Act 5 Scene 3

Act 5, Scene 3

In a graveyard outside Padua

Juliet:

I cannot marry detestable Paris, Friar.

My love for Romeo is as a willow on the pond.

I drape my arms upon Romeo's countenance,

my fingers as soothing trills upon water.

Help me dear sir to escape the bonds

of hateful marriage to another.

Friar Laurence:

Take this potion dearest lady.

It is analgesic to your love.

Its sweetness will give thee rest

and dispense with Paris, his substance

becoming shadow. He will waft away

like winter's chill on April’s blissful winds.

She drinks, causing Paris to disappear, the potion's magic transporting him to a distant shore.

She falls into a restful sleep.

Romeo arrives. Seeing Juliet, he assumes the worst, believing the Friar has poisoned her.

Romeo:

Friar, what hast thou done, your fingers crooked

like raven’s claws! Killed my sweetness with

a dastardly decoction? Thy might as well

remove my heart as I shall soon remove yours!

Romeo draws a dagger from his tunic.

Friar Laurence:

No my son, no! Release thy weapon.

Dispense with rancor and foul accusations.

She dies not, by my kind hand. She instead

slumbers, awaiting thy healing kiss.

Romeo sheaths his weapon and rushes to Juliet.

He cradles her head in his arm, bends toward her lips, and they kiss, as butterfly to flower.

Juliet awakens. They embrace.

The Montagues and Capulets enter the scene.

Lady Capulet:

What have we here, my son embracing

our family’s enemy, she the child of a Montague?

Montague:

No, my lady. Tis love you see, not enmity.

Your child and mine span our gaps, a bridge

over roaring rapids. They, like hands clasped,

bring community, deliver peace

to our troubled homes. Let us, you and I,

remove our hate, like blades withdrawn from wounds.

He reaches out to Lady Capulet with an open hand. She responds in kind.

Friar Laurence:

So ends a rift between two families great.

Love unites. Love heals. Love ends hate.

And Romeo and Juliet secure

love for generations to endure.