romeo's place and is killed. His death prompts Romeo to kill
Romeo, the son of Lord and Lady Montague, advances from an
Tybalt in vengeance, starting the string of disastrous
immature lover, tortured by Rosaline's rejection, to Juliet's
occurrences that bring about the final tragedy.
husband. Like Juliet, Romeo kills himself to be faithful to his
spouse, even in death. The liberty he has as a young man and a
Montague leads to some of the most consequential violence in
the play, particularly his murder of Tybalt, which hurries the
plot on its downward spiral. As a man Romeo has more control
over his life than Juliet does, though his ties to the authorities
that guide and rule him limit his power, as do his youth and
inexperience.
Nurse
Like the friar, the nurse is well intentioned, though with
considerably less impact. She inadvertently plays a role in
facilitating the tragedy by not comprehending the strength of
Juliet's love for Romeo. She assists Romeo and Juliet in
consummating their marriage, thereby strengthening that love.
Lord Capulet
Later, when she counsels Juliet to accept Paris as the better
man, she earns Juliet's contemptuous rejection. On a happier
note, the nurse also celebrates the sexual side of human
Lord Capulet plays a key role in the drama as head of one of
relationships and especially marriage. Without her assistance
two powerful feuding families whose influence over others
Juliet and Romeo would likely not have had a wedding night.
results in multiple deaths. Street fights involving everyone from
servants to Romeo erupt for the sake of the Capulet family
honor. Victims of his and Lord Montague's strife and
ineffectual use of power fall throughout the play. As Juliet's
father Lord Capulet is sometimes loving and respectful toward
her but mostly enraged by her challenges to his authority. His
outrage at her attempts to defy him and reject Paris causes
him to threaten to disown her and let her starve in the street.
Her premature death silences him at the play's end. His flawed
authority has been exposed, and he is defeated.
Paris
The young count who has Lord Capulet's attention is critical to
the plot but ambiguous in character. Other characters depict
him as a man of physical beauty, made of wax and as pretty as
a flower; Lord Capulet calls him "gentle." In his one encounter
with Juliet, however, he both corrects and directs her, not
retreating even when it becomes clear she doesn't welcome
his attention. And yet, when she dies, Paris strews flowers
Friar Lawrence
outside her crypt, suggesting he has a depth of feeling for
Juliet not otherwise evident in the play. (Paris is sometimes
referred to as a count and sometimes as an earl. Both titles
Friar Lawrence, the mastermind who enables Romeo and
have the same rank. Count is used in Europe, while earl is used
Juliet's marriage and inadvertently facilitates their deaths, is
in England.)
well intentioned. He responds to Romeo's and Juliet's wants
and needs with sympathy. Unfortunately, he contrives
elaborate and deeply flawed plans that undo them all, and he
shows a lack of moral courage in trying to resolve problems
secretly rather than head on.
Mercutio
Mercutio, a young relative of the prince, is one of Romeo's
closest friends. Mercutio grows impatient with Romeo when he
is sighing over Rosaline and urges him to enjoy himself. Later,
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Romeo and Juliet Study Guide
Characters 4
Character Map
Friar Lawrence
Clergyman whom
young lovers trust
Juliet
Mercutio
Confidant
Romeo's best friend
Daughter of Lord
Capulet; Romeo's lover
Lovers
Friends
Romeo
Confidant
Son of Lord Montague;
Juliet's lover
Father/
Daughter
Father/Son
Lord Montague
Nurse
Romeo's father
Juliet's caretaker
Rivals
Employer
Lord Capulet
Juliet's father
Main Character
Other Major Character
Minor Character
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Romeo and Juliet Study Guide
Plot Summary 5
Full Character List
Character
Description
Juliet
Juliet is the 13-​year-​old daughter of
Lord and Lady Capulet and eventual
wife of Romeo. She kills herself rather
than live without her husband.
Romeo
Romeo is the son of Lord and Lady
Montague and eventual husband of
Juliet. He kills himself rather than live
without his wife.
Lord Capulet
Lord Capulet is Juliet's father.
Friar Lawrence
Friar Lawrence is a brother of the
Franciscan order, Romeo's confessor,
and a guide and advisor to Romeo and
Juliet.
Mercutio
Mercutio is a friend of Romeo's and a
kinsman (relative) of the prince,
murdered by Tybalt.
Nurse
The nurse is Juliet's caretaker.
Paris
Paris is a count, kinsman to the prince,
suitor of Juliet, and murder victim of
Romeo.
Abram
Abram is a servant in the Montague
household.
The
Apothecary
The apothecary is an impoverished
chemist from whom Romeo buys
illegal poison.
Balthasar
Balthasar is Romeo's servant. He
reports Juliet's supposed death to
Romeo.
Benvolio
Benvolio is Romeo's friend and cousin
and Lord Montague's nephew.
Friar John
Friar John is a brother of the
Franciscan order, sent with news to
Romeo but prevented from reaching
him.
Gregory
Gregory is a servant in the Capulet
household.
Lady Capulet
Lady Capulet is Juliet's mother.
Lady Montague
Lady Montague is Romeo's mother,
who dies of grief over her son's
banishment.
Lord Montague
Lord Montague is Romeo's father.
Peter
Peter is a servant in the Capulet
household who assists the nurse.
The Prince
Prince Escalus is the prince of Verona.
Rosaline
Rosaline is the beautiful girl Romeo
initially falls for, but she has sworn off
boys and taken a vow of chastity.
Although we never actually see or
hear from Rosaline, she serves an
integral role as the impetus for Romeo
and Juliet's initial encounter.
Sampson
Sampson is a servant in the Capulet
household.
Tybalt
Tybalt is Juliet's cousin, Lady
Capulet's nephew, murderer of
Mercutio, and murder victim of
Romeo.
k Plot Summary
An old feud between the lords of two prominent Verona
families, Capulet and Montague, flares up on the street outside
of the Capulets' house and causes a fight among the servants
and members of their households. The prince of Verona, who
Chorus
The chorus provides commentary that
helps the audience interpret the play.
has the legal authority to rule in the city, threatens death if the
violence continues.
Lord Montague's son, Romeo, enters after the street fight. He
is in love with Rosaline, who does not love him back, so despair
consumes him. His friends try to tease him out of his
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Romeo and Juliet Study Guide
melancholy, but Romeo cannot be consoled.
Plot Summary 6
friar for advice. He devises a plan in which Juliet will drink a
potion that will make her appear dead. Then he will lay her
Meanwhile, a young count named Paris has asked to marry
body in the Capulet family crypt, where Romeo will meet her.
Lord Capulet's 13-year-old daughter, Juliet. Lord Capulet gives
The young newlyweds will then flee to Mantua until the Friar
Paris permission to woo Juliet that very night at a masquerade
can make peace with their parents and the prince. When Juliet
ball he's throwing. When Juliet's mother delivers this news,
agrees, the friar plans to send a messenger to tell Romeo of
Juliet responds unenthusiastically that she will try to return
the plan.
Paris's interest.
Juliet returns home and fakes obedience to her father, who
Romeo learns that Rosaline will attend the Capulets' festival,
moves the wedding date up a day to celebrate. Alone in her
so he and his friends sneak in. Romeo sees Juliet at the party
chamber, Juliet takes the potion. The next morning, when the
and is so struck by her beauty that he forgets about Rosaline.
nurse is sent to wake her for her wedding, she discovers Juliet
He approaches Juliet, they flirt, and they fall headlong in love.
"dead." The nurse, her parents, and Paris mourn. The friar
Even though they discover their families are enemies and their
arrives and directs them to begin the appropriate rituals and
relationship would be forbidden, they decide to get married the
bring her body to the crypt.
next day. Romeo goes to arrange it with Friar Lawrence.
Romeo does not receive the friar's letter. Instead, his servant
Initially Friar Lawrence is dismayed at how quickly Romeo has
Balthasar arrives and tells him that Juliet is dead. Heartbroken,
transferred his love from Rosaline to Juliet, but the friar agrees
Romeo secures poison from an apothecary, obtains materials
to marry them in the hope that their union might resolve the
to write his father an explanatory letter, and returns to Verona.
feud between their families. That afternoon he weds the young
lovers.
Outside of Juliet's crypt, Paris arrives to say farewell to her,
instructing his page not to interrupt him unless someone
The tension between the feuding households simmers. Juliet's
approaches. As Paris strews flowers, Romeo appears. Paris
cousin Tybalt, offended by Romeo's uninvited presence at the
seeks to detain Romeo, Tybalt's murderer, until the law arrives.
party, challenges him to a fight. Romeo tries to avoid conflict
Romeo tries to persuade Paris to leave him alone, but Paris will
with his wife's (and now his own) cousin. Then Romeo's best
not, and both draw swords. Romeo kills Paris and then breaks
friend, the fiery Mercutio, insists on a duel to defend his
into the crypt.
friend's honor. Although Romeo tries to intervene, Tybalt kills
Mercutio. Distraught, Romeo kills Tybalt and runs away. The
He finds Juliet there, as beautiful as ever. He embraces and
prince arrives and announces that Romeo is banished from
kisses her and then drinks his poison and dies. Meanwhile, the
Verona under threat of death.
friar has arrived and discovered from Balthasar that Romeo is
within. As he approaches, he sees blood and weapons in the
When Juliet finds out what has happened, she mourns for her
yard and hurries into the crypt. There he finds the bodies of
dead cousin but is grateful her husband is alive. His
Paris and Romeo. When Juliet awakens, he must show her
banishment, however, seems worse than his death. When Juliet
Romeo's dead body. They hear a noise, and Friar Lawrence
threatens to kill herself, the nurse promises to arrange for
flees, begging Juliet to go with him, but she refuses. She kisses
Romeo to come spend his wedding night with Juliet. The nurse
Romeo's lips in the hope that enough poison lingers there to kill
finds Romeo at Friar Lawrence's cell, where the three conspire
her too. Then she takes Romeo's dagger and stabs herself to
to sneak him into Juliet's room.
death.
