Romeo and Juliet Scene Summaries

Act 1 scene 1 summary -A street fight breaks out between the. Capulets and Montagues which is broken up by the ruler of Verona, Prince Escalus. The prince threatens both families with death if they fight again.A melancholy Romeo enters the scene and is questioned by his cousin and friend Benvolio, who learns Romeo is sad because of “unrequited love” (love that is not returned or rewarded)
Act 1 scene 2 summary In a conversation with Capulet, Count Paris declares his wish to marry Juliet. Capulet invites him to a party that night.Capulet gives a servant the guest list for the party and asks him to send out the invitations. The servant cannot read the list, so he asks Romeo and Benvolio for help. The boys find out that Rosaline, who Romeo loves is invited, and they decide to go to the party too.
Act 1 scene 3 summary Lady Capulet tells Juliet of Count Paris’s marriage proposal and praises him extravagantly. Juliet says that she had not even considered marriage yet but will think about Paris as a possible husband if her parents want her to.
Act 1 scene 4 summary Romeo and Benvolio approach the Capulets’ party with their friend Mercutio and others, all wearing disguises customarily donned by “maskers” Romeo is anxious because of an ominous dream. Mercutio mocks him with a speech (queen mab speech) about a dream- giving queen of faries.
Act 1 scene 5 summary Capulet welcomes the disguised Romeo and his friends. Romeo, watching over the dance is caught by the beauty of Juliet. Overhearing Romeo ask about her, Tybalt recognizes his voice and is enraged at the intrusion. Romeo then meets Juliet and they fall in love. It is not until the two are separated that they realize they belong to enemy houses.
Act 2 Scene 1 Romeo finds himself so in love with Juliet that he can’t leave her. He scales a wall and enters Capulet’s garden. Meanwhile Mercutio and Benvolio look for him in vain (Mercutio makes fun of him).
Act 2 Scene 2 Balcony Scene!From Capulet’s garden Romeo overhears Juliet express her love for him. When he answers her, they acknowledge their love for each other and their desire to be married.
Act 2 Scene 3 Determined to marry Juliet, Romeo hurries to Friar Lawrence. The Friar agrees to marry them, expressing his hope that the marriage will end the feud between their families.
Act 2 Scene 4 Mercutio and Benvolio meet the newly enthusiastic Romeo in the street. Romeo defeats Mercutio in a battle of wits. The Nurse finds Romeo, and he gives her a message for Juliet: Meet me at Friar Lawrence’s cell this afternoon and we will there be married.
Act 2 Scene 5 Juliet waits impatiently for the Nurse to return. Her impatience grows when the Nurse, having returned, is slow to deliver Romeo’s message. Finally, Juliet learns that if she wants to marry Romeo, she need only to go to Friar Lawrence’s cell that afternoon.
Act 2 Scene 6 Juliet meets Romeo at Friar Lawrence’s cell. After expressing their mutual love, they exit with the Friar to be married.
Act 3 Scene 1 (swing act) Mercutio and Benvolio encounter Tybalt on the street. As soon as Romeo arrives, Tybalt tries to provoke him to fight. When Romeo refuses, Mercutio answers Tylablt’s cahllenge. They duel and Mercutio is fatally wounded. Romeo then avenges Mercutio’s death by killing Tybalt in a duel. Benvolio tries to persuade the Prince to excuse Romeo’s slaying of Tylablt; however, the Capulets demand that Romeo pay with his life; the Prince instead banishes Romeo from Verona.
Act 3 Scene 2 Juliet longs for Romeo to come to her. The Nurse arrives with news that Romeo has killed Tybalt and has been banished. Juliet at first feels grief for the loss of her cousin Tybalt and verbally attacks Romeo, but then renounces those feelings and devotes herself to grief for Romeo’s banishment. The Nurse promises to bring Romeo to Juliet that night.
Act 3 scene 3 Friar Lawrence tells Romeo that his punishment for killing Tybalt is banishment not death. Romeo responds that death is preferable to banishment from Juliet. When the Nurse enters and tells Romeo that Juliet is grief-stricken, Romeo attempts suicide. Friar Lawrence then says that Romeo may spend the night with Juliet and leave for exile in Mantua the next morning. The Friar promises that Bathlasar will bring Romeo news of Verona and suggests that Romeo can expect that in time the Prince may relent and allow him to return to Verona.
