Romeo and Juliet
The events in the order the book tells them.
Act I
- Prologue1
The Chorus Gives Away the Ending
Before the action begins, the Chorus tells the audience that two lovers from enemy houses will die, and that only their deaths will end their parents' feud.
- Scene I2
The Brawl in the Square
Servants of the Capulets and the Montagues brawl in a square in Verona, Tybalt challenges Benvolio, and Prince Escalus threatens with death anyone who disturbs the city's peace again.
- Scene II3
The Guest List
Capulet puts off Paris's request for Juliet's hand and invites him to the ball. A servant who cannot read asks Romeo to read the list, and Romeo goes to the feast because of Rosaline.
- Scene III4
Paris Asks for Juliet
Lady Capulet asks Juliet what she thinks of marriage and introduces her to Paris. Juliet, almost fourteen, answers only that she will look, if looking can move her.
- Scene IV5
Queen Mab
On the way to the ball, Mercutio mocks Romeo's dream with the Queen Mab speech, and Romeo answers that he senses a consequence still hanging in the stars.
- Scene V6
The Capulets' Ball
At the ball, Romeo sees Juliet and falls in love, and Capulet restrains Tybalt, who wants to kill the intruder. The two kiss and only afterward discover that each belongs to the enemy house.
Act II
- Prologue7
Love Is Born
The Chorus announces that Romeo's old desire for Rosaline is dead and that he and Juliet now love each other, though the families' feud puts obstacles in their way.
- Scene II8
The Capulet Garden
In the Capulet garden, Romeo sees Juliet at her window and the two exchange vows. She arranges that, if he is thinking of marriage, he should reply the next day, by the messenger of nine o'clock, with the place and the hour.
- Scene III9
The Request to the Friar
At dawn, Romeo asks Friar Laurence to marry them that very day. The friar is surprised at the haste after Rosaline, but agrees, hoping to reconcile the two houses.
- Scene IV10
The Message in the Street
In the street, Mercutio mocks the Nurse, and Romeo sends her to tell Juliet to be at the friar's cell that afternoon. Tybalt has already sent a challenge to Romeo's house.
- Scene VI11
The Wedding in the Cell
Juliet arrives at Friar Laurence's cell, and the friar takes the two to the church to marry them in secret, a day after they first saw each other.
Act III
- Scene I12
The Death of Mercutio
On a hot day, Mercutio provokes Tybalt. Romeo, who is already secretly kin to the Capulets, refuses the duel and tries to part them, and Mercutio is wounded under his arm and dies.
- Scene I13
Romeo Kills Tybalt
Furious at his friend's death, Romeo kills Tybalt and flees. Prince Escalus, after hearing Benvolio, banishes Romeo from Verona instead of sentencing him to death.
- Scene II14
The Word Banished
Juliet hears the news from the Nurse, at first confused, and concludes that the word banished weighs more than the death of her cousin Tybalt, because it takes her husband away from Verona.
- Scene III15
Romeo's Despair
In the cell, Romeo tells Friar Laurence that exile is worse than death and draws his sword against himself. The friar rebukes him and lays out a plan: one night with Juliet and departure for Mantua.
- Scene IV16
Thursday Is Set
Capulet, without having spoken to his daughter, promises Paris that Juliet will marry him on Thursday and says the celebration will be small because of the mourning for Tybalt's death.
- Scene V17
The Order to Marry
At daybreak, the lovers part. Lady Capulet announces the wedding, Juliet refuses, Capulet threatens to disown her, and even the Nurse advises her to marry Paris.
Act IV
- Scene I18
The Friar's Plan
Juliet threatens to kill herself, and Friar Laurence proposes a potion that will make her seem dead for forty-two hours, while a letter informs Romeo in Mantua.
- Scene II19
The Feigned Obedience
Juliet returns home and pretends to obey her father, who is glad to see her yield and orders the preparations for the wedding to Paris to be hurried.
- Scene III20
The Potion
Alone, Juliet lists everything that could go wrong, sees Tybalt's ghost searching for Romeo, and drinks the potion, saying she drinks to him.
- Scene V21
The Bride Given Up for Dead
The Nurse finds Juliet motionless, Capulet finds her cold, and her parents mourn their daughter. The friar, who knows the plan, tells them to dry their tears and organizes the procession to the tomb.
Act V
- Scene I22
Poison in Mantua
In Mantua, Balthasar tells Romeo that Juliet has died. Romeo decides to return to Verona that night and persuades a wretched apothecary to sell him poison, despite the law.
- Scene II23
The Letter That Never Arrives
Friar John returns the letter to Friar Laurence: he was shut up in a house suspected of plague and could not reach Mantua. Laurence goes alone to the tomb, where Juliet will wake in a few hours.
- Scene III24
Deaths in the Tomb
Romeo breaks into the tomb, kills Paris in a fight, and drinks the poison beside Juliet. She wakes, refuses to flee with the friar, and kills herself with Romeo's dagger.
- Scene III25
Peace over the Bodies
With the dead before them, the Prince and the families hear the friar's account. Capulet and Montague join hands and promise a golden statue for each of their children.