The next morning, after a sorrowful farewell, Romeo leaves for
Once the prince and all the family members gather at the crypt,
Mantua, intending to be reunited with Juliet once the friar has
Friar Lawrence tells what he knows. Romeo's letter to his
revealed their marriage to their parents and persuaded the
father (whose wife has just died upon hearing of Romeo's
prince to let him return. However, when Juliet's father decides
banishment) fills in the rest. Moved by the young people's
(in ignorance of these events) that she will marry Paris that
faithful love, Montague takes Capulet's hand and says he will
week, the friar's plan begins to unravel. When Juliet refuses to
build a golden statue of Juliet. Capulet says he will do the same
marry Paris, her father issues an ultimatum: do as he says, or
for Romeo. In this way the feud between the families ends.
he'll drive her out of the family. Desperate, Juliet runs to the
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Romeo and Juliet Study Guide
Plot Summary 7
Plot Diagram
Climax
11
10
9
12
8
Rising Action
Falling Action
13
7
6
14
5
15
4
Resolution
3
2
1
Introduction
9. Tybalt challenges Romeo to a duel.
Introduction
10. Mercutio defends Romeo's honor and is killed by Tybalt.
1. The prologue introduces the "star-crossed" lovers.
Climax
Rising Action
11. In violent revenge Romeo kills Tybalt and is banished.
2. The Montagues and Capulets fight in the streets.
3. Romeo laments his unrequited love for Rosaline.
Falling Action
4. Juliet learns that Paris has asked to marry her.
12. Juliet fakes her death, hoping to run away with Romeo.
5. Romeo and his friends crash the Capulet party.
13. Romeo believes Juliet to be dead and plans his suicide.
6. At the party Romeo and Juliet meet, flirt, and kiss.
14. Juliet discovers Romeo's dead body and kills herself.
7. The lovers declare their love in the balcony scene.
8. Friar Lawrence secretly marries Romeo and Juliet.
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Romeo and Juliet Study Guide
Resolution
15. The heartbroken families end their feud.
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Plot Summary 8
Romeo and Juliet Study Guide
Plot Summary 9
Timeline of Events
Sunday morning
The Montagues and Capulets fight in the street, and
Romeo pines for Rosaline.
Sunday evening
Romeo and Juliet meet at a party. They discover their
families are enemies, yet they fall in love.
Monday afternoon
Romeo and Juliet sneak away to Friar Lawrence's cell
and get married.
Monday afternoon
Romeo kills Tybalt and is banished.
Tuesday afternoon
Friar Lawrence suggests a sleeping potion for Juliet.
Wednesday morning
Juliet's parents discover her body and believe she is
dead.
Thursday afternoon
After hearing that Juliet is dead, Romeo buys poison and
plans to kill himself.
Thursday evening
At Juliet's tomb, Romeo confronts Paris and kills him.
Romeo drinks the poison.
Thursday evening
Juliet awakens from the false death and sees Romeo's
body. Distraught, she kills herself.
Friday morning
News of the young lovers' deaths breaks. The Capulets
and Montagues make peace.
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c Scene Summaries
Scene Summaries 10
ultimately triumph but not until hate has stormed through
Verona. Love is "a madness" and a "choking gall," or bitterness,
and to love a woman is to suffer jealousy and loss of self. And
what is love if, as Benvolio suggests, the objects of our love
Prologue and Act 1, Scene 1
can be easily exchanged? The play will probe love in all of its
complexities and expressions, but as it does, violence will
escalate. Hatred as much as love will drive the story of Romeo
Summary
and Juliet's "death-mark'd love."
The servants' hatred is as strong as their masters' hatred for
Before the action begins, a chorus establishes the
each other's households. Sampson makes his brutal intentions
setting—Verona in northern Italy—and reveals the major events
clear, saying, "When I have fought with the men, I will be civil
that will happen in the play. The chorus also delivers necessary
with the maids; I will cut off their heads ... or their
information about the "ancient grudge" between the Capulets
maidenheads," suggesting both murder and rape. (The term
and Montagues, which is the cause of recent violence in the
maidenhead is used for virginity.) Violence spreads from the
city.
servants to the actual members of the feuding families to the
community, supporting important ideas that will be considered
Servants of the feuding households pick a fight with each
other in public. Sampson and Gregory "of the house of
Capulet" argue with two Montague servants. Benvolio, a
Montague, tries to stop them. Tybalt, a Capulet, joins the fight.
Townspeople soon come and try to stop the feud with clubs.
throughout the play: hatred is infectious and its source is
human weakness, and hatred can be stronger than love.
Ominously, it requires the intervention of a government
authority, representing the ideas of justice and the law, to stop
the disease in the community.
Finally, Lord Capulet and Lord Montague arrive with their
wives. The old enemies move toward each other with their
The scene's subject shifts from hate to love when Romeo
swords drawn, but before they can act, the prince enters and
appears. The bloodstained street and the sounds of fighting
stops the fight. The prince threatens to execute anyone who
linger, making a background for Romeo's despair. Even though
breaks the peace again. He orders Lord Capulet to leave with
Romeo was not part of the fight, his internal state is as
him and Lord Montague to come later that day for a private
battered as the fighters' exteriors are. His speech is broken,
conversation.
full of contradictions and exclamations that illustrate the chaos
inside him. Romeo's pain is so intense that he feels lost and
Lady Montague asks Benvolio for news about Romeo, her son.
Romeo has been crying, sulking, and hiding from his family and
estranged from himself. "This is not Romeo," he says to
Benvolio. "He's some other where."
friends, and they are all concerned. Romeo arrives as Lord
Montague and Benvolio discuss his unusual behavior, and
Benvolio promises to find out what is bothering Romeo.
Act 1, Scene 2
Benvolio learns that Romeo is in love with Rosaline, a woman
who does not love him back. Worse, she has sworn to lead a
life of chastity. Benvolio teases Romeo and tries to cheer him
Summary
up, telling him to "examine other beauties." Romeo swears he
cannot love anyone else. Benvolio bets that he can make
During a visit to the Capulet household, Paris, a count with high
Romeo forget about the woman he loves.
standing in the community, urges Lord Capulet to let him marry
Juliet. Lord Capulet objects that Juliet is too young and
Analysis
inexperienced, but he changes his mind and invites Paris to the
Capulets' masquerade ball that same evening. This gives Paris
a chance to win Juliet's love rather than force her into a
The Prologue and Act 1, Scene 1, have set the plot on a course
marriage. Lord Capulet gives his servant a list of guests to
that cannot end well. The chorus suggests that love will
invite, but the servant cannot read.
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Romeo and Juliet Study Guide
When the servant runs into Romeo and Benvolio on the street,
he asks for help reading the guest list. Romeo and Benvolio
Scene Summaries 11
Act 1, Scene 3
discover that Rosaline will be at the Capulets' festival. Benvolio
sees an opportunity to distract Romeo with "some other maid."
Romeo agrees to go but only because Rosaline will be there.
Summary
Lady Capulet and the nurse enter looking for Juliet, who
Analysis
arrives when called. They discuss her age, and the nurse fondly
reminisces about Juliet's childhood. When they quiet the nurse,
The audience first meets Juliet through the dialogue of two
who becomes engaged in remembering a crass joke her late
men. Her status is defined through her father and Paris's
husband made at the child Juliet's expense, Lady Capulet asks
perceptions of her, underscoring her youth, gender, and lack of
how Juliet would feel about being married. "It is an honor that I
power resulting from both. Lord Capulet acts as though Juliet's
dream not of," Juliet replies, but her mother advises her to start
happiness matters to him, but his arrangements with Paris
doing so now. She tells her daughter of Paris's interest and
suggest otherwise.
extols his appropriateness as a husband, emphasizing the
appeal of his physical beauty by comparing him to a "fair
Lord Capulet introduces the theme of youth and age. Referring
volume" with "gold clasps." A servingman announces the party,
to the fight with the Montagues, Lord Capulet says "'tis not
and they exit.
hard ... for men so old as we to keep the peace." He implies
that it is the young men who are violent. This contrast between
youth and age continues as Lord Capulet argues with the
Analysis
prince but backs down as if feeling old inspires him to give in to
the younger Paris. He loosens his role of stern father and turns
Juliet reveals herself to be a measured thinker and speaker.
to exalting Juliet's value instead, comparing her to "fresh fennel
She is not rattled by the nurse's recollection of her dead
buds." The fresh fennel, which signifies spring, the delights of
husband's crude joke. While Juliet behaves both respectfully
Juliet's youth, and inheritance, is the first symbolic
and obediently to her elders, she does so cautiously, using her
representation of plants in the play. Plantain leaves are also
words carefully to express her wishes even though she cannot
mentioned by Benvolio as a source of healing—though
impose her will. Juliet's restraint in this approach to adult love
jokingly—for Romeo's lovesickness. They were often used in
contrasts starkly with Romeo's frenzy.
Shakespeare's time to help heal wounds.
Male beauty and its relationship to love receive thorough
The scene also explores female beauty and its relationship to
treatment from the women in this scene. The older women use
love and power. For Benvolio, women's beauty distorts men's
wax, flowers, and a book as metaphors for Paris's beauty, in
vision, meaning their ability to see clearly whom they love. For
contrast to the powerful celestial imagery Lord Capulet uses to
Romeo, Rosaline's beauty outshines all others, setting up an
describe women. The metaphors the women apply to Paris
ideal of what a woman must be to be worthy of love. Lord
suggest beauty is fragile: wax melts, flowers wilt and die, and
Capulet, at his stage of life, describes women as "Earth-
books are fragile. However, both women dwell on Paris's
treading stars that make dark heaven light."
beauty as his greatest asset. Lady Capulet tells Juliet to
Throughout the play most of the lines are in blank
verse—unrhymed lines written in iambic pentameter. This
scrutinize his face and "find delight writ there with beauty's
pen."
means that each line has five feet, or units, that consist of an
The scene also begins the play's lengthy consideration of
unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. The
marriage—how it shapes people and what an ideal marriage is.
illiterate servant speaks in plain prose so that his lines
The nurse and Lady Capulet offer marriage as the ultimate
demonstrate his low class and lack of education.
goal: a state of grace and a state of physical fulfillment. The
nurse tells Juliet to "seek happy nights to happy days" because
she believes marriage (and sex) leads to happiness.
