Within Friar's cell, Friar Laurence and Paris are speaking. Friar Laurence learns that the wedding between Paris and Juliet will occur earlier than planned, on Thursday (Lines 1-4). Paris explains that Juliet is very upset, presuming that this sadness is the result of Tybalt's death. The audience of course knows better; Juliet is mourning the imminent loss of her Romeo.
Juliet enters and Paris greets her warmly and enthusiastically. He believes Juliet has come to the Friar to confess her love for him (Line 23). Juliet cannot and her speech to him is hostile (Lines 22-32). Paris assumes Juliet is merely still upset by the loss of Tybalt and does not take her reluctance to be wedded nor her hostility towards him very seriously.
Paris now leaves the Friar and Juliet to talk amongst themselves (Line 40). Juliet despairs of her situation to Friar Laurence, thinking like Romeo of suicide (Lines 50-67). Friar Laurence suggests an alternative, "Hold daughter; I do spy a kind of hope, / which craves as desperate an execution / as that is desperate which we would prevent" (I have a cunning plan as desperate as the terrible situation you wish to avoid), (Line 68).
Friar Laurence suggests that if Juliet is willing to die to avoid marriage, then she would have no objection to drinking a solution of mine, which simulates death (Lines 70-88).
The Friar tells Juliet to no longer resist the marriage to Paris; tomorrow on Wednesday night, Juliet is to sleep alone and not with her maid as usual (Lines 90-93). Juliet will drink a substance provided by the Friar, which will make Juliet drowsy and put her to sleep, a sleep so convincing that Juliet shall "appear like death;" (Line 103).
Then once declared dead, Juliet according to custom will be buried in the same ancient vault in which all the dead Capulet lie. By this time, Juliet will be awake, and Romeo, who will be informed of this plan by letter, will watch Juliet awake and then "Shall Romeo bear thee hence to Mantua" (take Juliet to Mantua), (Line 117).
Friar John explains to Friar Laurence that his letter informing Romeo that Juliet is not dead, did not reach Romeo. Friar Laurence tries again to inform Romeo of his plan and heads off to the Capulet burial chamber where Juliet will soon awake.
Friar Laurence meets his holy brother Friar John. Friar John was to have informed Romeo in Mantua that Juliet is not really dead. Unfortunately, as Friar John tells Friar Laurence, when he was tending to the sick , he held for some time for fear of spreading an existing epidemic (Lines 10-12). As such, Romeo is still unaware that Juliet is not really dead.
Remembering that Juliet will awaken within three hours, Friar Laurence heads of to the ancient burial vault of the Capulet's. He will try again to inform Romeo of Juliet's good health by letter, and will keep Juliet with him in his cell until Romeo arrives.
Act V. Scene II. - Verona Friar Laurence's Cell.
Friar John explains to Friar Laurence that his letter informing Romeo that Juliet is not dead, did not reach Romeo. Friar Laurence tries again to inform Romeo of his plan and heads off to the Capulet burial chamber where Juliet will soon awake.
Friar Laurence meets his holy brother Friar John. Friar John was to have informed Romeo in Mantua that Juliet is not really dead. Unfortunately, as Friar John tells Friar Laurence, when he was tending to the sick , he held for some time for fear of spreading an existing epidemic (Lines 10-12). As such, Romeo is still unaware that Juliet is not really dead.
Remembering that Juliet will awaken within three hours, Friar Laurence heads of to the ancient burial vault of the Capulet's. He will try again to inform Romeo of Juliet's good health by letter, and will keep Juliet with him in his cell until Romeo arrives.
Act V. Scene III. - The Same. A Churchyard; in it a Monument belonging to the Capulets.
Juliet: "Where is my Romeo?"
Paris mourns his bride that never was. Romeo arrives, opening Juliet's coffin to look at his love one last time. Paris fights Romeo whom he believes is desecrating Juliet's grave. Paris dies, Romeo placing him beside Juliet.
Romeo takes his poison, kisses Juliet and then dies. Friar Laurence arrives too late and quickly leaves. Juliet, alone, awakens asking for her Romeo. Juliet kisses the now dead Romeo and stabs herself, dying.
