Act 5, Scenes 1-2 — "Hast thou no letters to me[?

]"

A Comprehension & Close Reading

1 When Balthasar turns up, Romeo has a string of questions for him. What does
this indicate about his state of mind?
2 Why does Romeo seek out a particular apothecary? Does Romeo succeed in his
mission?
3 What happens to the letter Friar Laurence sent Romeo explaining that Juliet is
not really dead?
4 What does the friar do upon learning the letter’s fate?

B Shakespeare's World: Apothecaries

A n apothecary was someone who made and

prescribed medicine, similar to a chemist
today. Apothecaries also sold spices, plants,
oils, or chemicals, and the ingredients for cos-
metics and perfumes.

Doctors were expensive in Shakespeare's time,

so people often went to apothecaries for treat-
ment. Many apothecaries had some medical
training, but they were not seen as profession-
al people. Doctors were. Thus, apothecaries
charged a fee, but could not charge as much
as doctors. Sometimes priests or monks treated
poor people for free, using similar medicines.

In Romeo and Juliet Friar Lawrence clearly makes herbal medicines. Apothecaries often first pre-
scribed vinegar to patients to prevent infection. Other medicines included arsenic, sage, dried
toad, lavender, rose, bay leaf, wormwood, liquorice and mint. It was against the law to sell
poison, as the apothecary in Act 5, Scene 1 tells Romeo. However, apothecaries had access to
various poisonous substances and people were prepared to pay a lot for poison.

C Exam Practice — Analysing Themes and Character

How does Shakespeare present Romeo in Act 5, Scene 1? Is Romeo acting
Q out of free will, or has he become a puppet of his own fate?

Alexander Myers
English, Grades 7-12
agzmyers@gmail.com
ANSWER KEY

Act 5, Scenes 1-2 — "Hast thou no letters to me[?]"

A Comprehension & Close Reading
1 When Balthasar turns up, Romeo has a string of questions for him. What does
this indicate about his state of mind?

The way in which he rattles off a series of questions shows how cut off he has been from
all sources of news, how isolated he feels, and how desperate he is to know more.

2 Why does Romeo seek out a particular apothecary? Does Romeo succeed in his
mission?

The friar’s message does not go through to Romeo. Balthasar brings Romeo news that
Juliet is dead. Romeo plans to commit suicide to be with Juliet. He remembers an apoth-
ecary that seemed so poor Romeo believes he will sell him poison with which to kill
himself:

Noting this penury, to myself I said

‘An if a man did need a poison now,
Whose sale is present death in Mantua,
Here lives a caitiff wretch would sell it him.

Despite its being illegal, the apothecary does sell Romeo the poison.

3 What happens to the letter Friar Laurence sent Romeo explaining that Juliet is
not really dead?

Friar John was supposed to deliver the letter for Friar Laurence. However, he and an-
other friar were quarantined after they were suspected of having been exposed to the
plague, and he brings the letter back to Friar Laurence.

4 What does the friar do upon learning the letter’s fate?

Not knowing Romeo has learned of Juliet’s “death” by other means, the friar plans to
release Juliet from the tomb and hide her in his cell until he can get word to Romeo to
come for her.

Alexander Myers
English, Grades 7-12
agzmyers@gmail.com
ANSWER KEY

Act 5, Scenes 1-2 — "Hast thou no letters to me[?]"

C Exam Practice — Analysing Themes and Character
How does Shakespeare present Romeo in Act 5, Scene 1? Is Romeo acting
Q out of free will, or has he become a puppet of his own fate?

Students' opinions; answers may vary.

Teacher's Guide / Additional Information:

Act 5, Scene 1 — Summary:

In Mantua, Romeo says that he senses joyful news coming his way and describes a
dream in which Juliet brings him back to life with a kiss. Romeo’s servant Balthasar en-
ters, and Romeo asks if there is news from Verona, explaining that he is especially eager
to know if Juliet is well. Apologizing for being the bearer of bad news, Balthasar reveals
that Juliet has died and now “sleeps in Capels' monument.” Romeo curses the stars and
orders Balthasar to prepare the horses so that he may leave for Verona. Balthasar hesi-
tates, claiming that Romeo looks wild, but Romeo says that he is mistaken and urges
him once again to prepare the horses. With Balthasar gone, Romeo vows that he will
lie with Juliet later that night.

Romeo recalls that an impoverished apothecary lives nearby. He hopes that this man
might be desperate enough to give him some poison—the sale of which is punishable
by death in Mantua. After walking over to the Apothecary's house, Romeo asks him
whether he has any poisons that will cause a sure and immediate death. The Apoth-
ecary replies that he does possess such things but reminds Romeo that the sale of them
is forbidden. After Romeo insists that the Apothecary is too poor to refuse his money,
the Apothecary reluctantly gives in and sells Romeo a small vial of poison. Having ob-
tained his poison, Romeo declares that he now intends to travel to Juliet’s tomb and kill
himself.