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Scene Summaries 12
Act 1, Scene 4
Act 1, Scene 5
Summary
Summary
Romeo, Mercutio, Benvolio, and a handful of other men come
The Capulets' party begins. After servants bustle through,
masked (and therefore unidentifiable) for the party at the
cheerfully readying the house for the party, Lord Capulet
Capulets' home. Before they enter, they engage with one
welcomes his guests with a funny speech in which he
another on a range of topics, including love, sex, and the value
reminisces fondly about his younger days of dancing and
and meaning of dreams. Romeo participates but with reserve,
courting women. He invites his younger guests to dance now in
insisting that he'll light their way to the party but not dance. He
his place. Romeo sees Juliet for the first time and is instantly
describes his pain in repetitive detail—his "soul of lead" and the
struck by her beauty.
"heavy burden" of love under which he "sinks."
Tybalt, a Capulet nephew, recognizes in the masked Romeo
Romeo also hesitates to join the party because of a dream he
the voice of a Montague and alerts Lord Capulet to the
had earlier; his mention of it triggers Mercutio's tale of Queen
trespasser's presence. Lord Capulet, however, wants to "let
Mab, a fairy who makes lovers "dream of love," lawyers of
him alone," to which Tybalt temporarily agrees and leaves.
money, soldiers of violent slaughter, and so on, each example
revealing more human baseness and greed. Romeo eventually
Left alone, Romeo approaches Juliet, takes her hand, and
begs Mercutio for "peace" (notably when he starts on the topic
kisses it as they exchange their first words. Romeo calls Juliet
of sex), and Benvolio reminds them that they're on their way to
a "holy shrine," likening her to a "saint" and his sinful lips to two
the party. Romeo no longer resists but leads the way.
devoted "pilgrims" ready to repent with a kiss. They flirt and
kiss, twice, before the nurse interrupts them to tell Juliet her
mother is looking for her, revealing to Romeo that Juliet is the
Analysis
daughter of his father's enemy. When he leaves as the party
ends, Juliet asks the nurse to learn his name. "My only love
Romeo and Benvolio, not welcome at the party, could
sprung from my only hate!" Juliet responds when she learns
reasonably expect to be accosted violently if their identities
who he is.
are discovered. They proceed, their youthfulness displaying
itself in boasts and excitement. While Romeo's reckless
companions are impatient to make their mark on the party,
Analysis
Romeo is initially inclined to merely observe. Despite his lack of
maturity in some areas, Romeo demonstrates an awareness
Romeo's final words in the previous scene ("On, lusty
that there are larger, more dangerous powers in the world.
gentlemen") lead into the boisterous opening mood of this
scene. However, a dramatic shift takes place when Romeo first
But the allure of beauty, and perhaps Mercutio's teasing,
sees Juliet. He speaks to himself of her beauty, brighter than
eventually overcomes Romeo's resistance. Perhaps the
torches, as vivid against the "cheek of night" as a bright jewel in
opportunity to gaze on Rosaline makes him willing to succumb
an Ethiopian's ear. The image of night comes alive through
to fate. Considering that he has just been discussing a vision of
Shakespeare's use of personification, giving night a "cheek."
his impending death, and he embraces it, calling out to fate,
Shakespeare begins to build his motif of night and day,
"Direct my sail," Romeo's decision to proceed seems both
showing that nighttime is safe for the lovers, while daytime is
passive and reckless—or immature. Despite his earlier
dangerous.
reservations, he seems to ride the wave of his friends' energy,
brightening suddenly at the scene's end as they enter the
The way Romeo describes Juliet's beauty as "too rich for use,
party.
for Earth too dear" makes her seem too precious to be human.
She forces him to consider his past ideas of love, and he
concludes that he has not known true love until now because
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Romeo and Juliet Study Guide
Scene Summaries 13
he has never before seen true beauty. For Romeo, beauty and
leave Juliet entirely, and Benvolio and Mercutio are looking for
love are intertwined.
him. They call out to Romeo, teasing him about the intensity of
the feelings they suppose he still has for Rosaline, but Romeo
In the play love and hate are intertwined, and violence follows
refuses to show himself, so they leave.
closely behind exchanges of love, always arriving to erase
happiness. The young and angry Tybalt introduces violence
into the scene when he recognizes Romeo as a Montague and
Analysis
threatens to "strike him dead." A clash of youth against age
takes place between Tybalt and Lord Capulet. Tybalt wants a
As the chorus clarifies, Romeo and Juliet are "alike bewitched
fight, and Lord Capulet tries to subdue the anger, resorting to
by the charm of looks." The chorus suggests that the power of
asserting his authority: "Am I the master here or you?" When
Romeo and Juliet's passion will compel them, like magic, to
Tybalt leaves, the audience may correctly assume that the
overcome all the obstacles set before them.
young hothead has not been truly stopped. Youth, it appears,
may win this struggle.
Mercutio reinforces the central idea of love and beauty as a
magical power when he attempts to conjure the presence of
So far love has been associated only with physical beauty. In
Romeo. When that fails, he invokes the spirit of Rosaline by
Romeo and Juliet's first encounter, love takes on religious
talking about her looks. As if such magic were truly possible,
qualities. Where men had previously touched only through their
Benvolio warns Mercutio that Romeo, if he can hear them, will
weapons, Romeo immediately takes Juliet's hands even while
be angered by its use.
he is speaking his first words to her, a stranger. The religious
references to the shrine, saint, and pilgrims set the tone for
Night is again personified, described as moody by Benvolio,
their romance, lifting it up to a higher level than duty or physical
who says Romeo is hiding "to be consorted" with it, implying a
attraction.
friendship or union between Romeo and the dark. He makes an
apt companion for the night, Mercutio believes, because
Shakespeare wrote poetry as well as plays. Romeo and Juliet's
Romeo's love is blind.
first conversation forms a sonnet, a 14-line poem.
Shakespeare's style of sonnet, which he often used to write
The concept of magic in the scene is also used as a double
about love, contains three quatrains (stanzas of four lines that
entendre (double meaning) for sex. A "magic circle" indicates
alternately rhyme) and one couplet (two rhyming lines). The
both a circle for magical practice and female genitalia. When
use of this form emphasizes how exalted the young couple's
Mercutio says to Benvolio, "I conjure only but to raise up him
feelings are and how different their interaction is from the
[Romeo]," he is again speaking with double meaning.
dialogue that has come before. Juliet is the first of the two to
call what has come between them "love"—though, ominously, it
is "love sprung from ... hate" for "a loathed enemy."
Act 2, Scene 2
Act 2, Scene 1
Summary
Romeo comes forward into the garden when Juliet suddenly
Summary
appears in a window above him. (Some productions use a
balcony, and this is commonly called the "balcony scene.")
The chorus begins Act 2's first scene, stating that Romeo's
Hiding in darkness, Romeo watches her with awe as she
love has shifted from Rosaline to Juliet, who loves him back.
seems to light the sky: "What light through yonder window
The chorus declares the obstacles to their love—their families'
breaks?" She speaks to herself, and Romeo dares to hope she
strife, Juliet's gender—but concludes that "passion lends them
speaks of him. She does: "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art
power."
thou Romeo?" she asks herself. Then Juliet confesses to the
night that, if Romeo will swear his love, she will "no longer be a
Romeo has remained on the Capulets' property, unwilling to
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Capulet."
Romeo and Juliet Study Guide
Scene Summaries 14
Romeo finally responds. Juliet is stunned that he's there—how
poor prisoner." She says that she would likely "kill [him] with
did he get over the orchard wall, and what of the risk to his
much cherishing." Her words foreshadow perfectly the events
life? "With love's light wings," Romeo responds. Juliet is
to come later in the play.
skeptical of Romeo's intentions, reasoning that he will, of
course, say he loves her in order to woo her, whether it's the
truth or not. She runs through the possibilities for deception
Act 2, Scene 3
but, knowing and accepting her feelings, confesses plainly to
being "too fond."
Romeo asks, "Wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?" When Juliet
challenges him by asking "what satisfaction" he could have that
night, he says that her "faithful vow" will satisfy him. She agrees
to give it again and describes the fullness of her love: "The
more I give to thee,/The more I have." Called inside by the
nurse, Juliet leaves and then returns and seizes control by
offering herself for marriage. If he agrees she will go when and
where he tells her, "and all my fortunes at thy foot I'll lay/And
follow thee my lord throughout the world." They discuss
making arrangements for their wedding. Before Juliet departs
again, she calls him her "bird," tied to her with "a silken thread."
Finally, Romeo leaves to arrange the ceremony with Friar
Summary
Now it's the very early morning; Friar Lawrence opens the
scene, collecting flowers in a basket, thinking about the power
of nature. Romeo enters to hear the friar considering one herb
in particular that can be both medicinal and poisonous. Romeo
tells Friar Lawrence where he was the night before and
explains his and Juliet's intentions to marry. The friar reacts
with both amusement and dismay at Romeo's transfer of his
affections from Rosaline. However, he then agrees that, as
their alliance may be so happy it could end the families' feud,
he will assist the couple in their plans.
Lawrence.
Analysis
Analysis
Romeo's first metaphor for Juliet's beauty describes a life- and
light-giving power that eclipses the lesser beauty of the
"envious moon," though perhaps the cycles of the moon
foreshadow that Juliet's light must also go dim. For now,
however, she is a "bright angel ... glorious to this night." Ideas of
light and night are both associated with love in this scene.
Romeo says he wears "night's cloak," and Juliet says "the mask
of night" is on her face. Romeo and Juliet's love is both a
benefit to them and a destructive force.
In contrast Juliet dwells not on Romeo's beauty but on his
name and identity. Why must he be Romeo? Can he not sever
himself from his father and his name? Alternately she would
instead "no longer be a Capulet." Juliet makes a distinction
between Romeo's name, Montague, and the real person,
concluding that his name is "no part of" him. At this point Juliet
cannot see Romeo, so for these moments at least, her love is
not attached to his beauty. In this scene voice becomes more
powerful (although beauty still influences Romeo).
The metaphor of the bird at the end of the scene is a complex
one. It both describes their ties and compares Romeo to "a
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Critics have made much of the herb Friar Lawrence describes,
whose value comes from context—that is, from the intentions
of the user—as well as the intended outcomes, either medicinal
or poisonous. This can partly explain the use the friar concocts
for the herb later in the play. Friar Lawrence's description of
the plant reveals a core message about good and evil in the
play when he says virtue and vice are like two opposing kings
"in man as well as herbs." This juxtaposition of good and evil
plays out in Romeo and Juliet's situation: As they seek
marriage, they also encounter death. Their ending shows how
hate triumphs over love in their community.
