3rd Copy: Romeo and Juliet

The drama begins as the servants of two noble families, Capulet and Montague are having a fight in
the streets of Verona.

One of the Montagues – Benvolio, tries to put a stop to the fight, but instead of stopping it, he
involves himself in it as Tybalt, from the Capulet clan arrives.

The citizens are not happy with turbulences, so the ruler of Verona
decides to put a stop to the uproar by bringing a death sentence to
the picture for anyone who starts a fight in the future.
Romeo is a son of Montague, is in love with a girl that does not love
him back, named Rosaline.

At the same time, Paris is in love with Julie, and asks her to marry
him. She is a Capulet, and her father asks Paris to wait for two year,
until Juliet at least turns fourteen.

Otherwise, he is more than happy with the match, so he invites Paris

to the masquerade ball he traditionally holds every year, along with many other guests, hoping
haffectioow his affections towards Juliet at the ball.
Meanwhile, when Capulet’s servant is taking around the list of invitations, Romeo and Benvolio
encounter him, and Benvolio suggests to Romeo that they attend the ball, so he could get a chance
to look at other beautiful women with whom Verona is filled.

Romeo decides to go, not because of the wish to meet other women, but because his love Rosaline
will be there as well.

However, on the feast, something Romeo

could not imagine happens – he falls in love
with another woman (Juliet) at first sight and
forgets about Rosaline completely.

He succeeds to talk with her and he can see

that she also feels the same attraction. So,
they kiss, without knowing who they are.

The truth about their identities upsets them later on – but it is too late, they are already in love.

Romeo, not knowing what to do, goes to seek advice from Friar Lawrence, who when Romeo tells
him his story agrees to marry Juliet in secret.

He does it most of all because he believes that such a marriage could put an end to the fight
between their families.

The next day, Romeo and Juliet are married.

However, tragedy is just around the corner.

Just a day after their secret wedding, two men from the Montague family encounter Juliet’s cousin
Tybalt, who has noticed and recognized Romeo on the feast and therefore is challenging him to a
duel.
 Romeo begs to stop the duel, but one of the men from his
family is disgusted by such a plea and starts the duel.

Romeo, trying to stop the fight, finds himself in between,

and kills Tybalt. As a result, he is banished from Verona for
his crime, as the ruler has promised.

He spends his last night in the city with his love, Juliet.

She is worried and does not know what to do, since her
father wants to marry her off, not knowing she is already
married.

She first tries to talk to her nurse, but she is not satisfied with her advice – to marry Paris since he is
a better match, and decides to ask for help from Friar Lawrence.

He has a plan that is supposed to reunite the lovers. The

night before she is to be wed to Paris, Juliet must drink a
poison that will only make her look dead for some time.

After they put her to rest in her family’s crypt, Friar

Lawrence will bring Romeo along to revive her, and they will
be reunited, with no more limits to their love.

However, the plan goes wrong: Juliet drinks the poison, but Father Lawrence’s message which is
supposed to explain the plan to Romeo, never reaches him.

The only thing he hears is that his love is dead.

He cannot imagine living without her, so he decides to end

his life as well. He buys poison and goes to Juliet’s tomb to
drink it, so they rest together. There, he meets Paris, whom
he kills in a fight.

He then sits next to Juliet’s body and drinks the poison,

dying by her side. Just a moment too late, Juliet awakes.
She realizes the tragedy that has occurred and does not see a point in living anymore.

She kisses Romeo’s lips hoping the poison left over will kill her, but when it does not, she stabs
herself in her heart and falls dead beside Romeo.

The two families arrive at the tomb and are torn apart by the sight. Realizing that their rage made
their children unhappy, they decide to bury the hatchet and build a new, peaceful Verona.

Romeo and Juliet Epilogue

Although this is a tragic drama, all is well in the end – if you take the general well-being of the
people in Verona as your focal point.
The premise that love leads to suicide and finally to peace is proven, and although you are sad
for the characters’ destinies, you are happy about the future that looks brighter.
Romeo and Juliet’s Main Characters

Juliet Capulet's daughter. She is presented as a young and innocent adolescent, not yet 14 years
old. Her youthfulness is stressed throughout the play to illustrate her progression from adolescence to
maturity and to emphasize her position as a tragic heroine. Juliet's love for Romeo gives her the
strength and courage to defy her parents and face death twice.

