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Romeo and Juliet Notes
- Maya McGrath
- May 12, 2020
- 3 min read
The link above is a free pdf of Romeo and Juliet, which you can download. It also contains the translations to modern English.
Content covered in this article:
- A brief synopsis of the play 'Romeo and Juliet' by William Shakespeare
Brief synopsis of Romeo and Juliet:
There is a violent brawl on the streets of Verona, arising from long-simmering tension between two noble families, the Montagues and the Capulets. Tired of seeing them endanger the citizens of Verona, the Prince bans further confrontation. The punishment being death to those who would disturb the peace. The young heir of the Montague family, Romeo, cares little for all this, as he is immersed in his love for a girl called Rosaline. His cousin Benvolio and friend Mercutio attempt to cheer him up. Benvolio suggests that they all attend a feast at the house of the Capulets, where Romeo can compare Rosaline to other young women and overcome his unrequited love.
At the Capulets' home Juliet's mother and nurse give her the news that Paris, a young relative of the Prince of Verona and an eligible bachelor, has expressed interest in marrying her. They tell Juliet she will have the chance to meet him at the party that night.
At the ball, Romeo and Juliet see each other for the first time, and feel an instant attraction. within a few minutes of meeting they share their first kiss. Only later that night do they find out who the other actually is. Juliet's cousin Tybalt recognises Romeo but Lord Capulet forbids him from causing trouble and disrupting the party. Later that night, Romeo sneaks back into Capulet grounds and overhears Juliet on her balcony, declaring her love for him. Romeo reveals himself from his hiding spot and declares his love for her too. They arrange to marry the next day.
Romeo and Juliet are secretly married by their friend and advisor, Friar Lawrence. Juliet's nurse is the only other person to know about the ceremony. Later that afternoon Romeo encounters Tybalt, who challenges him to a fight. Romeo refuses to fight which angers Tybalt. Mercutio steps in to fight Tybalt on Romeo's behalf and is killed by Tybalt. Enraged by this, Romeo slays Tybalt. The Prince then banishes him to Mantua and decrees that Romeo may never return to Verona again.
Knowing nothing of this, Juliet prepares to receive Romeo in her room for their wedding night. Friar Lawrence suggests that they should spend the night together and then Romeo should flee to Mantua at dawn, where he will arrange for Juliet to follow.
Seeing Juliet's extreme grief, Juliet's father Capulet decides to arrange her marriage to Paris as soon as possible, to cheer her up. Forced into crises by the lack of time, Friar Lawrence gives Juliet a potion to drink that will make her appear dead for 42 hours. He promises to send word to Romeo to come and fetch her from the Capulet vault. Juliet drinks the potion and is believed dead. She is then placed in the Capulet vault. However, the Friar's message fails to reach Romeo, who hears only that Juliet is dead. He visits an Apothecary to buy a poison so that he can return to Verona and die beside Juliet's body.
Outside the vault Romeo meets Paris, who is grieving for Juliet. They fight and Paris is killed. Romeo breaks into the Capulet vault and sees the apparently dead Juliet. He drinks the poison and dies beside her. The Friar, hearing that his plan has miscarried, hastens to the vault to try and save Juliet. Juliet awakens as he enters. He explains to her what has happened and that Romeo has killed himself. Upon seeing Romeo dead, Juliet stabs herself with his dagger and dies. The Prince arrives with the Montague and Capult families where they find Romeo and Juliet dead. The Friar is caught and explains what has happened. The families' grief leads to their realisation at what calamity their generational war and prejudice has caused. These events finally foce the Montague and Capulet families to reconcile.
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