Instead of giving wise counsel, the friar decides to
accommodate Romeo and Juliet's desire to wed. As a holy
man, he has good intentions—to stop hatred between the
Capulets and Montagues—but his good intentions are twisted
into bad outcomes by the darkness in the play's other
characters. Also, Friar Lawrence's good intentions lead him to
abuse his authority as a friend and spiritual guide. He points
Romeo and Juliet in the direction of defying their parents, a sin
and breach of custom for the time. The friar himself is like the
plant that is more poisonous than medicinal.
Romeo and Juliet Study Guide
Act 2, Scene 4
Scene Summaries 15
chuckle when hearing her use the adjective sententious, which
means "judgmental," when she likely intends to use the noun
sentiments, or "feelings." Her social status and gender
Summary
notwithstanding, the nurse stands up for herself and for Juliet.
In response to Mercutio's crass teasing, she exclaims that
she'll "take him down" or find others who will. She warns
Benvolio and Mercutio enter, still looking for Romeo, in part to
Romeo against misusing Juliet and refuses Romeo's offer of
alert him that Tybalt is enraged at their attending the party and
money for her efforts. She also reveals that Paris—"the
has challenged Romeo to a duel. When Romeo arrives they
properer man"—is pursuing an uninterested Juliet, though the
tease him, only to find he is much improved (and teasing back):
nurse makes the revelation in so confused a way that Romeo
"Now art thou sociable, now art thou Romeo," Mercutio says
seems not to grasp its implications. The nurse makes little
appreciatively.
sense, but it's Romeo whose reason seems to fail, perhaps
The nurse and the servant Peter enter, sent by Juliet to find
because he is preoccupied by the upcoming wedding.
out the details of the plan to marry Romeo. After teasing the
nurse in a crass manner, Mercutio leaves her and Romeo,
along with Benvolio. The nurse expresses indignation about the
Act 2, Scene 5
departed men and then cautions Romeo concerning his
treatment of Juliet: "if you should lead her in a fool's paradise ...
it were a very gross kind of behavior." They make a plan to get
Summary
Juliet to the friar's cell that afternoon for the marriage
ceremony and some "cords" to make a ladder for Romeo to
Juliet is in her room, anxiously waiting for the nurse to return
climb to her room later so they can spend the night together.
with news and bemoaning the old woman's age, which is
The nurse also tells Romeo of Juliet's other suitor, Paris, and
clearly slowing her down. When the nurse finally arrives, she
explains that Juliet has little interest in Paris.
torments Juliet with her whining and fatigue and the need to
catch her breath, just when Juliet most needs her to talk. Then
she describes Romeo's beauty and body, but Juliet impatiently
Analysis
points out, "All this did I know before." Finally, the nurse tells
Juliet what she needs to know—that she should go immediately
Romeo has been transformed—or returned to something like
to the friar's cell to marry Romeo, who will then come to her
his original self before he met Rosaline. After some back-and-
later that night.
forth jesting rich with sexual innuendo, Mercutio remarks that
Romeo seems himself again. This comment will likely resonate
with the audience, who has just heard Juliet's take on the
Analysis
subject of what it means to be Romeo. Both passages touch
on the recurring theme of identity. Romeo means different
Juliet thinks of love as something with speed and force, which
things to Juliet and Mercutio. Mercutio assumes that Romeo
the nurse's age prevents her from either appreciating or
has finally stepped away from the hapless role of lover and
facilitating. She tries tirelessly to get the Nurse to share her
returned to that of friend. Juliet's Romeo is not only her lover
news, including why she looks sad, but as in previous scenes,
but also her "lord."
the nurse spreads confusion. Again, there may be an element
of comedy (presumably to keep the rambunctious audience
We see both of those Romeos in this scene. He is the young
entertained), but there is also the downright clash of Juliet's
lusty man who allows Mercutio to taunt the nurse, but then, in
youthful anticipation and the nurse's submission to her aging
his friends' absence, Juliet's soon-to-be husband respectfully
body, which simply cannot keep up.
asks the nurse to "commend [him] to" his bride.
The nurse also offers a curious commentary on Romeo, whom
The nurse's role in this scene includes providing comic relief
she declares a bad choice, despite his physical beauty "past
but also offering some protective wisdom. The audience may
compare." She gets sidetracked by her aches and exhaustion
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Romeo and Juliet Study Guide
and then adds that Juliet's lover is "an honest gentleman, and a
courteous, and a kind, and a handsome, and, I warrant, a
virtuous" man. Perhaps she is just teasing her beloved charge,
as she finally gives Juliet the news plainly. The nurse's final
words affirm marriage as a place for sex ("you shall bear the
burden soon at night" refers to intercourse).
Scene Summaries 16
Summary
Benvolio and Mercutio enter, debating which of them is more
hot tempered, and Tybalt and some other Capulets arrive,
expecting a confrontation. Tybalt and Mercutio taunt and insult
one another to the brink of a fight. When Romeo comes upon
them, he does his best to stop the men's threats and to deflect
Act 2, Scene 6
Tybalt's challenge, but neither Mercutio nor Tybalt can be
subdued. They fight. Romeo draws his sword to try to
intervene, but he accidentally creates a clear path for Tybalt's
Summary
sword to reach Mercutio's body. Tybalt and the other Capulet
men leave, and Mercutio lies dying. "A plague o' both your
houses!" he cries.
Romeo and Friar Lawrence make the final marital
arrangements, with Romeo commenting that, no matter what
Benvolio carries Mercutio away. Left alone briefly, Romeo is
happens next, his present joy can't be outdone by any sorrow.
horrified by what has happened and his role in it. Benvolio
Even if death "devours" their love, the relationship will have
returns to tell Romeo that Mercutio is dead, and when Tybalt
been worth it. In turn Friar Lawrence warns Romeo to be less
returns Romeo flies at him, driven by fury, and kills him.
intense, to "love moderately." Juliet arrives, and the three
retreat for the wedding ceremony that will "incorporate two in
one."
Romeo runs as the citizens spill into the street. The prince,
Lord Montague, Lord Capulet, their wives, and others of their
households arrive to hear Benvolio's account of what
happened, which Lady Capulet insists cannot be true. She
Analysis
demands justice in the form of Romeo's death. Lord Montague,
When Romeo swears any ensuing sorrows are worth even a
the prince's kinsman) and so should not pay with his life. The
minute of joy in Juliet's presence, he seems to have a sense of
prince concurs but exiles Romeo from Verona with a threat of
their love being dangerously brief. Yet he doesn't care, thanks
certain death if he is found.
however, argues that Romeo fought to avenge his friend (and
to the intensity of his current pleasure that he can "call her
mine."
Analysis
Despite the friar's insisting that "long love" is the result of
moderation, he prepares to marry Romeo and Juliet. He also
Throughout this scene Shakespeare comments on the nature
promises to chaperone them properly: "you shall not stay
of violence and rage. In his opinion violence is a problem that
alone,/Till Holy Church incorporate two in one." This also raises
the characters support and give life to. Why would Benvolio
the question, perhaps, of what happens to the individual in
and Mercutio be having such an intense argument on such a
such a formula. Does a loss of self accompany the union with
topic otherwise? In every other scene before Act 3 opens, the
another? As the rest of the play will show, their identities grow
two friends get along nicely, and typically they take each
so merged that neither can envision life without the other.
other's side to tease Romeo. Benvolio has, so far, proven to be
more sensitive than Mercutio, yet suddenly Mercutio is
describing Benvolio as "as hot a jack as any in Italy" (angry guy)
Act 3, Scene 1
who will fight just because he's had a few drinks or because he
doesn't like someone's shoelaces. In Act 1, Scene 1, Benvolio
calls the quarreling servants "fools" and tells them to put away
their weapons. "You know not what you do," he says to them.
This new background information on Benvolio, assuming
Mercutio is speaking of actual past situations, comes as a
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Romeo and Juliet Study Guide
Scene Summaries 17
shock, resetting the tone and clueing in the audience to the
wringing her hands and taking a long time to tell Juliet that
very real dangers of young men armed with swords and
Romeo has been banished for killing Tybalt. At various points
daggers who do not possess self-control.
the nurse allows Juliet to think Romeo has also been killed.
Juliet weeps for both her cousin Tybalt and her new husband,
Romeo's love for Juliet is returned by hate, not only by Tybalt,
but because Romeo is alive, she regains her composure—aside
his Capulet enemy, but also by his dear friend, Mercutio, who is
from her reaction to the news that Romeo has been banished.
disgusted by Romeo's kindness. Romeo is the hero and the
She sends the nurse away, intending to go to her "wedding
lover, so it feels right that he should bring peace to the warring
bed" to let death "take [her] maidenhead" instead of Romeo.
families. But peace is not possible; instead his friend Mercutio
She hints that she will hang herself with the cords that were
dies, echoing Tybalt's words in Act 1, Scene 1, about hating
meant to bring Romeo to her bed. The nurse says she will go
peace as he hates "hell." This scene is the natural course and
find Romeo at Friar Lawrence's cell where he is hiding, and
outcome of emotions and thoughts so violent that they could
Juliet gives the nurse her ring to bring to Romeo.
compare peace to hell.
The hyperbole, or obvious exaggeration, in the scene adds to
the growing theme of violence in the play. Mercutio calls Tybalt
"king of cats" and then says he wants to take "one of your
[Tybalt's] nine lives" and beat the other eight lives to a pulp.
The power of rage and violence is shown by its effect on
almost every character in the scene, excluding Benvolio.
Mercutio and Tybalt are killed because of it. Romeo turns
against Juliet momentarily because of it, and he becomes a
murderer by the end of the scene. Even Lady Capulet cries out,
"Shed blood of Montague."
The prince comes in at the end to serve justice, leaving behind
the scene's final idea: showing mercy to "those that kill" is just
as bad as murdering them because it allows them to remain
evil.
Analysis
The scene contrasts with the violence, anger, and despair that
ended Scene 1. Juliet's intense, even ecstatic energy and
impatience are immediately evident as she speaks of Romeo
and the coming night. As Romeo has suffered some confusion
of identity (or loss of self) in the previous scene, so does Juliet
in this one. When she thinks Tybalt, her dear cousin, and
Romeo are both dead, she is destroyed.
