romeo and juliet essay summary

Share this page

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share on LinkedIn

Romeo and Juliet

Synopsis and plot overview of shakespeare's romeo and juliet.

• In this section

TL;DR (may contain spoilers): The classic story of boy meets girl; girl's family hates boy's family; boy's family hates girl's family; boy kills girl's cousin; boy and girl kill themselves.

Romeo and Juliet Summary

An age-old vendetta between two powerful families erupts into bloodshed. A group of masked Montagues risk further conflict by gatecrashing a Capulet party. A young lovesick Romeo Montague falls instantly in love with Juliet Capulet, who is due to marry her father’s choice, the County Paris. With the help of Juliet’s nurse, the women arrange for the couple to marry the next day, but Romeo’s attempt to halt a street fight leads to the death of Juliet’s own cousin, Tybalt, for which Romeo is banished. In a desperate attempt to be reunited with Romeo, Juliet follows the Friar’s plot and fakes her own death. The message fails to reach Romeo, and believing Juliet dead, he takes his life in her tomb. Juliet wakes to find Romeo’s corpse beside her and kills herself. The grieving family agree to end their feud.

• Read our  Romeo and Juliet Character Summaries . 

More detail: 2 minute read

Romeo and Juliet begins as the Chorus introduces two feuding families of Verona: the Capulets and the Montagues. On a hot summer's day, the young men of each faction fight until the Prince of Verona intercedes and threatens to banish them. Soon after, the head of the Capulet family plans a feast. His goal is to introduce his daughter Juliet to a Count named Paris who seeks to marry Juliet. 

Montague's son Romeo and his friends (Benvolio and Mercutio) hear of the party and resolve to go in disguise. Romeo hopes to see his beloved Rosaline at the party. Instead, while there, he meets Juliet and falls instantly in love with her. Juliet's cousin Tybalt recognises the Montague boys and forces them to leave just as Romeo and Juliet discover one another. 

Romeo lingers near the Capulet house to talk with Juliet when she appears in her window. The pair declare their love for one another and intend to marry the next day. With the help of Juliet's Nurse, the lovers arrange to marry when Juliet goes for confession at the cell of Friar Laurence. There, they are secretly married (talk about a short engagement). 

Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow — Romeo and Juliet, Act 2 Scene 2

Following the secret marriage, Juliet's cousin Tybalt sends a challenge to Romeo. Romeo refuses to fight, which angers his friend Mercutio who then fights with Tybalt. Mercutio is accidentally killed as Romeo intervenes to stop the fight. In anger, Romeo pursues Tybalt, kills him, and is banished by the Prince. 

Juliet is anxious when Romeo is late to meet her and learns of the brawl, Tybalt's death, and Romeo's banishment. Friar Laurence arranges for Romeo to spend the night with Juliet before he leaves for Mantua. Meanwhile, the Capulet family grieves for Tybalt, so Lord Capulet moves Juliet's marriage to Paris to the next day. Juliet’s parents are angry when Juliet doesn't want to marry Paris, but they don't know about her secret marriage to Romeo.

A pair of star-crossed lovers — Romeo and Juliet, Prologue

Friar Laurence helps Juliet by providing a sleeping draught that will make her seem dead. When the wedding party arrives to greet Juliet the next day, they believe she is dead. The Friar sends a messenger to warn Romeo of Juliet's plan and bids him to come to the Capulet family monument to rescue his sleeping wife. 

Ready to test your knowledge? Have a go at our multiple choice Romeo and Juliet Quiz

The vital message to Romeo doesn't arrive in time because the plague is in town (so the messenger cannot leave Verona). Hearing from his servant that Juliet is dead, Romeo buys poison from an Apothecary in Mantua. He returns to Verona and goes to the tomb where he surprises and kills the mourning Paris. Romeo takes his poison and dies, while Juliet awakens from her drugged coma. She learns what has happened from Friar Laurence, but she refuses to leave the tomb and stabs herself. The Friar returns with the Prince, the Capulets, and Romeo's lately widowed father. The deaths of their children lead the families to make peace, and they promise to erect a monument in Romeo and Juliet's memory.

Romeo and Juliet Animated Summary - 3-Minute Shakespeare

To watch more animated play summaries visit our 3-Minute Shakespeare pages

For additional reading, see our blogs on Romeo and Juliet

Discover more of Shakespeare's romantic lines:  Shakespeare Quotes on Love

Help keep Shakespeare's story alive

Read more play summaries, learn about william shakespeare, shakespeare's birthplace, anne hathaway's cottage, shakespeare's new place.

We use essential and non-essential cookies that improve the functionality and experience of the website. For more information, see our Cookies Policy.

Necessary cookies

Necessary cookies ensure the smooth running of the website, including core functionality and security. The website cannot function properly without these cookies.