The Prince, Capulets, and Montague’s arrive, Balthasar and Friar Laurence explaining all. Escalus scolds the two families who finally end their tragic feud.
The play ends in this Churchyard. We find Paris mourning the loss of Juliet, "Sweet flower, with flowers thy [your] bridal bed I strew, / O woe! thy canopy is dust and stones;" (Line 12).
Paris departs, and now Romeo with Balthasar enter, carrying torches and equipment (mattocks and a wrenching iron) to prise open Juliet's tomb. He instructs his servant to deliver a letter to his parents "early in the morning" and to not disturb him now, no matter what he hears (Line 23).
Romeo pretends that he wishes to open the tomb to gaze once more upon his beloved Juliet and to also take a ring from Juliet's finger. He threatens Balthasar with a painful death, should he not leave at once. Nonetheless, the suspicious servant hides, watching events unfold. Says Balthasar: "For all this same, I'll hide me here about: / His [Romeo's] looks I fear, and his intents [intentions] I doubt" (Line 44).
Paris sees Romeo opening Juliet's tomb. Fearing that Romeo must be intending to desecrate the bodies of those who belong to Juliet's family (Lines 52-53), Paris immediately challenges Romeo to a duel. Unfortunately for Paris, he is slain (killed). Seeking mercy, Paris asks that he be placed next to body of Juliet before dying: "Open the tomb, lay me with Juliet" (Line 73). Romeo will grant his wife's would be husband this last request, saying, "In faith, I will" (Line 74).
Romeo is amazed that Juliet still captivates him with her beauty, even in death. "Why art thou yet so fair? (Why are you yet so beautiful?)", he asks himself (Line 102). Now Romeo has one last deed to perform...
Taking his poison, Romeo exclaims, "Here's to my love! [Drinks] O true apothecary! Thy [your] drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die", Romeo kissing Juliet before dying (Line 120).
Just moments later, Friar Laurence arrives. After speaking to Balthasar, the Friar sees blood. Both Paris and Romeo are dead. Juliet now awakens. "Where is my Romeo?" she asks (Line 150).
Friar Laurence informs Juliet of the worst: "A greater power than we can contradict / Hath thwarted our intents: come, come away. Thy [your] husband in thy bosom there lies dead; / And Paris too:" (Lines 153-156).
Hearing noise, the Friar leaves, daring not to stay. Now alone and unwilling to leave, Juliet finds a cup: "What's here? a cup, clos'd in my true love's hand? Poison, I see, hath [has] been his timeless end" (Lines 161-162).
Disappointed that not a drop is left, Juliet decides to kiss Romeo, remarking that his lips are warm (Line 165). Hearing noise, Juliet grabs Romeo's dagger and stabbing herself, falls on Romeo's body and dies. "This is thy [my] sheath; [stabs herself.] there rest, and let me die" Juliet finally says before falling on top of Romeo's body and then dying (Line 170).
The Prince later enters as do the Capulets and the Montagues. The Capulets are devastated by the sight of their bleeding daughter. We learn that Montagues' wife had died from the grief that her son was banished. "Grief of my son's exile hath [has] stopp'd her breath" Montague explains (Line 211). Friar Laurence explains what has happened, expecting his life to now be brief (Lines 223-269).
The Prince will not have Friar Laurence's life however, explaining that "We still have known thee [you] for a holy man" (we still know you to be a holy man), (Line 270).
The stories of Balthasar and a letter from a Page confirm Friar Laurence's story and now the Prince turns his attentions to the feuding families, explaining that this tragedy is largely their own fault (Lines 281-295).
Capulet and Montague now finally end their feud with each other and their ancient war is at last laid to rest. Montague will raise a gold statue of his former enemy's daughter Juliet and Capulet matches this sentiment: "As rich shall Romeo by his lady lie; / Poor sacrifices of our enmity!" (Line 304).
The play ends with the Prince summarizing this tragic love story.
"For never was a story of more woe [sadness] / Than this of Juliet and her Romeo."