Juliet's emotional reactions to Tybalt's murder and the nurse's
words echo earlier themes: the meaning of names and the
importance of reputation. Although Juliet slowly accepts the
news that Romeo has killed Tybalt, her husband's banishment
is to her the equivalent of death; she plans to go to bed to die.
When the nurse says she will find Romeo and be sure he
Act 3, Scene 2
comes to Juliet that night, she is frightened for her young
charge, but her response is also consistent with her
appreciation for marriage and sex.
Summary
Alone in her room while she waits for the nurse, Juliet
Act 3, Scene 3
anticipates her imminent wedding night, demanding that night
come so that Romeo can "leap to these arms." She speaks in a
complex extended metaphor about night being the place for
lovers to create their own light. Lovers "do their amorous rites"
in darkness by the light of "their own beauties." Night enables
them to be comfortably intimate. Juliet asks the night to give
Romeo to her, hoping that when she dies the night will "take
him and cut him out in little stars,/And he will make the face of
heaven so fine,/That all the world will be in love with night."
Juliet is at the height of impatience when the nurse enters,
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Summary
Romeo goes to Friar Lawrence's cell, where the friar reveals
that Romeo has been banished from Verona for killing Tybalt.
As Juliet did in the previous scene, Romeo declares that
banishment is a fate worse than death and accuses the friar of
not understanding his situation or emotions.
The nurse arrives and finds Romeo in the same pathetic
condition as Juliet. As the nurse details Juliet's grief, Romeo
Romeo and Juliet Study Guide
draws a dagger to kill himself. The friar reprimands him for his
lack of control. He talks Romeo into accepting his banishment
Scene Summaries 18
Act 3, Scene 4
for now and going to Juliet that night "as was decreed" but
then leaving for Mantua in the morning. The friar promises that
he will find a way to reunite them and even "beg pardon of the
Summary
Prince." The nurse gives Romeo Juliet's ring and departs,
followed soon after by Romeo.
It is late at night, and Paris has dropped in to speak to Lord
Capulet and find out if Juliet has made a decision regarding his
marriage proposal. Lord Capulet explains that everyone is tired
and he has not yet had a chance to hear from Juliet because
Analysis
In the previous scene, Juliet viewed Romeo's banishment as a
violent act above all else. Here, Romeo responds to the word
similarly. He too feels murdered by the idea of banishment, his
she is mourning Tybalt's death. As Paris is about to leave, Lord
Capulet suddenly makes a decision: "I think she will be ruled/In
all respects by me." He then decides he will tell his wife to
inform Juliet that on Thursday she'll wed "this noble earl." Paris
responds, "I would that Thursday were tomorrow."
"head [cut off] with a golden ax." This, then, is a partial answer
to the question of whether love and marriage destroy the
partners' individuality. For Juliet and Romeo, the answer seems
to be yes. Both have embraced the new identity they have
created together, as shown by their parallel emotional states.
The counsel of Friar Lawrence and the nurse reflect each
other as well in this scene, the first in which they appear
together. By the end of the scene, Friar Lawrence and the
nurse join forces to help the young lovers.
A clash between youth and age plays out between Romeo and
both of the older characters. Romeo, representing youth,
demands empathy and, lacking experience, has only his
feelings to guide and soothe him. Friar Lawrence, representing
age, offers Romeo advice, but Romeo rejects the friar's
wisdom, saying that wise men "have no eyes." The nurse
underlines Romeo's immaturity by telling him to stand up the
way one might scold a child.
The friar and the nurse also see eye to eye on the importance
Analysis
Juliet's father partially respects his daughter's despair, though
he also callously dismisses the need for that despair,
remarking, "We were born to die." Whether he acts based on
an inflated sense of his patriarchal power or the desire to
please Paris, Lord Capulet employs the privileges of age and
authority and advances the plot. The impending marriage
serves as a ticking clock. Juliet and Romeo no longer will have
the time they need to untangle from all of their troubles.
Paris's requests to Lord Capulet reveal little about his
character, except that he is eager to marry. He doesn't impose
himself or make strong demands; instead, he first shows
respect for the Capulets' mourning: "These times of woe afford
no times to woo." However, once Lord Capulet changes his
mind, Paris offers no objection and indeed wishes the wedding
could take place immediately.
of the physical joys of marriage. Friar Lawrence sends Romeo
to Juliet "as was decreed," which makes their decisions and
marriage legitimate. He specifically adds, "Ascend her
Act 3, Scene 5
chamber," which is to say, go to her bedroom and consummate
the marriage. Even though Romeo's banishment remains, he
leaves responding to "a joy past joy"—the opportunity to spend
Summary
the night with Juliet.
In the morning after their wedding night, Romeo and Juliet
want to stay together as long as they can, though daylight is
coming quickly. Juliet says, "Wilt thou be gone? It is not yet
near day." She tries to hold off their inevitable separation by
insisting they are hearing the nightingale rather than a morning
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Romeo and Juliet Study Guide
Scene Summaries 19
lark. Romeo, whose life is at stake, resists her hopeful
of his station. He intends to obliterate her should she defy him.
interpretation and points out the light coming from the rising
Even Lady Capulet, who tries to calm her husband at first, says
sun. Finally, Juliet tells him to leave so that he will be safe.
to Juliet as she leaves, "Do as thou wilt, for I have done with
When Romeo climbs out the window, Juliet lists her losses:
thee."
"love, lord, ay husband, friend!" They say good-bye multiple
times before the nurse briefly appears to warn them that
The nurse's rational approach deeply offends Juliet on a moral
Juliet's mother is coming, which prompts Romeo to leave. Lady
level, so once she is alone, she rejects the nurse as decisively
Capulet chastises Juliet for mourning her cousin Tybalt
as her father rejected her: "Thou and my bosom henceforth
excessively and instead engages her in talk about what should
shall be twain." Juliet connects herself with her family even
be done to punish Romeo.
while losing its support.
Lady Capulet then tells Juliet that her father has decided she
will marry Paris in three days. Juliet says she will not. When her
Act 4, Scene 1
father enters, along with the nurse, Juliet again refuses the
marriage. Her father responds by giving her the choice of
doing as he says or being disowned. The nurse and Lady
Capulet try to intervene, but Lord Capulet calls Juliet a fool,
garbage, wretched, and a "whining mammet," or doll. He goes
on to tell her that, if she doesn't show up in church, she will
never see his face again. "An you be mine," he says. "I'll give
you to my friend./An you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the
streets." Lady Capulet follows him out, leaving the nurse, who
tries to comfort Juliet by praising Paris, who, she argues,
"excels" Juliet's first husband, Romeo. Juliet pretends to be
persuaded and asks the nurse to tell her mother that she has
gone to Friar Lawrence to confess and be absolved. When the
nurse is gone, Juliet condemns the nurse as a "wicked fiend"
for turning on Romeo and makes clear that "if all else fail,
myself have power to die."
Summary
Paris visits the friar to tell him that his "father Capulet" wants
Paris to marry Juliet on Thursday to stop her excessive
mourning for Tybalt. Juliet arrives, seeking the friar's counsel,
and exchanges strained words with Paris that indicate her
resistance to the wedding. Paris leaves, and the friar tells Juliet
that there is nothing to be done, but she shows him her dagger,
indicating she will kill herself rather than marry Paris. The friar
develops a plan, which Juliet embraces "without fear or doubt":
she will take a potion that mimics death and be entombed. As
images of light and beauty have been associated with the
lovers, the friar describes how Juliet's light will appear to go
out when she drinks the potion that simulates death: "The
roses in thy lips and cheeks shall fade/To paly ashes, thy eyes'
Analysis
In their final exchange, Romeo and Juliet admit to premonitions
of disaster, foreshadowing the tragedy to come. By the light of
day, Romeo looks to Juliet like a corpse; for him, her paleness,
which he shares, is because "sorrow drinks our blood."
With her mother, Juliet manipulates language to make sure she
expresses her own emotions, while her mother hears what she
wants to hear in the conversation. For example, when Juliet
says, "Would none but I might venge my cousin's death," she
expresses her true hope that no one takes vengeance but
allows her mother to believe that Juliet herself wants revenge.
Juliet's effort to resist her father's authority comes at a
significant price. The violence of Lord Capulet's language is
evidence of how Juliet has denied him the privileges and power
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windows fall/Like death when he shuts up the day of life." He
explains that he will then send word to Romeo; they will both
be in the crypt when she awakens, and then Romeo will take
her away from Verona (to Mantua). He warns Juliet not to give
way to "womanish fear," but she responds, "O, tell not me of
fear!"
Analysis
Paris greets Juliet by naming her "my lady and my wife."
Neither are yet the case, as Juliet points out, and Paris follows
up by saying they "must be, love, on Thursday next." Paris's
possessive words make Juliet feel that she is not her own
person. She answers that her face is not her own.
This explains, then, how quickly and easily she considers
suicide. Her most important aspect of identity now is wife to
Romeo and Juliet Study Guide
Romeo, a position from which she will not revolt, or if forced to
she'll kill herself rather than betray that relationship. If she
cannot be Romeo's wife, she cannot be.
Scene Summaries 20
Summary
Once her parents are gone, Juliet asks the nurse to leave as
When Juliet explains, "O, tell not me of fear!" she displays an
well so she can pray. When her mother returns, Juliet sends
inner conviction and authority that few other characters in the
her away too. Juliet then speaks her terrible fears aloud while
play possess. Her new identity strengthens her even as it
she holds the vial of poison. She wonders if the friar hasn't
speeds her toward the grave.
given her poison to protect himself from having his role in her
secret marriage discovered, but then she dismisses the idea.
She imagines waking and suffocating in the foul air of the tomb
Act 4, Scene 2
or being overcome with madness and committing a violent
suicide. When she envisions Tybalt's "ghost/Seeking out
Romeo," she is moved to swallow the contents of the vial. In
Summary
this way she will either join Tybalt in death (if the potion is
poison) or be reunited with Romeo as planned.
Back at the Capulets' home, Lord Capulet directs his servants
as they prepare for the wedding and party. Juliet enters "with
merry look" and quickly kneels to beg her father's pardon. She
adds, "Henceforward I am ever ruled by you." Then, as if he
must act quickly to maintain his rule over Juliet, her father
moves the wedding up a day. He is so restored that he intends
to go tell Paris the news himself and then stay up all night to
prepare for the hastened feast; he has the energy, suddenly, of
youth. He concludes, "My heart is wondrous light/Since this
Analysis
Juliet seeks solitude, as she is on the brink of an extraordinary
rebellion from all things Capulet. Her fears show her doubts
about the friar but also her insecurity about her ability to
handle the new life that may greet her when she wakes up.
