Romeo and Juliet

Romeo was a young man looking for love. He had just been rejected by his beautiful Rosaline and was distraught. Before he went to the party at the Capulet’s household, he had this premonition that something fatal was going to happen that night. He said

“I fear too early for my mind misgives

Some consequence yet hanging in the stars

Shall bitterly begin his fearful date

With this night’s reveals, and expire the term

Of a despised life closed in my breast

By some vile forfeit of untimely death”

(R+J Act 1 Scene4 Line 106-111).

When he got to the party, he met Juliet and on seeing her, all thoughts of Rosaline flew from his mind. Finding that Juliet was a Capulet and therefore his sworn enemy did not stop him from wooing Juliet and agreeing to marry her as soon as possible. He went over to Friar Lawrence’s cell to ask him to join him and Juliet in holy matrimony. He said

“Then plainly know my heart’s dear love is set

On the fair daughter of rich Capulet

As mine on hers, so hers is set on mine;

And all combined, save what thou must combine

By holy marriage when, and where, and how,

We met, we wooed, and made exchanged of vow,

I’ll tell thee as we pass; but this I pray,

That thou consent to marry us today”

(R+J Act 2 scene3 Line 59-67)

The Friar agrees and Romeo and Juliet get married. Hours after his marriage to Juliet, he encounters Mercutio and Tybalt fighting. He then kills Tybalt when he finds out that Mercutio was dead at the hands of Tybalt. He acted violently and out of anger when he killed Tybalt. This act of violence resulted into him being banished from Verona to Mantua. When his servant, Balthazar brings news of the death of his loved one, in Mantua, he goes to a chemist to ask for poison that would kill him instantly. He says

“Come hither man. I see that thou art poor.

Hold, there is forty ducats. Let me have

A dram of poison, such soon-spreading gear

As will disperse itself through all the veins,

That the life-weary taker may fall dead,

And that the trunk may be discharged of breath

As violently as hasty powder fired

Doth hurry from the fatal cannon’s womb”

(R+J Act5 Scene 1 Line 59-65)

He then rushed back to Verona and the tomb in which his supposedly dead wife lay. He sees her, praises her beauty and curses her death then drinks the poison and died beside her.

Juliet was a sheltered girl, who up until the morning of the party had agreed to think about marrying Paris. On the night of the party, she asks Romeo to marry her the next day knowing full well that his family was sworn enemy and her parents would object to the marriage. She said:

“Three words, dear Romeo, and good night indeed

If that thy bent of love be honourable

Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow

By one that I’ll procure to come to thee,

Where and what time thou wilt perform the rite,

And all my fortunes at thou foot lay,

And follow thee my lord throughout the world”

(R+J Act2 Scene2 Line142-147)

The next day both of them get married.

Knowing that Romeo had killed her cousin, she was in a dilemma in who to choose, but she went ahead to consummate her marriage to Romeo.

When she finds out that she was to get married to Paris on Thursday, she agrees to Friar Lawrence’s plan of faking her death with the portion, only to wake up on Thursday night to see her beloved Romeo dead beside her. When she sees his body, she immediately thinks of poisoning herself with the few drops left from the bottle that Romeo used. She said:

“What’s here? A cup closed in my true love’s