Act 5, Scene 1

Location: Mantua (City in Italy)

Characters: Romeo, Balthasar, Apothecary

Time: Wednesday morning

Events: Romeo asks Balthasar if he has any letters from Friar Lawrence and if Juliet is well. Balthasar informs Romeo that Juliet is dead in the Capulet tomb. Romeo decides to go back to Verona and see Juliet, so he goes to a pharmacist and requests a potion that will kill him instantly. The pharmacist doesn’t want to sell the potion to him because it is illegal and the penalty is death. Romeo says that he doesn’t see why he is afraid of death because the pharmacist is a beggar, poor, starving, and nearly dead. The world is not his friend. Romeo offers him money because he is poor, not because the pharmacist wants him too. The pharmacist give Romeo the poison and he gives him the instructions.

‘There is thy gold, worse poison to men’s souls, doing more murder in this loathsome world’ – Romeo

 

Act 5, Scene 2

Location: Friar Lawrence’s cell

Characters: Friar John, Friar Lawrence

Time: Friday Morning

Events: Friar Lawrence finds out that Friar John couldn’t send the letter as he got quarantined in a house full of plague. Friar Lawrence decides to go to the tomb and be there for Juliet when she wakes in 3 hours. He will write another letter to Romeo and keep Juliet in her cell until Romeo gets the letter and comes to Verona.

‘Where the infectious pestilence did reign, seal’d up the door, and would not let up forth.’ – Friar John

 

Act 5, Scene 3

Location: In Verona, a churchyard with the tomb of the Capulets.

Characters: Paris, Page, Romeo, Balthasar, Friar Lawrence, Juliet, Captain of the Watch, Second Watchman, Third Watchman, Prince, Capulet, Lady Capulet, Montague

Time: Thursday Morning

Events: Paris enters the graveyard to see Juliet and express his grief, spreading flowers over the tomb. Romeo enters with Mercutio and Romeo instructs Mercutio to go away and leave him. Paris sees Romeo and fights him. Paris dies and Romeo realises that Paris was meant the marry Juliet, so he lays Paris next to Juliet. Romeo opens the bridal bed and notices that her lips are still red and death hasn’t taken her yet, saying she looks beautiful. Romeo drinks the potion and gives one last kiss to Juliet as he quickly dies. Seconds later, Friar Lawrence enters and finds Mercutio. Mercutio doesn’t want to go into the graveyard so Friar Lawrence goes and finds Juliet waking up, discovering that Romeo is dead. She is disappointed that he didn’t leave any potion for her so she tries to get the last of the potion off his lips. They hear the soldiers coming and Juliet stabs herself, falling on Romeo. Chief Watchman enters the scene and demands to arrest anyone they find and tells the page to get the Capulets up. Watchman thinks Friar Lawrence is very suspicious. The Capulet’s go and see their daughter and are devastated. Montague enters and his wife had died that night, caused by Romeo’s absence. Prince gets Friar Lawrence to tell them the story of what happened. Prince decides not to kill Friar Lawrence and discover Romeo’s letter that he wrote to give to his father. They read the letter and Capulet and Montague decide to make statues of their children and be friends.

‘This dagger hath mistane, for lo his house, Is empty on the back of Montague, And it mis-sheathed in my daughter’s bosom!’ – Capulet

‘Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty; Thou art not conquer’d, beauty’s ensign yet, Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks, And death’s pale flag is not advanced there.’ – Romeo

‘O happy dagger, This is thy sheath; there rust, and let me die.’ – Juliet

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Category

Writing