Ultimately she chooses the unknown over the
known—marrying a man she does not love (Paris).
same wayward girl is so reclaimed"—or since she has become
his again by submitting once more to his authority.
Act 4, Scene 4
Analysis
Juliet restores the appearance of order with her expression of
Summary
repentance for her now-finished disobedience. Her willingness
to be ruled by her father is exactly what he needs to hear: his
The Capulet house has been abuzz with wedding preparations
authority is intact. Of course, it is Juliet's disobedience toward
throughout the night and into the morning, Music begins to play
her father as she prepares to execute the friar's plan that has
in the distance, signaling Paris's arrival. Lord Capulet, who has
given her the strength to pretend to obey him.
not slept all night, instructs the nurse to go wake Juliet.
Here again Shakespeare emphasizes youth and age: Juliet's
immature actions go against the instructions of her older
Analysis
father. But the friar is again helping the young person make a
mistake.
Lord Capulet opens the brief fourth scene as the apparent lord
of his bustling household, which is preparing for Juliet's
Act 4, Scene 3
wedding. The scene is full of hope for the upcoming marriage.
Capulet spares no expense for good baked meats and displays
youthful vigor—he has been up all night and is flirting with his
wife.
This scene provides dramatic irony. The audience knows that
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Romeo and Juliet Study Guide
Scene Summaries 21
the wedding plans are pointless and that the nurse will not find
The friar, who alone knows that Juliet still lives, reminds them
Juliet, but Lord Capulet continues wedding preparations in
of eternal life in heaven and says their weeping is
ignorance.
inappropriate. Here is another case of dramatic irony. The
audience too knows that, at this point in the play, weeping is
Act 4, Scene 5
unnecessary, but not for the reason that the friar states.
The argument with the musicians, like the scene that opens the
play, is full of wordplay. The play on "silver sound" is one
Summary
example in this section:
PETER: Why "music with her silver/sound"? What say you,
In Juliet's bedroom, the nurse teases her heavily sleeping
Simon Catling?
charge about the night ahead of her with Paris, until Juliet's
FIRST MUSICIAN: Marry, sir, because silver hath a
stillness finally makes her realize that something is wrong. The
sweet sound.
nurse calls out that Juliet is dead. Her parents rush in and
PETER Prates.—What say you, Hugh Rebeck?
quickly fall into despair.
SECOND MUSICIAN: I say "silver sound" because musicians
The friar, Paris, and musicians enter the Capulet house for the
sound for silver.
wedding, but Lord Capulet explains that Juliet is dead. Each
Although having such a comic scene follow the heart-
character cries out in their pain and loss. Lady Capulet
wrenching mourning may seem jarring to modern sensibilities,
responds with heartbreak: "My child, my only life,/Revive, look
Shakespeare often used comedy to give the audience relief
up, or I will die with thee." While Lord Capulet says, "Death is
after an emotionally intense scene.
my son-in-law; Death is my heir." Paris mourns the beloved he
never had, as he admits he "thought long to see this morning's
face." The poor nurse emits a series of woeful utterances until
Act 5, Scene 1
the friar intervenes, demanding they recognize that Juliet is in
heaven and that "she's best married that dies married young."
The friar encourages them to embrace Juliet's death and
prepare for the funeral. He tells the grieving family that
"Heaven and yourself/Had part in this fair maid. Now heaven
hath all,/And all the better is it for the maid."
Summary
Romeo is alone, happy and unencumbered, having had an odd
dream about love reviving death, when Balthasar arrives and
The scene ends with a quarrel between the servant Peter and
tells him that Juliet has died. Romeo responds immediately by
the musicians who have been hired for the wedding—now
asserting that he will return to Verona. When his servant urges
Juliet's funeral.
him to be patient, Romeo asks if the friar has sent any letters,
but there are none. Hearing that, Romeo declares, "Juliet, I will
lie with thee tonight." Like Juliet he intends to be faithful to his
Analysis
marriage vows in life or death. He remembers seeing an old
apothecary from whom he is confident he can buy poison
When the nurse alerts the household to Juliet's apparent
despite its illegality, and he succeeds in doing so by appealing
death, each person's reaction reveals his or her character and
to the apothecary's poverty.
true relationship to Juliet. Lady Capulet's line is an
extraordinary contrast with her earlier line, "I have done with
thee," and perhaps reveals her deepest feelings. Lord Capulet
Analysis
says poignantly that he is speechless, perhaps because he
realizes that he has no power over anything at all. Even so,
Romeo enters this final act optimistically, a remarkable mood
when Paris arrives, Lord Capulet feels the need to exert his
given the circumstances. In his last glimpse of Juliet, she was
authority to define Juliet by stating that she is married to death.
ominously pale, and they both seemed to fear that disaster
would overtake them. The only thing that has changed since
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Romeo and Juliet Study Guide
then (as far as Romeo knows) is that he is alone in Mantua.
Scene Summaries 22
letter]/May do much danger," and says of Juliet, "Poor living
[corpse], closed in a dead man's tomb!" He sends Friar John
An unexpected mischance—the fact that Balthasar arrives with
for a crowbar to pry open the tomb.
the report of Juliet's death before Friar Lawrence's letter
reaches Romeo—drives the plot from this point forward.
Romeo has no reason to doubt his servant's word, so he acts
Analysis
in the belief that the worst thing imaginable, Juliet's death, has
occurred. Romeo's response is immediate action, which he
The "unhappy fortune" that kept Friar Lawrence's letter from
takes in an effort to "deny you, stars!" or deny fate. Instead of
reaching Romeo advances the plot and further spikes the
sleeping with her in a sexual way, he will sleep with her in death
suspense. However, Friar Lawrence's response may seem odd,
that night.
not as urgent as the audience might expect given the impulsive
In addition to the prominent prophetic visions Romeo and Juliet
have of each other's deaths throughout the play, the idea of
fate as a force guiding them to their doom is consistent even in
minor details. In Act 1, Scene 2, when the servant asks if
Romeo can read, Romeo replies, "Ay, mine own fortune in my
misery," fortune in this sense meaning "future." Now, in Act 5,
Scene 1, the moment Romeo learns of Juliet's death, believing
nature of both the young lovers. He expresses no fear that
Juliet might kill herself if she finds herself alone, even though
she has previously threatened suicide in his presence. He
seems as worried that she will scold him as she will feel
terrified. This reaction does not show the friar in a good light.
Further, the possibility that Romeo might hear the false news
of Juliet's death does not appear to occur to him at all.
it to be true, an image of the apothecary leaps into his mind.
Romeo comments to himself how strange it is that the thought
should come to his mind just at that moment and how odd it is
Act 5, Scene 3
that when he first saw the apothecary he immediately thought
about how, because the man was poor, he would probably sell
poison illegally. Did Shakespeare purposely leave clues to
Summary
suggest that Romeo and Juliet are fated to die and their fate is
inexorable? If so, why? Nothing spurs the young lovers' deaths
In the churchyard where the Capulet crypt is located, Paris
to happen more than the counsel of the friar throughout the
sends away his page with strict instructions to be the lookout
play. The friar, then, who represents spiritual matters, can be
as Paris says good-bye to Juliet. Paris behaves differently in
seen as a human hand helping fate's directives come to
this scene from elsewhere in the play, showing tenderness as
fruition. Romeo and Juliet's sacrifice will ultimately bring peace
he scatters flowers for Juliet and promises to water them
to the community, so the detail that Romeo's meeting with the
"nightly ... with [his] tears." He indicates he has a right to be
apothecary was foreseen in a vision and returned to him at the
there to execute "true love's rite," or ritual.
perfect moment supports the greater idea of fate's role in the
tragedy.
After his page warns that someone approaches, Paris hides.
Romeo and Balthasar arrive elsewhere in the yard, with tools to
break into the crypt. Romeo gives instructions that he be left
Act 5, Scene 2
alone and then hands Balthasar a letter for his father, Lord
Montague. Romeo explains his purpose: to "behold my lady's
face" and to take a ring from her finger. Romeo alludes to
Summary
another purpose ("what I farther ... intend to do") and gives
Balthazar money along with a very final-sounding good-bye.
Balthasar retreats but stays close.
Back in Friar Lawrence's cell, Friar John reports that he was
unable to deliver Friar Lawrence's letter to Romeo, having been
Paris sees Romeo and accosts him. Romeo tries yet again to
quarantined in a house suspected of an infectious disease.
deflect a fight, but Paris defies him and comes at him. Romeo
Friar Lawrence realizes that Romeo will not be at Juliet's side
stabs him, and before he dies Paris asks that Romeo "lay [him]
to greet her when she wakes up. He says, "neglecting it [the
with Juliet." Romeo breaks into the tomb (bringing Paris's body)
and finds the lifeless Juliet, who transforms "a grave" into "a
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Romeo and Juliet Study Guide
Quotes 23
lantern" with "beauty [that] makes/This vault a feasting
On gaining entrance to the tomb, Romeo discovers the
presence full of light." Determined to join his beloved in death,
seemingly lifeless body of Juliet, which illuminates the tomb.
he drinks the poison, kisses her, and dies.
Earlier, at the end of Act 4, Capulet, in reaction to Juliet's
death, says, "Life—living—all is Death's." Now, a few scenes
Friar Lawrence arrives too late and learns from Balthasar that
later, Shakespeare provides a sharp contrast to this idea by
Romeo is in the tomb. As the friar goes to him, he discovers the
making Juliet's body project light in Romeo's perception.
pale Romeo and Paris's body "steeped in blood." When Friar
Lawrence reaches Juliet, she stirs and immediately asks after
When the friar reminds Juliet of a "greater power than we can
Romeo. She does so with an apparent clear head and single
contradict," he is perhaps deflecting responsibility from himself
purpose: "I do remember well where I should be,/And there I
by blaming God or fate. In doing so he solidifies the idea that
am. Where is my Romeo?" The friar shows her Romeo's body,
fate all along has ruled and thwarted human intentions.
warning her that "a greater power than we can contradict/Hath
thwarted our intents [intentions]," and then hearing some
The friar's confession is a testimony to his manipulations and
noise, begs her to leave with him. She refuses. Alone, she spies
abuse of authority. However, after the friar's story is confirmed,
the empty poison vial and Romeo's still-wet lips, so she kisses
the prince dismisses the friar's guilt because "we still have
Romeo in the hopes the poison will kill her too. When she hears
known thee for a holy man." The prince, who has represented
others entering, she realizes she must "be brief" and kills
the idea of justice and judgment throughout the play, clarifies
herself with Romeo's dagger.
