We then go to Juliet talking to the nurse ‘My grave is to be my wedding bed’. Juliet sees the future as well and sees that, if she were to marry Romeo then she will die, but she also dismisses this. Then the nurse tells Juliet that Romeo is a Montague, ‘My only love sprung from my only hate … that I love a loathed enemy’. Juliet is upset and very annoyed that the one person she loves is also the one person she is meant to hate
We see Romeo and Juliet’s characters fall in love at the ball, but it was the stars that brought them here after Romeo learnt about the ball from the servant. He would have not needed to go, if he wasn’t going to compare other girls to Rosalyn. So it was fate that brought them together.
We now see Romeo being led by his heart, not his head; he leaves his group of friends and climbs a wall into the Capulet orchard. He then looks upon Juliet on the balcony outside her room; he talks about how beautiful she is to himself. Juliet then speaks out, not knowing that Romeo is there. Romeo then replies and they agree to marry the next day.
In this scene Juliet suddenly becomes very dominant, forward and direct as she spearheaded the whole marriage, she is quick thinking for making the plan so they could be married. She is very open about her feelings and wants all the control; she wants to control Romeo like the wanton bird always leads so she can pull him back at any time. Romeo’s character is very obedient, not challenging Juliet once and he is very foolhardy for coming into the garden in the first place. We then see Romeo going to see Friar Laurence and tell him about his and Juliet’s plan. He agrees but with only the hope that in doing so the grudge between the Montague’s and the Capulet’s will be forgotten. Then we have Benvolio and Mercutio talking and then Romeo enters and they ask what happened to him last night.
Then the nurse comes along and they mock her not knowing whom she was. She then says Juliet shall marry you at shrift today in Friar Laurence’s cell. The nurse then fools round with Juliet a bit and doesn’t tell her what Romeo said, but she tells her in the end.
We then have the marriage in Friar Laurence’s cell.
You can see how Romeo and Juliet’s characters characteristics are becoming more defined. The stars and drawing them closer and closer.
Next Mercutio and Benvolio are walking through Verona’s streets at 12:00, which is strange because it is so hot at this time, which shows Mercutio wavering mentality. Then Tybalt comes and Mercutio and Tybalt begin to fight, they joke fight to begin with, but it becomes more intense and then Romeo enters and try’s to break up the fight. Tybalt lunges at Romeo and stabs Mercutio under Romeos arm. Tybalt flees and Romeo and Benvolio just tell Mercutio to stop messing around, thinking it is just one of Mercutio’s jokes, but then he dies.
Romeo then chases after Tybalt, ‘this day’s black fate on mo days doth depend: This but begins the woe others must end’ Romeo says. This point in the play is a premonition of awful things happening in the future and this is going to set them off. This is another future seeing that Romeo dismisses, He and Tybalt then brawl and Romeo kills Tybalt. Romeo then says ‘O, I am fortunes fool’ and he realises he should have listened to the warnings. Romeo flees the scene of the crime and then the Prince enters and banishes Romeo from coming to Verona again.
Juliet then talks to the nurse about how Romeo killed Tybalt, Juliet is horrified, but forgives him because she loves him so much and then learns that Romeo is banished from Verona. Then we see Romeo in Friar Laurence’s cell crying and being full of self pity and then the nurse walks in to talk to him about Juliet, but he just gets more upset. Friar Laurence then becomes quite angry and tells Romeo to pull himself together and be thankful for what he has got, he wasn’t killed he was banished. If Tybalt were alive he would have killed Romeo, Juliet is alive and he should be a lot more happy then sad.
Earlier in the play Lord Capulet had said to Paris, he couldn’t marry his daughter Juliet until she was two years older, but because of this sudden sadness, it is felt a need for a joyous occasion, so Paris was given permission. Juliet and Paris were to marry on Thursday and today is Tuesday.
Then we have Romeo and Juliet in her bedroom, after spending their wedding night together, and their first and last night together. Romeo then flees Verona for Mantua. Romeo sees the future once more before he leaves ‘More light and light: More dark and dark our woes’, which he means, it may seem good at the moment, but very bad times are on the way, but dismisses this warning again.
Juliet’s mother then enters and tells Juliet that she is to marry Paris. Juliet says No and this comes as a very big shock for her mother, as she is usually so obedient and suddenly to go against her. Juliet’s mother then just says I’ll let your father deal with you. Her father becomes very angry and calls her all kinds of names, he says if she doesn’t marry Paris then he will kick her out and if he where to see her in the street then he would ignore her. Juliet is understandably upset and turns to the nurse for comfort. The nurse tries to help but then says she probably should marry Paris, as he is a lot better. Romeo is a ‘dish clout’ to Paris. Juliet uses the nurse when she wants and this time Juliet was quite shocked that the nurse rejected her. Her character has changed now; since she fell in love she is very disobedient and headstrong. There have been many warnings that bad things are going to happen, but they are all ignored so fate is driving then closer and closer to their impending doom.
Juliet then goes to Friar Laurence’s cell where they devise a plan so she shall not be married, Juliet shall go home and tell her father she is sorry and wishes to marry Paris after all, Then on Wednesday evening she shall drink the potion that Friar Laurence has made, which will make her seem dead for two days. While she is asleep, Friar Laurence will send for Romeo to come from Mantua and be in the family tomb when she awakens. Juliet then returns and tells her father that she has repented her sins and wants to marry after all. Her father is so over-joyed he moves the day to the marriage to Wednesday. Now the plans start to go wrong, fate has caused it to come on Wednesday. Juliet is then in her room because if she is to marry tomorrow then she takes the potion early so she will awaken on Friday, she also brings a knife so if the potion doesn’t work then she will stab herself.
She thinks of all the things that could go wrong but still decides to go ahead with it. The next morning they find Juliet ‘dead’. Everyone is very upset by the death of Juliet on her wedding day. Because only Juliet and Friar Laurence know about the plan – Balthasar, Romeo’s servant watches Juliet’s funeral and thinks she has died, so he goes to Mantua and tells Romeo she is dead. Romeo then decided that he no longer wants to live and buys a vile of poison and rides back to Verona to die beside his love, Juliet.
We then learn that Friar John who has been sent by Friar Laurence to tell Romeo the plan Friar John got caught up in the plague house, so never got to Mantua, so Romeo didn’t know the plan. That was were the plan fell apart totally and it was the stars made that house have the plague.
The final part of our story sees Paris going to throw flowers over Juliet’s tomb; Romeo then enters and kills Paris. Then Romeo starts his final words and drinks the poison after saying even in death Juliet still looks pink and bright. But of course this is just her return from the drugs. Juliet awakens and tries to get the poison off his lips but when she fails she then stabs herself with the dagger.
The Prince enters and arrests Friar Laurence, who confesses to everything and then Capulet and Montague make up.
But for this grudge to be broken many people have died. Juliet’s character changes very much when she is in love, she becomes almost business like, she is selfish, disobedient and wants all the power. Totally the opposite of what she was like before the meeting with Romeo. Romeo’s character is quite foolish, he was lead by his heart and not his head, very determined to have what he wants and easily lead. But the most important thing about both characters was the fact they saw the future and both saw it would lead to bad things and death, but totally disregarded this fact, which lead to their downfall.
The whole play, though, was lead by fate for when Romeo read the note about the ball to Friar John becoming stuck in a plague house. That is why the description ‘A pair of star-crossed lovers’ presents their relationship so well – they were destined for bad things.