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Post date: Nov 09, 2014 12:23:22 PM
Principal CharactersCapulet. Capulet is Juliet’s father and the family’s patriarch.
County Paris. Paris is a nephew of the Prince of Verona and desperately wants Juliet for his wife.
Friar Lawrence. Friar Lawrence is a well-meaning, willing-to-help, clergyman who gets inadvertently and too closely drawn into the quickly moving events that swirl around the fitful and rapidly escalating love affair between Romeo and Juliet. In this play, Shakespeare distributes much of his wisdom through Friar Lawrence.
Juliet. Juliet is the almost fourteen year old daughter of the Capulets.
Nurse. The Nurse is a loyal servant of Juliet and the Capulets.
Romeo. Romeo is the son of the Montagues, a leading family of Verona.
Benvolio. Romeo's cousin.
Mercutio. Romeo's friend.
Tybalt. Tybalt is Juliet’s cousin, a Capulet and one of the red-blooded, quick-tempered, macho young men who add to the play’s intensity.
The Story in Short
Centuries ago, the Montagues and Capulets were Verona’s dominant families, but fierce enemies. This is how it was in Verona sometime before Romeo and Juliet was first performed, before 1595.
Romeo was a Montague and Juliet a Capulet.
The play opens on a street corner with members of the Montague and Capulet households squabbling with each other over minor issues. Romeo’s cousin, Benvolio, enters and tries to break-up the argument.
Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, enters and makes more mischief.
The Prince of Verona, the city’s political leader, enters and demands the men end their fight and depart, their duel having created a scene. As peace returns to the streets of Verona, all exit but Benvolio and Romeo’s parents. Worried about her son, Romeo’s mother asks Benvolio where Romeo is. Benvolio tells her that he thinks her son is acting a little strange.
As the others exist, Romeo enters and tells Benvolio that his "girlfriend" Rosaline has just dropped him. Benvolio suggests he forget about her and makes a pledge to himself to help Romeo get through this or die trying.
Capulet, the patriarch of the Capulet family, plans to have a masquerade dinner party that evening. He instructs one of his servants to invite those on his guest list, but the servant doesn’t know how to read. Innocently, the servant happens to ask Romeo and Benvolio (both of whom can read) to let him know the names on the list. Benvolio notes that there are a number of young, attractive, single women invited, Rosaline being one of them. Sensing this dinner party could be a stroke of good luck, Benvolio persuades Romeo to attend Capulet’s dinner party as masked, uninvited guests. Benvolio gets Mercutio (Romeo's dear friend) to go along.
Lady Capulet is eager to see her daughter married. But Juliet, about a month from her fourteenth birthday, is not thinking about marriage. A young man known as the County Paris, the Prince of Verona’s nephew, has recently been showing some interest in Juliet, and her ambitious mother thinks he’d make a good husband for her daughter.
Romeo, Benvolio and Mercutio prepare their disguises and get ready for the Capulet party. Romeo continues to sulk and fret over his romantic break-up. The dinner party begins. Capulet welcomes the masked Romeo, Benvolio and Mercutio into his home, not knowing who they are.
Romeo spots Juliet and instantly falls for her, forgetting about the break-up with Rosaline.
Tybalt (Capulet’s nephew) hears Romeo speak and knows by his voice that he’s a Montague and tells Capulet. Capulet is unconcerned. Tybalt angrily exits.
Romeo makes a move on Juliet. As the party nears its end, the Nurse calls Juliet aside, telling her that her new-found friend is a Montague. It’s then when Romeo realizes that Juliet is a Capulet, but neitherr is very concerned about it.
Soon after Romeo and his friends leave the party, Romeo slips away from his two friends, jumps over the wall of the Capulet compound, and heads for Capulet’s orchard, located right under Juliet’s bedroom balcony. Benvolio sees Romeo jump over the wall, but sensing there is little he or Mercutio can or should do, knowing it’s late, decides to leave well enough alone.
Caught up in the events of the evening, Juliet comes out on her balcony, swooning and cooing over Romeo. Believing she hears him, she talks openly of her love for this man named Romeo. This the scene where Juliet famously says, “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” and Romeo says “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet.”
In the early morning hours they agree to marry, she on her balcony, he below in her father’s garden. Romeo agrees to make plans for the wedding. As dawn breaks, he leaves the garden with hopes to find Friar Lawrence, who is picking flowers. Seeing Romeo, Friar Lawrence says “Our Romeo hath not been in bed tonight. Wast thou with Rosaline?” Romeo responds “With Rosaline, my ghostly Father? No. I have forgot that name and that name’s woe.” Romeo tells the friar that his current love interest is “the fair daughter of rich Capulet” and “this I pray, that you consent to marry us today.” Friar Lawrence exclaims “Holy Saint Francis, what a change is here!” Friar Lawrence agrees to the request, hoping it will end the feud between the two families.
Juliet sends her Nurse out into the city of Verona to look for Romeo. Romeo tells her to tell Juliet that they are to be married that afternoon and that she is to meet him at Friar Lawrence’s cell.
The Nurse takes her time giving Juliet the news when she returns, teasing Juliet.
Friar Lawrence secretly marries Romeo and Juliet in the church. (only the Friar and the Nurse know of the marriage)
Meanwhile, an angry Tybalt, still upset with Romeo’s appearance as an uninvited guest at his uncle’s dinner party the night before, is looking for Romeo for a duel. Instead, he finds Mercutio and Benvolio innocently talking with each other on a street corner.