Act 5, Scene 2 — Summary:

Friar Laurence is greeted by Friar John (the man who was supposed to take the letter
explaining the plan to Romeo). Friar Laurence asks how Romeo responded, and Friar
John explains that before he left Verona, he went to see another friar who was visiting
Alexander Myers
English, Grades 7-12
agzmyers@gmail.com
ANSWER KEY

Act 5, Scenes 1-2 — "Hast thou no letters to me[?]"

a house of the sick. The city suspected that the house might be infected with the plague
and quarantined it, refusing to let any of the occupants (including Friar John) leave.

Unable to deliver the letter himself, Friar John tried to give it to a messenger, but none
would take it for fear that they might spread the disease. Friar John gives the letter back
to Friar Laurence, who frustratedly explains that Friar John’s failure to deliver the letter
may have resulted in great harm. He orders Friar John to immediately go fetch an iron
crowbar. After Friar John departs, Friar Laurence says that he must now go to the tomb
by himself. He suspects Juliet will be angry when she realizes that Romeo is not there,
but the Friar reasons that he can send another letter to Romeo and simply hide Juliet in
his cell until Romeo can come fetch her.

After the family leaves the room, the musicians begin to pack up, realizing that they
are no longer needed. Peter enters and asks them to play him a happy song to ease his
grief. The musicians refuse, saying that it is not the proper time for such music. Peter
gets angry and exchanges insults with the musicians before stalking away. The musi-
cians decide to stick around in the hopes that they can have some of the lunch that will
be served.

Act 5, Scenes 1 and 2 — Analysis:

Fate and chance come together to shape the tragic final act of the play. The feeling that
the two lovers are fated to die is reinforced by the multiple ways in which the Friar’s
well-laid plan goes utterly wrong. By chance, Friar John is detained and unable to de-
liver the letter. By chance, Romeo’s servant Balthasar hears of Juliet’s death and delivers
the news to Romeo before Romeo learns of the Friar’s plan. By chance, Romeo lives near
an apothecary whose dire financial situation will persuade him to break the law and
sell Romeo poison. While it may be tempting to note all the ways the plan went awry
and assign blame accordingly, the point of this series of missteps and miscommunica-
tions is that no one individual is to blame. Life is unpredictable, and the play’s tragedy
is the result of a unique and complex combination of factors.

These scenes also remind us that the characters’ fates are shaped by the society in
which they live. The “infectious pestilence” that Friar John describes is the Black Plague,
an infectious disease that ravaged Europe and Asia and is believed to have killed over

Alexander Myers
English, Grades 7-12
agzmyers@gmail.com
half of Europe’s population. At the time, it was thought that the best way to prevent the
spread of plague was to quarantine suspected sick or contaminated individuals—this is
why the city temporarily prevents Friar John from leaving the infected house.

The Apothecary is another minor character whose hand is forced by the society in which
he lives. Though the Apothecary does not wish to break the law or to allow Romeo
to harm himself, his poverty makes him unable to refuse. Romeo even points out the
Apothecary’s paradoxical position in wanting to obey the laws of the very society that
forces him to be poor: “The world is not thy friend, nor the world's law; / The world
affords no law to make thee rich.” Thus we see that the actions of Friar John and the
Apothecary—like those of Romeo and Juliet—are governed and constrained by external
forces in their society, over which they have little control.

Romeo himself seems to sense that fate is driving events in these final scenes, defiantly
shouting, “then I defy you, stars!” when he hears that Juliet has died. Unfortunately, Ro-
meo believes that his fate is to be separated from Juliet, and in attempting to defy that
fate by killing himself to “lie with” Juliet forever, he tragically ensures his own demise.

The irony that Romeo actually seals his fate by trying to avoid it speaks to the inescap-
able power of destiny, a force that seems to operate on multiple levels throughout the
play. We know from the beginning that Romeo is fated to die, but the events that be-
fall him often seem directly related to his own behaviour and choices rather than fate.
These two perspectives can be reconciled if we think of Romeo’s personality as another
form of fate—a thing beyond his control. While all the characters in the play are able
to make their own decisions, these decisions are still guided by the inherent nature of
the character.

For instance, Tybalt’s aggressive nature pushes him to quarrel and fight, while Mer-
cutio’s facetious nature leads him to unwisely taunt Tybalt. While Romeo can decide
whether or not to commit suicide, it is his fate to be impulsive and emotional—traits
that make him hasten back to Verona rather than wait and think things through. And
though it is easy to lament Romeo’s impulsivity in this particular moment, we must not
forget that this trait not only defines Romeo as a person but also is what allows him
to fall in love with Juliet in the first place. Ultimately, we see that Romeo and Juliet’s
“star-cross’d” love story is not an abstract fate that has been bestowed on them, but
the inevitable result of their inherent qualities.

Alexander Myers
English, Grades 7-12
agzmyers@gmail.com