Romeo and juliet

1. Romeo and juliet Summary notes

2. ACT one, scene one • The street fight between Capulet and Montague servants • Prince Escalus threatens the heads of both households with death if there is any more fighting • Benvolio finds out what is making Romeo depressed—he is in love with a girl named Rosaline who has vowed to never marry • Benvolio recommends that Romeo move on and “examine other beauties”

3. Act one, scene two • Paris asks Capulet if he can marry Juliet—Capulet says if Juliet likes him, he’ll approve of the marriage • Servant is asked to invite people to Capulet ball, but can’t read—runs into Romeo and friends in the street, who read the guest list and decide to crash the ball

4. Act one, scene three • Lady Capulet asks Juliet is interested in marrying Count Paris—she says she hasn’t thought about getting married, but will take a look at Paris

5. Act one, scene four • The Capulet boys are on their way to the party • Mercutio makes his Queen Mab speech and his friends think he’s getting a little carried away • Romeo is still depressed

6. Act one, scene five • The party! • Romeo spots Juliet and it’s love at first sight • Tybalt spots Romeo and is ANGRY! • Capulet tells Tybalt to relax and not ruin his party • Juliet and Romeo have a private conversation and share a kiss • They both realize they have just fallen in love with their greatest enemy

7. Literary focus: character foils • A foil is a character that highlights, through sharp contrast, another character’s personality or attitudes. The characters are usually similar in some way, such as age, gender, position in society, etc., but their personalities are very different.

8. foils In Act One, who might be a foil for: • Romeo? • Tybalt? • Lady Capulet? • Lord Capulet?

9. Act two, scene one • Romeo ditches his friends and they are looking for him • They yell lots of inappropriate comments about Rosaline trying to get Romeo to appear, not realizing he is now in love with Juliet • The friends go on their way

10. Act two, scene two • THE FAMOUS BALCONY SCENE! • Romeo finds his way into the Capulets’ yard and sees Juliet at the window talking to herself about her feelings for Romeo • Romeo interrupts Juliet and she is embarrassed and shocked to see him • She tells him he’ll be killed if he’s caught • They profess their love for each other and make plans to get married

11. Act two, scene three • Romeo seeks out his mentor, a priest named Friar Laurence • Friar Laurence is collecting herbs to make medicines and makes a speech about how they can be used for good or bad purposes • The friar notices Romeo looks like he hasn’t slept all night and is cheerful, so he assumes he met up with Rosaline • Romeo tells him he’s now in love with Juliet and asks if the Friar will marry them • The friar is shocked that he’s switched girls so easily, but agrees to marry them because it might bring the two families together

12. Act two, scene four • Mercutio and Benvolio still don’t know where Romeo is • Tybalt has challenged Romeo, because he’s still mad about the party • Romeo shows up and the boys hang out in the street talking trash • The Nurse shows up to message between Romeo and Juliet • The boys make fun of her, but Romeo manages to get her aside and tell her when and where Juliet should show up to be married

13. Act two, scene five • The nurse returns to Juliet and takes her time getting around to deliver the message • The Nurse is excited for Juliet and is going to help the couple spend their wedding night together

14. Act two, scene six • Friar Laurence tells Romeo to calm down a little • Juliet arrives and they can barely keep their hands off each other, so the Friar knows he needs to marry them quickly

15. Literary focus: PLOT Shakespearean drama is broken down into five acts • Act 1 establishes the setting, and introduces characters and conflicts • Act 2 advances the plot and builds suspense • Act 3 includes the climax, or turning point, in the story, when one or more conflicts are moving toward resolution (for better or for worse) • Act 4 usually moves quickly, as consequences for actions in Act 3 start to set in • Act 5 is the resolution, where all conflicts are solved; in tragedy, this scene includes multiple deaths

16. Act three, scene one • Montagues and Capulets meet in the street; Tybalt is looking for Romeo • Romeo refuses to fight Tybalt, so Mercutio does because he feels Romeo is being a coward • Romeo tries to part them and Mercutio is stabbed because he couldn’t defend himself • Mercutio dies, so Romeo kills Tybalt and flees • Benvolio explains what happened to the Prince and the parents • The Prince banishes Romeo