Act 3 Scene 4 Paris again approaches Capulet about marrying Juliet. Capulet, saying that Juliet will do as she is told, promises Paris that she will marry him in three days.
Act 3 Scene 5 Romeo and Juliet separate at first light of day. Almost immediately her mother comes to announce that Juliet must marry Paris. When Juliet refuses, her father becomes enraged and vows to put her out on the streets. The Nurse recommends that Juliet forget about the banished Romeo and regard Paris as a more desirable husband. Juliet is secretly outraged that the Nurse’s advice and decides to seek Friar Lawrence’s help.
Act 4 Scene 1 Paris is talking with Friar Lawrence about the coming wedding when Juliet arrives. After Paris leaves, she threatens suicide if Friar Lawrence cannot save her from marrying Paris. Friar Lawrence gives her a potion that will make her appear as if she is dead the morning of the wedding. He assures her that when she awakes in the vault, Romeo will be there to take her away.
Act 4 Scene 2 Capulet energetically directs preparations for the wedding. When Juliet returns from Friar Lawrence and pretends to have learned obedience, Capulet is so delighted that he moves the wedding up to the next day and goes off to tell Paris the new date
Act 4 Scene 3 Juliet sends the Nurse away for the night. After facing her terror at the prospect of awakening in her family’s burial vault, Juliet drinks the potion that Friar Lawrence has given to her.
Act 4 Scene 4 The Capulets and the Nurse stay up all night to get ready for the wedding. Capulet, hearing Paris approach with musicians, orders the Nurse to wake Juliet.
Act 4 Scene 5 The Nurse finds Juliet in a deathlike trance caused by the Friar’s potion and announces Juliet’s death. Juliet’s parents and Paris join the Nurse in lamentation. Friar Lawrence interrupts them and begins to arrange Juliet’s funeral. The scene closes with an exchange of wordplay between Capulet’s servant Peter and Paris’s musicians.
Act 5 Scene 1 Romeo’s man, Balthasar, arrives in Mantua with news of Juliet’s death. Romeo sends him to hire horses for their immediate return to Verona. Romeo then buys poison so that he can join Juliet in death in the Capulets’ burial vault.
Act 5 Scene 2 Friar John enters, bringing with him the letter that he was to have delivered to Romeo. He tells why he was unable to deliver the letter. Friar Lawrence anxiously goes to the tomb to be there when Juliet comes out of her trance.
Act 5 Scene 3 Paris visits Juliet’s tomb and, when Romeo arrives, challenges him. Romeo and Paris fight and Paris is killed. Romeo, in the tomb, takes poison, dying as he kisses Juliet. As Friar Lawrence enters the tomb, Juliet awakes to find Romeo lying dead. Frightened by a noise, the Friar flees the tomb. Juliet kills herself with Romeo’s dagger. Alerted by Paris’s page, the watch arrives and finds the bodies. When the Prince, Capulets and Montague arrive, Friar Lawrence gives an account of the marriage of Romeo and Juliet. Their deaths lead Montague and Capulet to declare that the families’ hostility is at an end
Specifics of the Plan -she will go home and pretend to have learned obedience and thus agree to the wedding-the night before the wedding, she will make sure that she is alone, then drink a vial that will make her appear dead for 48 hours, and then go to bed-when she is found dead, she will be brought to the ancient vault to be buried-when she wakes up in the tomb, Romeo will be there waiting for her and they can run off to Mantua together
Nurse Delay #1 She delays in telling Juliet that Romeo will meet her at Friar Lawrence’s cell that afternoon to be married. The Nurse complains about her aching back and how tired she is but in reality this is not her real reason for delay. She wants to be involved in the excitement of a marriage and in this situation, by having the news, she has the power. She is ultimately trying to build up the suspense so that the news seems even greater!
Nurse Delay #2 She delays in telling Juliet that Romeo killed Tybalt and has been banished. Though it is easy to say that she is trying to spare Juliet’s feelings, this is not the case. We get the sense that the one fatal flaw of the Nurse is that she cannot control her communication in times of chaos, she is child-like when under pressure in the way that she can’t verbalize her account of the situation. This causes her to mix up her words saying things backwards like that Romeo was killed and all sorts of incorrect information. It takes her 50 lines to be able to get it out correctly!
September 3, 2019