Shakespeare's intended meaning. The friar may be guilty in this
instance, but he has been a good example otherwise.
Paris's page brings a watchman, and then gradually Balthasar,
the friar, and the prince enter. The Capulets arrive to learn the
The play ends with the old enemies thoroughly humbled by
dreadful news and to see their "newly dead" daughter with a
their children's deaths, relinquishing authority, even becoming
dagger in her bosom. Lord Montague enters to tell the others
family. Lord Capulet turns to his "brother Montague" to ask for
that his wife has died of grief over her son's banishment. Friar
his hand. Lord Montague now sees in his son's lover "true and
Lawrence explains what happened to all, offering to sacrifice
faithful Juliet," whose statue he will cover in gold. Lord Capulet
his life if the fault is his. However, the prince excuses him after
promises, "As rich shall Romeo's by his lady's lie." Hate
hearing Romeo's letter to his father, delivered by Balthasar,
conquers love in the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, but the way
which confirms the friar's story.
they sacrifice themselves for love defeats the hate between
the Montagues and Capulets.
The prince sums up the consequences of the double suicide:
"Capulet, Montague,/See what a scourge is laid upon your
hate,/That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love." He
also reminds them that he too lost kinsmen, so "all are
g Quotes
punished." Lord Montague and Lord Capulet take hands and
agree to "raise" each other's children as "statue[s] in pure
gold."
Analysis
This is the first and only encounter between Paris and Romeo,
"From forth the fatal loins of these
two foes/A pair of star-crossed
lovers take their life."
— Chorus, Prologue
two young men who don't realize they are rivals. Paris assumes
that, because Romeo has killed Tybalt and is an enemy to the
These lines open the tragedy with a play on words that
Capulets, he is there to somehow harm the dead. The dying
captures the dilemma to come. Like all children, Romeo and
Paris further indicates a genuine love for Juliet in asking
Juliet "take their life" from their father's loins; however, the two
Romeo to lay his body next to hers. That reminds Romeo that
foes, Lord Montague and Lord Capulet, have "fatal loins" in that
he heard something earlier about Paris possibly marrying
their feuding will ultimately cause their children to "take their
Juliet. After this he seems more compassionate than jealous.
lives" by committing suicide. The chorus also refers to Romeo
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Romeo and Juliet Study Guide
Quotes 24
and Juliet as "star-crossed lovers." Star refers to the idea of
about love just before she meets Romeo. Juliet is telling her
destiny as assigned by the heavens or astrologically. Crossed
mother that she'll look but only if she likes what she sees. Juliet
signifies they are fated for catastrophe. The lines hint at the
is saying that she refuses to create fake feelings of love just to
two forces that shape the action of the play; both fate and
please her mother.
human action contribute to Romeo and Juliet's tragic story.
"My only love sprung from my only
"You saw her fair, none else being
hate!"
by,/Herself poised with herself in
either eye;/But in that crystal
scales let there be weighed/Your
lady's love against some other
maid."
— Juliet, Act 1, Scene 5
At Juliet's family's party, a man wearing a mask flirts with Juliet.
She does not know who he is, only that she feels attracted to
him. Juliet says these words just after the nurse tells her that
the man she flirted with and kissed is Romeo and he is a
Montague; he belongs to the family that Juliet's family, the
— Benvolio, Act 1, Scene 2
Capulets, hates. This is Juliet's first time experiencing love, and
as a Capulet she has grown up hating the Montague family.
On the way to the Capulets' masquerade ball, Benvolio tries to
Therefore, the first time she feels love, it is inspired by
convince Romeo that he loves Rosaline because she is the only
someone she hates.
choice he has. The idea is expressed in an eloquent simile that
compares Romeo's eyes to scales that don't lean to one side
because Rosaline is being weighed against Rosaline. When
"Can I go forward when my heart
Romeo sees another beautiful woman, he'll be able to gain a
is here?/Turn back, dull earth, and
true measurement of Rosaline's worth. Benvolio's words come
true soon after this moment. When Romeo sees Juliet for the
find thy center out."
first time, he completely forgets about his heartache for
Rosaline.
— Romeo, Act 2, Scene 1
"I'll look to like, if looking liking
Romeo does not want to leave the Capulet garden after he has
move./But no more deep will I
body as "dull earth," a biblical reference to humans being made
met Juliet. His heart is where she is. Romeo is referring to his
endart mine eye/Than your
from dust. When he says he wants to "find thy center out," he is
consent gives strength to make it
revolves around Juliet, she would be the sun in the metaphor.
comparing Juliet to the sun: if Romeo is the earth and he
fly."
— Juliet, Act 1, Scene 3
Juliet's mother, Lady Capulet, has just come to Juliet's
"But soft, what light through
yonder window breaks?/It is the
East, and Juliet is the sun!"
bedroom to convince her to be open to a marriage with Paris,
her father's choice of a husband for her. This is Juliet's
response, and it says a lot about her character and feelings
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— Romeo, Act 2, Scene 2
Romeo and Juliet Study Guide
Quotes 25
Romeo is talking about how beautiful and steady he finds
Wherefore means "why." Juliet is asking herself why Romeo
Juliet. This statement contrasts her with the moon, which is
has to be Romeo—a Montague, the enemy of her family.
portrayed as fickle and quickly changing in the rest of the play.
"O, swear not by the moon, th'
inconstant moon,/That monthly
changes in her circled orb,/Lest
that thy love prove likewise
variable."
— Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2
"Good night, good night. Parting is
such sweet sorrow/That I shall say
'Good night' till it be morrow."
— Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2
Saying good night to Romeo is sweet because of their love but
a sorrow because she wants to stay with him. The clause "I
The moon gets its light from the sun's reflection, and as
celestial bodies move in the sky, the moon wanes or
shall say 'Good night' till it be morrow" means that Juliet plans
to think of Romeo even in his absence.
waxes—appears smaller or bigger. Before Juliet says these
words to Romeo, she worries that he may be insincere and
asks him to speak plainly of his love for her. He responds by
"A plague o' both your houses!"
swearing on the moon. Juliet interrupts him because the
moon's characteristics are changeable. She asks him to swear
— Mercutio, Act 3, Scene 1
on himself instead.
In the prologue, the chorus blames the stars for Romeo and
"What's in a name? That which we
Juliet's tragedy. For Mercutio, the first to die in the play, fate is
irrelevant. The entire Montague and Capulet households are to
call a rose/By any other word
blame—his allegiance to the Montague household and his
would smell as sweet."
curse is strengthened by repetition; he says it three times.
friend Romeo initiated the events leading to his death. His
— Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2
"Give me my Romeo, and when he
A name, Juliet suggests, is a separate thing from what it
names. A rose called by another word would still be a beautiful
shall die,/Take him and cut him out
flower regardless of what it is called. So Romeo is more than
in little stars,/And he will make the
just his name and need not be her enemy. To rename Romeo
face of heaven so fine/That all the
would cause him no harm; he would remain "as sweet."
"O, Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art
thou Romeo?"
— Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2
world will be in love with night/And
pay no worship to the garish sun."
— Juliet, Act 3, Scene 2
Juliet compares Romeo with light, saying his soul, at the time of
his death, would be bright enough to make stars out of it. She
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Romeo and Juliet Study Guide
Symbols 26
is complimenting him by saying that he is so beautiful that he
The prince, who serves as a judge between the two
will make the night sky more glorious than the sun makes the
households, refers to the weapons of his "rebellious subjects"
day seem.
as "neighbor-stained steel" and "mistempered." He suggests
that both the weapons and the men are ill-made, as they
express hatred toward those whom, in a well-ordered society,
"Thus with a kiss I die."
they should love.
— Romeo, Act 5, Scene 3
Plants and Poisons
These are Romeo's last words before he commits suicide. He
has just taken poison because he believes his new wife, Juliet,
is dead. Because Friar Lawrence's letter did not reach him,
Romeo doesn't know that Juliet took an herb to make her
appear to be dead and soon she will wake up. In this moment,
inside the Capulet family crypt, Romeo intends to kiss Juliet's
lifeless body one last time, but his words bear a much greater
import by expressing the simple truth of Romeo's situation
from the beginning to the end of the play: his first kiss with
Juliet led swiftly and directly to his death.
Plants, Friar Lawrence tells the audience, have within them
either medicinal qualities or dangerous poison. In this way
plants are a symbol of humanity; "in man as well as herbs," he
says. He extends the metaphor to say that a plant can be
corrupted from purity, "strained from that fair use," and turned
from its better nature. When both virtue and vice live in a plant,
as in a person, "where the worser [vice] is predominant, ...
death eats up the plant." In other words, a plant used the
wrong way can be poisonous, and a person who is more
inclined to vice than virtue will eventually turn wholly bad.
l Symbols
Romeo and Juliet, individually and together, struggle between
their virtuous and lower natures. Together their love drives
them to be virtuous, loyal, honorable, and kind, but their
Daggers and Swords
passionate nature also corrupts their purity. Romeo fails to
stop the fight between Tybalt and Mercutio, and he gives in to
his rage and kills Tybalt. Juliet gives in to her passions and
allows them to lead her to deceitfulness. Having lost their
Daggers and swords symbolize the external force of violence
internal struggles to the negative side of their natures, they can
in the play. Weapons are physical representations of
only come to a tragic end. Their love is ultimately poisonous to
masculinity, rage and hatred, and, sometimes, sexuality, but
them; it does not save them, "death eats up the plant," and the
their symbolic meaning is mostly constructed in scenes
earth becomes their tomb.
involving a large group of people. For the Capulet servants and
for Montague's kin, their swords align them with their
households. For Sampson, a sword represents masculinity.