17. Act three, scene two • Juliet is waiting for her love • Nurse comes in and tells her about the brawl • Juliet grapples with her conflicting feelings about Romeo now • The nurse agrees to find Romeo and bring him to Juliet

18. Act three, scene three • Friar Laurence tells Romeo of his banishment and he is devastated • The nurse arrives with news of Juliet’s grief, which makes Romeo feel worse and consider suicide • The Friar convinces Romeo to go to Juliet as planned, then flee to Mantua until he can find a way to announce their marriage

19. Act three, scene four • Lord Capulet is speaking to Count Paris about how Tybalt’s death has interfered with the wooing of Juliet • He offers to have the wedding Thursday, a few days away • Paris is delighted • Lady Capulet is told to inform Juliet

20. Act three, scene five • The Wedding Night • Romeo flees at daylight • Lady Capulet comes to Juliet to tell her about her upcoming wedding • Juliet refuses, Lady Capulet is mad, Lord Capulet is mad and says she’d better obey • The Nurse agrees with Juliet’s parents, that the best thing will be to forget about Romeo and start over with Paris • Juliet decides to seek advice from Friar Laurence

21. Act four, scene one • Paris and Friar Laurence are discussing the wedding • Juliet interrupts and says she is there to make confession so Friar Laurence tells Paris they need privacy • As soon as they are alone, Juliet cries to the Friar about Romeo’s banishment and the upcoming marriage; she threatens to kill herself if he can’t help her • The Friar gives her the potion to make her appear dead for 42 hours

22. Act four, scene two • Lord Capulet is planning the wedding when Juliet appears • Juliet pretends she is sorry for being disobedient and will now do whatever her father says, which makes him very happy • Juliet even asks the nurse to help her pick her clothes and jewelry for the wedding tomorrow

23. Act four, scene three • Juliet dismisses the nurse, telling her she wants to be alone to pray and that the nurse can help with the wedding provisions • Juliet has many misgivings about taking the potion, but does it anyway

24. Act four, scene 4 • The household is buzzing as everyone prepares for the wedding • A happy scene, lots of joking between servants, nurse, and the Capulet parents **(We didn’t read any of this very short scene)

25. Act four, scene five • The nurse finds Juliet’s “body” • Everyone is devastated by Juliet’s “death”

26. Act 4 paragraph prompt • Read the passages that show the reactions of the Capulets, Paris, and the Nurse to Juliet’s death. • Do you feel sympathy for any of these people when they express grief over Juliet’s death? If so, which ones? And why or why not?

27. Act five, scene one • Balthasar tells Romeo that Juliet is “dead” • Romeo visits the poor apothecary to buy deadly poison so he can kill himself next to his love

28. Act five, scene two • Friar Laurence finds out that Romeo never got his letters because his messenger was quarantined due to the plague • His new plan is to greet Juliet as she awakes in the tomb and keep her in his cell until he can contact Romeo

29. Act five, scene three • Paris goes to the Capulet tomb to leave flowers for Juliet • Romeo arrives and Paris assumes he’s up to no good, so he challenges Romeo; Romeo ends up killing Paris • Paris asks to be lain by Juliet’s side, and Romeo does it because he remembers Paris wanted to marry Juliet too • Romeo notices how “alive” Juliet looks, but takes poison anyway

30. Act five, scene three (continued) • Friar Laurence arrives to meet Juliet but finds Balthasar, so has a bad feeling about the situation • He sees Romeo’s body just as Juliet wakes up • The Friar chickens out and wants Juliet to get out of there with him • She refuses, tries to poison herself, then uses Romeo’s dagger to kill herself • The watchmen arrive and find the bodies of Paris, Romeo, and Juliet

31. Act five, scene three (continued) • We find out that Lady Montague has died of grief over Romeo’s banishment • The Friar tells the whole story, admitting that he and the Nurse knew the whole thing, and offers his life if they think he is guilty for what happened • The Capulets and Montagues agree to be friends, and the fathers each agree to raise pure gold statues of each others’ children, so everyone will remember them