Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare's best-known plays, and many people consider it his finest love story. Romeo & Juliet is a terrific story, but don't lose sight of the tragedy. The lovers die in the final act, and that's not how most of us want our love affairs to end.
 | Amaze your friends with your erudition. When the next film version of Romeo and Juliet is released, you can read this summary before you head to the cinema and impress your friends with your knowledge of the plot and the major characters. |
Key characters:
- Romeo Montague, young lover of Juliet
- Juliet Capulet, young lover of Romeo
- Juliet's nurse
- Tybalt, cousin of Juliet
- Mercutio, friend to Romeo
- Friar Laurence, confidant to the lovers
- Count Paris, a nobleman in love with Juliet
Act 1
The play opens with a brawl, pitting the Montague family against the Capulets. Shakespeare makes it clear that the fighting has been going on for many years and shows no sign of lessening. The Prince of Verona puts his foot down and decrees that anyone who starts another fight will face the death penalty.
Romeo Montague missed the fight, though. He was too busy mooning over his latest love, Rosaline (who doesn't appear in the play). His friends, Benvolio and Mercutio, poke fun at him for his youthful love.
Juliet Capulet is now old enough to be married (14 years old), and her parents want her to marry the Count Paris. Juliet hasn't given marriage much thought, but she promises to keep an open mind.
The act ends with a costume party at the Capulets' home, which Romeo and his friends crash. Romeo goes because he thinks that he'll see Rosaline, but when he arrives, he sees Juliet and completely forgets what's-her-name. He falls madly in love with Juliet. Juliet, in turn, falls in love with the strange man who woos her at the party, only to learn too late that he is of the rival family, the Montagues. For this play to make any sense, you must believe in love at first sight — if not in real life, at least for the duration of the play.
So the stage is set. Romeo Montague loves Juliet Capulet, and Juliet loves Romeo. Neither is a free agent; the two cannot change teams without the owners' consent. You know that won't happen. In the modern era, their respective lawyers would meet to iron things out, but this is a Shakespearean tragedy. The only way to resolve this problem is through bloodshed and mayhem.
Act 2
The famous balcony scene defines the fundamental problem in the play. Juliet asks, "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" (2.2.33), or "Why is your name Romeo?" The only obstacle to their love is their names. If they had different names, they could marry and have kids, the play would be over before intermission, and everyone could go home early.
The young lovers pledge their undying love to each other, and Romeo hastens off to Friar Laurence to arrange the lovers' elopement. Friar Laurence hasn't heard the news yet, so he thinks that Romeo is still pining for what's-her-name. Romeo says that he is in love with Juliet, and the friar remarks that "young men's love lies / Not in their hearts but in their eyes" (2.3.63–64). Romeo convinces the friar that he is in earnest. The friar thinks that this new love might be just the ticket to patch things up between the Capulets and the Montagues, even though no one, not even the prince, has been able to end it.
Meanwhile, Tybalt is annoyed that Romeo and his friends crashed his uncle's party, so he's on the warpath. Romeo has more pressing things to deal with — namely, how to elope with Juliet. He works out the details with Juliet's nurse, and the act closes with Romeo meeting Juliet, ready to be married by the friar.
Act 3
Soon after Romeo and Juliet's clandestine marriage, Tybalt catches up to Romeo and challenges him. Now that Tybalt is related to Romeo by marriage, Romeo declines to fight. Mercutio steps into the breach, and Tybalt kills him when Romeo tries to break up the fight.
Romeo, seeing his friend slain, is understandably more than a little upset. He hunts down Tybalt and revenges his friend's death by killing Tybalt. By now, the prince has heard about the violations of his strict edicts. Romeo has already carried out the death sentence that should have fallen on Tybalt for slaying Mercutio, but the Prince frowns on Romeo's act of vigilantism, so he banishes Romeo from Verona.
Romeo runs to the friar, who still hopes that one day, he will be able to reveal the secret marriage and that somehow this news will reverse all those years of bitter, bloody fighting. Shakespeare doesn't say, but apparently, the friar lives on a different planet than the rest of us.
Juliet has conflicting feelings. Her cousin is dead, but at her husband's hands. On the other hand, her cousin killed her husband's friend. In the end, she sides with her husband, and they consummate their marriage.
Meanwhile, Juliet's parents decide to hasten the forced marriage of their daughter to Paris. Juliet resists her parents' wishes, but she is powerless to stop them.
Act 4
The friar tries to slow down the Capulets' wedding plans. After all, he already married Juliet to Romeo, and he can hardly keep his vows if he then marries her off to Paris, too. He tells Juliet that the situation "strains me past the compass of my wits" (4.1.47).
With Juliet, the friar hatches a desperate plan. He provides a powerful drug. When Juliet takes it, everyone will think that she's dead, but she won't be completely dead. After she's put to rest, the friar will break into the tomb and rescue her. He sends a letter to Romeo telling him of the plan so that Romeo can take Juliet away.
Juliet takes the drug. The next morning, her family finds her, apparently dead. They carry her to the family tomb.
Act 5
Unfortunately, the friar's letter never reaches Romeo. Instead, Romeo hears the news that Juliet is dead. He buys some poison and plans to kill himself next to Juliet's body, and he hastens back to Verona.
The friar learns that his letter did not reach Romeo, so he heads to the Capulet tomb to take Juliet with him until he can reach Romeo.
As you might expect, the timing just doesn't work out right. Romeo gets to the tomb before the friar. He encounters Paris, mourning for Juliet. They fight, and Romeo kills Paris. Romeo breaks into the tomb, takes the poison at Juliet's side, and utters his last heart-breaking words: "O true apothecary, / Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die" (5.3.119–20).
Juliet's drug wears off just as the friar arrives. He tries to hasten Juliet away, but she sees the dead bodies around her and refuses to follow. He gets scared and runs off. Juliet takes Romeo's dagger and stabs herself, thus following Romeo in death.
The prince arrives, and the friar spills the beans. With the whole truth out and dead bodies littering the stage, the families finally reconcile and end their feud. It turns out that Juliet was right after all: "That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet" (2.2.43–44). The problem is that nobody believes her until it's too late.
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