A just-secretly-married Romeo enters. Tybalt calls Romeo a villain. Coming to Romeo’s defense, Mercutio draws his sword. Mercutio and Tybalt fight. Mercutio is stabbed.
All exit but Romeo. Benvolio re-enters, reporting that Mercutio has died.
Tybalt re-enters. He and Romeo fight, Romeo killing him. Romeo, now frightened, exits.
The Prince of Verona, Montague and Capulet enter. Benvolio defends Romeo’s actions, telling everyone how the tragic situation unfolded, when Lady Capulet cries “I beg for justice. Romeo slew Tybalt; Romeo must not live.”
The Prince says “Romeo slew him; he slew Mercutio. Who now the price of Mercutio’s blood doth owe?” Montague cries “Not Romeo, Prince; he was Mercutio’s friend.” But an angry prince, weighing what he has heard, exiles Romeo. Romeo is banished to Mantua.
Juliet, having now been married for three hours, yearns for Romeo.
The Nurse soon enters crying “He’s dead, he’s dead.” A frightened Juliet thinks she is talking about Romeo. The Nurse cries “O Tybalt, Tybalt, the best friend I had!” Juliet, more concerned for Romeo than the death of her cousin, asks they are both dead. Finally the Nurse tells her that Tybalt is gone and Romeo has been banished.
Romeo is beside himself, learning from Friar Lawrence that rather than being put to death for slaying Tybalt, he has been banished from Verona, telling the friar that he’d rather die than be separated from Juliet. Friar Lawrence considers him a fool. The Nurse enters, saying Juliet is distraught with grief over the turn of events. Friar Lawrence urges Romeo to compose himself, to visit Juliet that night, but to be certain to return before dawn and leave for Mantua.
Capulet tells Paris that he has his permission to marry his daughter Juliet in three days, not knowing that his daughter has married Romeo. This happens on Monday; the wedding would be on Thursday. Capulet tells his wife to begin preparations for a wedding and a feast.
Romeo and Juliet then spend the night together. Romeo leaves at dawn as planned.
Lady Capulet soon enters her daughter’s bedroom to tell her that Tybalt has been killed and that Romeo has been banished. Instead, Lady Capulet tells her that she gets to marry the County Paris. Juliet refuses the offer.
Learning that his daughter rejects the thought of marrying Paris, an uncompromising Capulet demands she marry him or “hang, beg, starve, die in the streets, for, by my soul, I’ll ne’er acknowledge thee.”
Juliet holds firm. The Nurse comforts and counsels her. After a nice talk with the Nurse, Juliet says “Go in and tell my lady I am gone, having displeased my father, to Lawrence’ cell to make confession and to be absolved.”
A jubilant County Paris helps with the couple’s planning for Thursday’s wedding; they meet with Friar Lawrence. All the while Juliet deals with Paris diplomatically, but keeps him uncertain and at arms-length. When Paris exits, Juliet confides in Friar Lawrence that he must help her with this dilemma or she’ll take her own life.
With a most unusual option, Friar Lawrence tells her he knows of a way for her to temporarily appear to be dead. The two of them agree that they must find a way to keep her from marrying Paris, since is already married.
He gives her a vial of “distilling liquor” to take that night.
It is now Tuesday night and Capulet enthusiastically is helping to prepare for the post-wedding reception. Juliet enters and tells her father that she repents. He is now really happy and decides to move the wedding up a day, Wednesday.
Juliet slips off to bed, dismisses the Nurse, drinks the ‘mixture’ in the vial, and falls asleep. Early the next morning Capulet sends the Nurse to waken Juliet, who finds her ‘dead.’
Friar Lawrence and Paris arrive and are told she died during the night. Friar Lawrence and the Capulets make funeral plans and take her body to the family crypt.
In Mantua, Romeo is advised of Juliet’s ‘death.’ He rushes to the Apothecary to buy a poison. Although selling poison is against the law, Romeo pays the Apothecary so well that the Apothecary decides that the funds are worth the risk and provides Romeo with the poison.
County Paris secretly enters the Capulet’s crypt, but soon steps aside, hearing Romeo, who had also decided to pay a visit to the crypt. Paris steps forward. He and Romeo draw swords and fight. Romeo stabs him. As he is dying, Paris asks to be placed in Juliet’s tomb. Romeo opens Juliet’s tomb, places Paris’ body next to her, kisses Juliet, drinks the poison and dies.
Friar Lawrence soon enters the crypt and finds the bodies of Romeo and Paris. Juliet awakens and asks for Romeo. Friar Lawrence soon exits. Seeing Romeo dead, she stabs herself and dies.
The Prince and the Capulets then enter the crypt.
Montague soon enters, telling all that his wife died during the night from grief over her son’s exile.
Friar Lawrence confesses to the prince that he was aware of all of the events all along.
The prince uses the occasion to moralize, saying he hopes this tragedy can bring peace between the two families.
FULL VERSION: ROMEO and JULIET, Franco Zefferelli, 1968
Romeo and Juliet explained in less than 10 minutes.
ROMEO and JULIET in MODERN ENGLISH (written)
And now, here is an idea to get you started on our parody.
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