Take a look at the Friar's opening lines (II,iii), a collection of opposite images, reinforcing a theme in the play itself. The first images are of a change from bad to good ("The grey-eyed morn smiles on the frowning night,") -- interesting, when one considers the very irony of the Friar's actions in this play. His very attempt to make bad into good (to end the feud of the families with the ill advised union of Romeo and Juliet) backfires. The second large image of his speech is that of healing herbs, yet he uses herbs (a kind of anti-communion, you could say) to bring about the very death of Juliet (and Romeo). The herbs prove a kind of poison rather than the healing substance he thinks they are. You also encounter a lot of references to death and tombs in his opening speech. The entire piece seems a mini-course on the very character and actions of the Friar, who, in his attempt to do good, accomplishes great harm. He is a bumbler and a bungler, but too naive (I almost say stupid) to know just how little he does know. Sometimes the best intentions of men turn out horribly wrong. (In a traditional comedy, of course, the Friar would serve as the clever servant who provides the means for restoring the lovers. ROMEO AND JULIET shows all the marks of a comedy to start: boy meets girl, boy loses girl, and, with the help of the clever servant -- the Friar's potion and the trick played on the parents -- boy gets girl back. Elsewhere on this site I've written about this, and how the death of Mercutio cancels the comic strain, turning the play into an anti-comedy in which the role of the clever servant gets perverted, along with everything else.)
Also, focus in on the ending of the play (Act V, iii) and you'll see the cowardly side of Friar Laurence. (I almost picture him wearing the Oz lion costume.) He abandons Juliet in her time of most need. (Of course, everyone else has abandoned Juliet, too.) It seems odd that he is fearful of being caught there ("The watch is coming ... I dare no longer stay.") and we might wonder why he acts so cowardly. What is the "greater power than we" that the Friar says "hath thwarted our intents." Is the Friar actually fearful of devils, and that is why he leaves the tomb? (I read this play very much as a clash between the religious Catholics and Protestants of Shakespeare's England -- another topic I've addressed elsewhere on this site.) And notice that the Friar's plans for Juliet include now her entering the sisterhood.
Romeo and Juliet - Act 4, Scene 1
A distraught Juliet begs Friar Laurence for help. The well-meaning Friar responds by concocting a plan whereby Juliet, at bedtime, will drink a potion of his creation. This potion will induce a sleep which in every way resembles death.
And this distilled liquor drink thou off;
When presently through all thy veins shall run
A cold and drowsy humor; for no pulse
Shall keep his native progress, but surcease;
No warmth, no breath, shall testify thou livest;
The effect of the potion will last forty-two hours, enough time for Juliet's funeral and interment in the Capulet tomb to take place. In the meantime, Romeo, advised of the plot, will rush to Verona and wait in the tomb for Juliet's awakening. At the appointed time, Juliet will awaken and go off with Romeo to Mantua. Juliet, desperate enough to try anything no matter how difficult or dangerous, agrees. This scene represents the second instance of Friar Laurence's well-intentioned plotting. Earlier in the drama, the Holy Father agrees to marry Romeo and
Juliet hoping that such a union will bring the feuding families together: ". . . I'll thy assistant be:/
For this alliance may so happy prove/To turn your households' rancor to pure love."
(Act 2, Scene 3).
Friar Laurence is reluctant at the start to marry Romeo and Juliet, but then he says, “ In one respect, I’ll thy assistant be; For this alliance may so happy prove, to turn your households rancour to pure love.” He thinks he should play a bit of match making and marry these two to end the feud. If he did not agree to marry them so quickly, then they would have slowed down, they might not have died. Though he does advises Romeo a lot, he acts like a ‘father figure’ to him. He tries to talk sense into him, just before he is to be married. “There violent delights have violent end…” He is saying that he shouldn’t rush into things. The love won’t last. He left Juliet at the tomb at her funeral, maybe if he had not left, she wouldn’t have killed herself, he could’ve stopped her, “ Come go good Juliet, I dare no longer stay.” He probably left, scared of being found out, feeling ashamed and guilty.