Romeo and Juliet

​​In a nutshell

Romeo and Juliet is a story about fate, conflict and the titular "star-cross'd lovers". One of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies, you have probably heard of this play already. Or maybe you haven’t paid much attention to it! Either way, in this lesson you’ll be able to review the plot, the main characters and their relationships, and what themes come into play.

Plot summary

Prologue

The Chorus introduces the setting, Verona, and the existing feud between two important families. They also warn us that a pair of star-crossed lovers will die, and with this bury their parents' strife.

Act I

The Montagues and the Capulets hate each other, a hatred which the Prince wants to put an end to. 

We meet Romeo, who is in unrequited love with a woman named Rosaline. His friends, Benvolio and Mercutio, listen to him and convince him to go to a ball with them to cheer up.

We meet Lord Capulet, who refuses to marry his daughter Juliet to a nobleman called Paris, at least for now. He is the one throwing that big masquerade ball, and invites Paris, so he can meet Juliet properly. 

When Romeo arrives at the ball, Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, is offended by Romeo’s presence at the ball for he is a Montague. But Lord Capulet allows Romeo to stay, which angers Tybalt even more. He vows revenge on Romeo. 

In the final scene, Scene 5, Juliet and Romeo meet for the first time and they fall in love. After that, they discover their families are sworn enemies. 

ACT II

Scene 2 is the famous balcony scene, where Romeo and Juliet speak. They confess their love and vow to set aside their family loyalty to get married in secret. Friar Laurence helps them with this, believing the marriage might help end the feud between the families. They get married in Scene 6. The only ones who know are the Nurse and the Friar.

Act III

Tybalt is looking for Romeo to duel him, but Romeo refuses to, for he is Juliet’s cousin. He ends up fighting Mercutio instead. Romeo gets in the way, allowing Tybalt to kill Mercutio. Romeo feels responsible and, in revenge, kills Tybalt himself (Scene 1). The Prince exiles Romeo as punishment.

Juliet grieves her cousin, but still loves her husband. Romeo goes to Mantua, away from Verona. Lord Capulet decides to accept Paris' proposal this time and gives him Juliet's hand in marriage, which she refuses completely, causing a rift in her relationship with her father (Scene 5).

Act IV

Juliet tells the Friar, who is to marry her to Paris, what is going on, and the Friar comes up with a plan: to give Juliet a potion that will make her appear dead, and allow Romeo to come and pick her up once she wakes. But the message he sends to Romeo never arrives, and so Romeo is unaware of the plan. Juliet takes the potion in Scene 3, and is discovered by the Nurse and believed to be dead by everybody in Scene 5. 

Act V

Romeo hears about Juliet's death and goes back to Verona with a poison to kill himself. When he arrives to the tomb (Scene 3) he sees Juliet's body, drinks the poison and dies. When Juliet wakes up, she realises what happened, takes Romeo's dagger and stabs herself, dying alongside him. The families arrive, the Friar explains what happened, and finally they make peace.

Characters

Relationships​

​​Romeo $$\leftrightarrow$$ Juliet

They love each other, and this love will mean their deaths. Romeo does not appear to care that Juliet is a Capulet, but Juliet does, at first, care about Romeo's family. 

When Romeo kills Tybalt in revenge for Mercutio's death, Juliet's first instinct is to hate him. But she immediately stops, for he is her husband, and even though she is grieving her cousin Tybalt's death, she stands by his side. 

When Romeo is exiled, he believes being away from Juliet is a fate worse than death. And so, when he believes she is dead, he doesn't doubt it, and runs back to Verona to die by her side.

Romeo $$\leftrightarrow$$ Mercutio $$\leftrightarrow$$ Benvolio

Romeo's friendship with both Benvolio, his cousin, and Mercutio, is an important part of the plot. They are the ones who accompany him to the Capulet's ball, who tease him about his new lover, and later who get in the way to save him from Tybalt.

Juliet $$\leftrightarrow$$ Nurse

They have a loving relationship, similar to a mother and daughter. The Nurse does not approve of Juliet and Romeo's love, but she helps Juliet by being the messenger between them. However, when push comes to shove, she advises Juliet to marry Paris. Nonetheless, the Nurse defends Juliet and admonishes Lord Capulet on his behaviour. In the end, she doesn't realise Juliet is still alive, and is the one who finds her "dead" body.

Juliet $$\leftrightarrow$$ Lord Capulet

Lord Capulet is very protective of Juliet, as he shows in the first act when he says that she is too young to be wed, and even later when he accepts her marriage to Paris as a way to ease her grief over Tybalt's death. But when he is refused by Juliet, he becomes furious and threatens to disown her.

Themes

Love​

From the beginning of the play, we are told this is a story about "lovers". We see love in different situations: 

• Unrequited love: Romeo is in love with Rosaline, who does not love him back. 
• Love at first sight: Romeo and Juliet fall for each other when they meet at the ball, without even knowing who the other is.
• Friendship: Benvolio takes care of Romeo; Mercutio takes Romeo's place in the fight against Tybalt; Romeo chooses to avenge Mercutio and kills Tybalt.
• Parental love: between Lord Capulet and Juliet, and also between the Nurse and Juliet.
• Dangerous love: Juliet's love for Romeo leads her to defy her parents and, ultimately, leads them both to their deaths.

Fate

In the prologue, Romeo and Juliet are said to be "star-cross'd lovers" and "death-marked". As the audience, we know that they will die, and nothing they do will stop their deaths. This is foreshadowed all throughout the play:

• Romeo talks about an ominous dream that makes him worried about the future in Act 1, Scene 4.
• Mercutio curses them as he dies in Act 3, Scene 1: "A plague o' both your houses!".
• Juliet says Romeo looks "As one dead in the bottom of a tomb" in Act 3, Scene 5 before tragedy strikes.
  

Fate is also intertwined with the use of time in this play. Everything happens in no more than five days. There is no time to fix miscommunications, things happen very quickly, and this creates momentum – an unstoppable series of events that leads to the destined tragedy. 

Conflict

First introduced in the prologue as well: the Montagues and the Capulets hate each other, even their servants do. The fights in the play drive this point home, as does Tybalt's hatred, in particular. 

But that is not the only conflict in Romeo and Juliet:

• Inner character conflict: happens when Juliet realises Romeo is a Montague. 
• Inner family conflict: happens when Juliet defies Lord Capulet and refuses to marry Paris. 
  

Key quotations