"Draw if you be men," he demands in Act 1, Scene 1. Similarly,
Sun and Moon
when Mercutio draws his sword to fight Tybalt, he does so in
reaction to what he sees as Romeo's "dishonorable, vile
submission" to Tybalt. Later, when Romeo uses his sword to
The sun and moon symbolize constancy and fickleness. The
kill Tybalt, the idea that Juliet's beauty "hath made me
sun's regular rising and setting are a steady reminder of how
effeminate/And in my temper softened valor's steel" motivates
people's love should be manifested. The moon, on the other
him to commit murder. For Benvolio, who is more mild
hand, waxes and wanes, making it a suitable opposite for the
tempered than the other male characters, the men's use of
sun. Tension between the two depictions helps the audience
swords speaks to their ignorance and irresponsibility: "Part,
understand the main characters— especially Juliet—whom
fools!" he says. "You know not what you do."
Romeo compares to the sun.
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Romeo and Juliet Study Guide
Themes 27
Romeo and Juliet's classic scene takes place in moonlight, with
wedding, Juliet says, "Come, thou day in night,/For thou wilt lie
Juliet on a balcony and Romeo below, under "night's cloak."
upon the wings of night/Whiter than new snow upon a raven's
Romeo says Juliet is radiant like the sun, and when Romeo
back."
tries to swear by the moon, Juliet says he should not swear by
the "inconstant moon" but rather by himself. Afraid that he will
But a winged being with a heavy burden cannot fly. Dragged
wake up and realize that his time with Juliet has been a dream,
down by hatred, Romeo and Juliet cannot live for long as
Romeo says, "O blessed, blessed night! I am afeard,/Being in
married lovers, but their love does transform their characters.
night, all this is but a dream." The unreliable moonlight makes
They both mature from children to adults by becoming
him question the truth of what is happening.
husband and wife, by consummating their marriage, and by
trying to take control of their destinies. Through the characters
of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare exalts the power of love, but
he also points out that, without the blessing of authority, love is
m Themes
unsustainable.
Love and Marriage
Violence
The play explores love in multiple forms, including romantic
Violence drives the plot of Romeo and Juliet with as much, or
and familial. Love propels every action in the plot that is not
perhaps more, force as love. The violence explodes in verbal
motivated by its opposite: hatred. For love, Romeo and Juliet
threats, such as Sampson's in the opening scene, Tybalt's rage
defy authority, disrupt convention, and reject their family roles.
when a Montague dares to crash a Capulet party, and the
The hatred between Romeo's and Juliet's families is the
physical fights that occur throughout the play. It also takes the
strongest barrier to their love. This serves to illustrate the
form of self-harm, as the two lovers commit suicide. The play
central idea in the play: love dragged down by hatred cannot
consistently demonstrates the harm caused by violent
last. For example, Romeo's love of Juliet leads to Mercutio's
responses to problems. In addition, almost every instance of
death and Tybalt's murder. The friar's appreciation of Romeo
violence is accompanied by lewd references to sex; the more
and Juliet's love, and the value he places on it, leads to his
violent the situation, the more base the conversation. The
reckless plans, which result in the young lovers' deaths. The
exception to this rule comes when Capulet loses his temper on
friar's love for Romeo and Juliet is not powerful enough to
Juliet after she refuses to marry Paris. Capulet is angered
overcome the hatred embodied in the war between the
almost to the point of violence, but Shakespeare preserves the
families.
righteousness of fatherly love despite Capulet's severity with
his daughter.
Shakespeare's use of imagery, coming most often through
dialogue between Romeo and Juliet, fortifies the idea that love
Shakespeare uses characterization to make it clear that violent
bearing the burden of hate cannot thrive. Before Romeo meets
emotions are as dangerous as violent deeds. In Act 2, Scene 4,
Juliet at the Capulet's party, he is already heavy-spirited and
Mercutio and Benvolio speak about Tybalt, who has challenged
weighed down by an unreturned love with "much to do with
Romeo to a duel. As much as Romeo's friends show true
hate." Romeo tells Mercutio he is too sad to "soar with his
loyalty and love for him, Benvolio and Mercutio can barely
[Cupid's] light feathers." The image of love carried on wings is
contain their excitement over the prospect of a fight, knowing
sustained as Romeo secretly watches Juliet at her bedroom
it could lead to Romeo's death. They make fun of Romeo;
window and refers to her as an "angel" and a "winged
referring to Romeo's depression over Rosaline, Mercutio says
messenger." When Juliet asks him how he was able to climb
of his friend, "He's already dead!" In the same conversation,
over the high wall, Romeo says, "With love's light wings did I
Mercutio and Benvolio divulge background information about
o'erperch these walls." In Act 3, Scene 2, after Romeo and
the character of Tybalt, and the audience finds out that he has
Juliet are married but before they have consummated their
a significant reputation for swordsmanship and fighting. Later,
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Romeo and Juliet Study Guide
Themes 28
through an argument between Mercutio and Benvolio, the
death. For violating these boundaries, he bears a part in the
audience learns how easily their anger can trigger violence.
young lovers' demise. Shakespeare does not choose for him to
be condemned by the law, implying that religious authority is
Prejudice and a lack of communication play a strong role in
not as definitive as the other types of authority in the play.
causing violence. Throughout the play members of the Capulet
and Montague households assume the worst of their
Lord Capulet wields social and parental authority, though he
counterparts in the other family. Tybalt assumes that Romeo
allows his decisions to be influenced by Paris. In Act 1, Scene 1,
came disguised to the party to mock his family. Mercutio
he tells Paris that Juliet is too young to be married, but Paris
assumes that Romeo refuses to fight Tybalt because of
argues with him and changes his mind. Later in the play, Lord
weakness. Paris assumes that Romeo has come to the Capulet
Capulet says Juliet is too much in mourning over the death of
crypt to desecrate the bodies. In each case preconceived
Tybalt to be married, and again, Paris's presence changes Lord
ideas motivate the character to respond aggressively. This
Capulet's mind. Every time Juliet rebels against her parents,
emphasizes that the failure to communicate openly can be
her emotional state mirrors the mental state her father was in
fatal.
before he was influenced by Paris. This implies that Paris has
emotional, political, or social authority over Lord Capulet, who,
in choosing to yield to Paris's authority, forfeits his parental
Authority
authority. If it were not for Paris, who represents social
pressures, Lord Capulet would be a doting, compassionate
father.
Shakespeare builds the theme of authority by showing how
each character wields his or her power over others.
In counterpoint to these characters, neither Romeo nor Juliet
wants power over the other. In fact, each one seeks to give the
other authority. It has no place in their loving relationship.
The prince, representing the ideas of justice and law, has the
highest level of authority over the other characters. His words
are the voice of reason. He is never swayed by emotion, even
when his own kinsman, Mercutio, is killed. He recognizes the
Youth and Age
truth about violence. He says that rage is "pernicious" and
weapons are "mistempered," or made for evil purposes, and he
works for peace. He judges fairly and banishes Romeo instead
Much of the tension in the drama stems from clashes between
of sentencing him to death. At the end of the play, the prince
the dispositions of young characters versus the expectations
issues the final proclamation about the friar's innocence,
of older ones. Even though the older characters are tempered
setting the law above religious authority.
versions of the younger characters, they show evidence of
possessing the same passions they consistently urge the
Friar Lawrence represents religious authority. As a spiritual
young to overcome. Lord Capulet and Tybalt's rage at the
counselor, he is the voice of wisdom. He encourages Romeo to
masquerade ball are similar, yet Lord Capulet calls Tybalt a
be moderate in love and to see blessings when Romeo sees
"saucy boy," seeming to forget that he reached for a sword
only the negative in his situation. The friar delivers a core
himself when he saw Montague earlier that day.
message: humankind is both good and evil, and "where the
worser is predominant," it will destroy the individual. The friar is
Juliet and the older nurse's relationship mirrors the one
manipulated by fate, and through his actions he gives fate the
between Romeo and the older friar. Juliet and the nurse are
power to doom the lovers. This happens because the friar tries
alike in nature, both romantic and enthusiastic about love.
to step outside the boundaries of his religious authority. He is
However, the nurse is more practical, likely through
not content to be only a spiritual source of guidance to Romeo
experience, something she cannot give to Juliet. When she
and Juliet. He tampers with their lives and tries to carve a path
advises Juliet to marry Paris after Romeo is banished, they
for them, concocting lies and schemes to thwart secular
clash. The friar and Romeo are alike in nature, both poetic and
customs. He helps Romeo sneak around the law of
lofty. The friar berates Romeo in Act 2, Scene 3, telling him that
banishment, and he helps Juliet outwit her family and fake her
confusion creates more confusion: "riddling confession finds
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Romeo and Juliet Study Guide
but riddling shift." Yet the friar never considers speaking the
truth as a resolution to any of Romeo and Juliet's problems. It
is as if he expects Romeo to be wiser than himself.
Identity
Before Juliet meets Romeo, her identity is not called into
question. She is comfortable performing the expectations
required of her in the roles of daughter and Capulet family
member, hoping neither for a marriage nor a change of identity.
Because she has never had to define herself, she sheds her
old identity easily after meeting Romeo. The audience
understands this when she says, "Deny thy father and refuse
thy name,/Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,/And I'll no
longer be a Capulet."
In the play's beginning, Romeo is seeking a relationship with
Rosaline. When that fails he loses his sense of self. Romeo
regains his identity through love for Juliet. Shakespeare
contrasts Romeo's qualities and pursuits against the
dispositions of his friends, Mercutio and Benvolio, and his
enemy, Tybalt. Unlike these characters Romeo does not
actively engage in the old prejudices and hatred between the
Montagues and Capulets. Romeo strikes out for the Capulet
party, not to embrace his role as a Montague but as a means of
shedding the past and stepping into manhood. Tragically, the
characters who are still under the influence of the feud prevent
him from growing into his new identity as Juliet's husband.
e Suggested Reading
McEachern, Claire, ed. The Cambridge Companion to
Shakespearean Tragedy. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2013.
Print.
Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. Ed. Burton Raffel.
New Haven: Yale UP, 2004. Print. Annotated Shakespeare.
Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet: Modern English
Version Side-by-Side with Full Original Text. Ed. Alan Durband.
Woodbury: Barron's, 1985. Print. Shakespeare Made Easy Ser.
White, R.S., ed. Romeo and Juliet: Contemporary Critical
Copyright © 2018 Course Hero, Inc.
Suggested Reading 29
Essays. New York: Palgrave, 2001. Print. New Casebooks Ser.