| Prologue | SONNET#1!: summary of the play |
| Act 1 Scene 1 | Sampson and Gregory joke about sexfeud/rivalry/violence/fightProse vs. poetry (class)Cankered-bud-motif (sickness)Romeo’s lovesickness (motif)Benvolio montague concernOxymorons |
| Act 1 Scene 2 | Paris and Capulet speak of Juliet and her marriage, Paris wants to marry Juliet and Capulet denies his request because she’s too youngJuliet is still 13, not yet 14 (age allowed to be married)They had many children but Juliet’s the last one, MOTIF: DEAD CHILDREN (HOPE)Romeo and Benvolio speak of Rosaline and Romeo’s infatuation with herRosaline is Romeo’s loveCure seems to involve illness, infection, and poisonPharmakon = greek word for drug (poison, remedy)Foxglove (drug, can be a remedy but can also kill you) A servant comes to Romeo and tells him to read the letter with the invites, (bc he is illiterate) HE SEES ROSALINE ON THE LIST, AND HE WANTS TO GO |
| Act 1 Scene 3 | We meet Juliet, lady capulet speaks of marriage to Juliet, we get to know more of the Nurse’s character |
| Act 1 scene 4 | Romeo, Benvolio, and Mercutio arrive at the partyRomeo explains his dream in which he thinks something bad will happen that leads to his death, but still goes to the party (FORESHADOW)Meeting Mercutio, queen mab speech, he jokes about sex |
| Act 1 scene 5 | Capulet welcomes his guests to the party. Romeo quickly spots Juliet and is captivated. At the same time, Tybalt spots Romeo and recognizes him as a Montague. He points him out to Capulet, who tells Tybalt to let it go—tonight is not the night for fighting. Romeo, meanwhile, woos Juliet, and the two share a kiss (sonnet #2). After they part, Romeo finds out from the Nurse that Juliet is a Capulet, and Juliet later finds out from the Nurse that Romeo is a Montague. |
| Act 2, Scene 1 | Romeo decides to return to the Capulet houseBenvolio and Mercutio want Romeo to follow them, Mercutio making fun of Romeo, but eventually leave. |
| Act 2, Scene 2 | Romeo meets Juliet at her bedroom window, balcony scene, she admits she loves him to herself (dramatic irony)They decide to get married |
| Act 2, Scene 3 | First time we meet Friar Lawrence, Romeo goes to him to marry Romeo and Juliet, he agrees because it would end the feud between the Montagues and CapuletsLots of foreshadowing and theme development brought by metaphors and antitheses |
| Act 2, Scene 4 | Mercutio makes fun of Romeo and his love, Mercutio and Benvolio speak of Tybalt’s challenge to Romeo, Mercutio makes fun of TybaltMercutio makes sex jokes, and so does Romeo (they try to outdo each other’s puns)Mercutio makes sex jokes to Nurse too, they say things that have sexual double-meaningsNurse is very offended, and she warns Romeo to not take advantage of JulietNurse and Romeo make arrangements for their wedding |
| Act 2, Scene 5 | Nurse leaves for a long time, there’s missing time, and when she arrives, she complains that she’s old and she’s been through a lotAfter some toiling and Juliet growing increasingly impatient, Nurse says that they’ll be married this afternoon in Friar Lawrence’s cell |
| Act 3, Scene 1 (comedy turns into tragedy) | Mercutio insults Tybalt, though Tybalt originally was seeking Romeo, but when Romeo refuses to fight, Tybalt fights and kills MercutioRomeo then kills Tybalt out of rageThe Montagues and Capulets come, so do the Prince and the officers, to know what happened, and Benvolio tells of the eventsThe prince banishes Romeo from Verona |
| Act 3 Scene 2 | Juliet fantasizes about sex with RomeoNurse comes and tells her that Romeo killed Tybalt, so he is banished, but misleads her for a while before that (supports the characterization that she is uneducated?) |
| Act 3 Scene 3 | Romeo hates the idea of being banished, for him it’s like getting killed, because for him life exists only in Verona with JulietRomeo tries to stab himself over Juliet’s emotional state (the Nurse enters to deliver the news)Friar Lawrence rebukes Romeo for suicide |
| Act 3 Scene 4 | Paris, capulet, and lady capulet decide that Juliet will marry Paris in three daysAs justification Capulet says to get rid of grief for Tybalt, but in reality he just wants to secure his fortune, and to do so he has to make sure he has an heir. |
| Act 3 Scene 5 | Romeo and Juliet have sex, Romeo leavesJuliet’s parents come and deliver the news of her marriage to ParisJuliet tells them she doesn’t want to marry, and Capulet freaks, neither Lady Capulet nor the Nurse can comfort her or offer adviceJuliet then seeks help from the Friar |
| Act 4 Scene 1 | Juliet seeks the Friar but finds Paris meeting with himParis leaves with a kissFriar and Juliet speak, Juliet will kill herself if he doesn’t find a solutionFriar has a plan, and gives Juliet the potion |
| Act 4 Scene 2 | Juliet begs forgiveness from CapuletCapulet decides to move the wedding up a day |
| Act 4 Scene 3 | Juliet drinks the potion, separates herself from her mother and the Nurse, double meanings highlight the fact that they betrayed her and she doesn’t trust them anymore |
| Act 4 Scene 4 | Nurse, Lady Capulet, and the serving men make last-minute preparations for the wedding (dramatic irony, because no wedding will occur) |
| Act 4 Scene 5 | The Nurse discovers Juliet dead, everyone enters in her chamber and “weep” over her death (fake)Friar Lawrence offers consolation over her “death” (dramatic irony)Peter and the musicians argue, and Peter insults and threatens them (humorously), but they don’t care |
| Act 5 Scene 1 | Balthasar deliver the news of Juliet’s death to Romeo, so he decides to kill himselfRomeo buys a drug that will kill him from the poor apothecary |
| Act 5 Scene 2 | Friar John tells Friar Lawrence that he couldn’t deliver the letter to Romeo because of the plague |
| Act 5 Scene 3 (final scene) | Paris+PAGE laments, → hidesRomeo and Balthasar enterRomeo threatens Balthasar, he leavesRomeo and Paris meet, they fightRomeo slays Paris, Paris wants to be buried with Juliet as a final death wishRomeo drags Paris into the cryptRomeo kills himself with the poison (famous last scene)Friar comes to Balthasar, then down to the burial, finds Paris and Romeo dead Juliet wakes up with the FriarFriar tells Juliet that Romeo and Paris are dead, tells Juliet to become a nunJuliet kills herself with the daggerThe watch enters with the PAGEPrince comes, Balthasar and Friar Lawrence get taken into custodyMontagues and Capulets and everyone entersFriar summarizes the acts of the play, confessesCapulets and Montagues make upPrince’s final speech, some will be forgiven and some not (death count 222, which might mean that the feud between the two families will be over?) |
Romeo and Juliet SCENE BY SCENE SUMMARY
September 4, 2019