Romeo Montague's son, who is loved and respected in Verona. He is initially presented as a comic
lover, with his inflated declarations of love for Rosaline. After meeting Juliet, he abandons his
tendency to be a traditional, fashionable lover, and his language becomes intense, reflecting his
genuine passion for Juliet. By avenging Mercutio's death, he sets in motion a chain of tragic events
that culminate in suicide when he mistakenly believes Juliet to be dead.

Mercutio Kinsman to the prince and friend of Romeo. His name comes from the word mercury, the
element which indicates his quick temper. Mercutio is bawdy, talkative, and tries to tease Romeo out
of his melancholy frame of mind. He accepts Tybalt's challenge to defend Romeo's honor and is
killed, thus precipitating Romeo's enraged reaction during which Romeo kills Tybalt.

Tybalt Lady Capulet's nephew and Juliet's cousin. Tybalt is violent and hot-tempered, with a strong
sense of honor. He challenges Romeo to a duel in response to Romeo's attending a Capulet party.
His challenge to Romeo is taken up by Mercutio, whom Tybalt kills. Romeo then kills Tybalt.

The Nurse Juliet's nursemaid, who acts as confidante and messenger for Romeo and Juliet. Like
Mercutio, the Nurse loves to talk and reminisce, and her attitude toward love is bawdy. The Nurse is
loving and affectionate toward Juliet, but compromises her position of trust when she advises Juliet to
forget Romeo and comply with her parents' wishes and marry Paris.

Friar Laurence A brother of the Franciscan order and Romeo's confessor, who advises both Romeo
and Juliet. The Friar agrees to marry the couple in secret in the hope that marriage will restore peace
between their families. His plans to reunite Juliet with Romeo are thwarted by the influence of fate.
The Friar concocts the potion plot through which Juliet appears dead for 42 hours in order to avoid
marrying Paris. At the end of the play, the Prince recognizes the Friar's good intentions.

Capulet Juliet's father is quick-tempered and impetuous but is initially reluctant to consent to Juliet's
marriage with Paris because Juliet is so young. Later, he changes his mind and angrily demands that
Juliet obey his wishes. The deaths of Romeo and Juliet reconcile Capulet and Montague.

Paris A noble young kinsman to the Prince. Paris is well-mannered and attractive and hopes to marry
Juliet. Romeo fights and kills Paris at the Capulet tomb when Paris thinks that Romeo has come to
desecrate the bodes of Tybalt and Juliet.

Benvolio Montague's nephew and friend of Romeo and Mercutio. Benvolio is the peacemaker who
attempts to keep peace between Tybalt and Mercutio. After the deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt,
Benvolio acts as a Chorus, explaining how events took place.

Lady Capulet Lady Capulet is vengeful and she demands Romeo's death for killing Tybalt. In her
relationship with Juliet, she is cold and distant, expecting Juliet to obey her father and marry Paris.

Montague Romeo's father, who is concerned by his son's melancholy behavior.

Balthasar Romeo's servant. He brings Romeo the news in Mantua that Juliet is dead.

An Apothecary A poverty-stricken chemist, who illegally sells poison to Romeo.

Escalus, Prince of Verona The symbol of law and order in Verona, but he fails to prevent further
outbreaks of the violence between the Montagues and Capulets. Only the deaths of Romeo and
Juliet, rather than the authority of the prince, restore peace.

Friar John A brother of the Franciscan order, sent by Friar Laurence to tell Romeo of his sleeping
potion plan for Juliet. The Friar is prevented from getting to Mantua and the message does not reach
Romeo.

Lady Montague In contrast with Lady Capulet, Lady Montague is peace-loving and dislikes the
violence of the feud. Like her husband, she is concerned by her son's withdrawn and secretive
behavior. The news of Romeo's banishment breaks her heart, and she dies of grief.

Peter A Capulet servant attending the Nurse.

Abram A servant to Montague.

Sampson Servant of the Capulet household.

Gregory Servant of the Capulet household.