Analytics cookies

Analytical cookies are used to determine how visitors are using a website, enabling us to enhance performance and functionality of the website. These are non-essential cookies but are not used for advertising purposes.

Advertising cookies

Advertising cookies help us monitor the effectiveness of our recruitment campaigns as well as enabling advertising to be tailored to you through retargeting advertising services. This means there is the possibility of you seeing more adverts from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust on other websites that you visit.

• Save settings Minimise

A Summary and Analysis of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Although it was first performed in the 1590s, the first  documented  performance of Romeo and Juliet is from 1662. The diarist Samuel Pepys was in the audience, and recorded that he ‘saw “Romeo and Juliet,” the first time it was ever acted; but it is a play of itself the worst that ever I heard in my life, and the worst acted that ever I saw these people do.’

Despite Pepys’ dislike, the play is one of Shakespeare’s best-loved and most famous, and the story of Romeo and Juliet is well known. However, the play has become so embedded in the popular psyche that Shakespeare’s considerably more complex play has been reduced to a few key aspects: ‘star-cross’d lovers’, a teenage love story, and the suicide of the two protagonists.

In the summary and analysis that follow, we realise that Romeo and Juliet is much more than a tragic love story.

Romeo and Juliet : brief summary

After the Prologue has set the scene – we have two feuding households, Montagues and Capulets, in the city-state of Verona; and young Romeo is a Montague while Juliet, with whom Romeo is destined to fall in love, is from the Capulet family, sworn enemies of the Montagues – the play proper begins with servants of the two feuding households taunting each other in the street.

When Benvolio, a member of house Montague, arrives and clashes with Tybalt of house Capulet, a scuffle breaks out, and it is only when Capulet himself and his wife, Lady Capulet, appear that the fighting stops. Old Montague and his wife then show up, and the Prince of Verona, Escalus, arrives and chastises the people for fighting. Everyone leaves except Old Montague, his wife, and Benvolio, Montague’s nephew. Benvolio tells them that Romeo has locked himself away, but he doesn’t know why.

Romeo appears and Benvolio asks his cousin what is wrong, and Romeo starts speaking in paradoxes, a sure sign that he’s in love. He claims he loves Rosaline, but will not return any man’s love. A servant appears with a note, and Romeo and Benvolio learn that the Capulets are holding a masked ball.

Benvolio tells Romeo he should attend, even though he is a Montague, as he will find more beautiful women than Rosaline to fall in love with. Meanwhile, Lady Capulet asks her daughter Juliet whether she has given any thought to marriage, and tells Juliet that a man named Paris would make an excellent husband for her.

Romeo attends the Capulets’ masked ball, with his friend Mercutio. Mercutio tells Romeo about a fairy named Queen Mab who enters young men’s minds as they dream, and makes them dream of love and romance. At the masked ball, Romeo spies Juliet and instantly falls in love with her; she also falls for him.

They kiss, but then Tybalt, Juliet’s kinsman, spots Romeo and recognising him as a Montague, plans to confront him. Old Capulet tells him not to do so, and Tybalt reluctantly agrees. When Juliet enquires after who Romeo is, she is distraught to learn that he is a Montague and thus a member of the family that is her family’s sworn enemies.

Romeo breaks into the gardens of Juliet’s parents’ house and speaks to her at her bedroom window. The two of them pledge their love for each other, and arrange to be secretly married the following night. Romeo goes to see a churchman, Friar Laurence, who agrees to marry Romeo and Juliet.

After the wedding, the feud between the two families becomes violent again: Tybalt kills Mercutio in a fight, and Romeo kills Tybalt in retaliation. The Prince banishes Romeo from Verona for his crime.

Juliet is told by her father that she will marry Paris, so Juliet goes to seek Friar Laurence’s help in getting out of it. He tells her to take a sleeping potion which will make her appear to be dead for two nights; she will be laid to rest in the family vault, and Romeo (who will be informed of the plan) can secretly come to her there.

However, although that part of the plan goes fine, the message to Romeo doesn’t arrive; instead, he hears that Juliet has actually died. He secretly visits her at the family vault, but his grieving is interrupted by the arrival of Paris, who is there to lay flowers. The two of them fight, and Romeo kills him.

Convinced that Juliet is really dead, Romeo drinks poison in order to join Juliet in death. Juliet wakes from her slumber induced by the sleeping draught to find Romeo dead at her side. She stabs herself.

The play ends with Friar Laurence telling the story to the two feuding families. The Prince tells them to put their rivalry behind them and live in peace.

Romeo and Juliet : analysis

How should we analyse Romeo and Juliet , one of Shakespeare’s most famous and frequently studied, performed, and adapted plays? Is Romeo and Juliet the great love story that it’s often interpreted as, and what does it say about the play – if it is a celebration of young love – that it ends with the deaths of both romantic leads?

It’s worth bearing in mind that Romeo and Juliet do not kill themselves specifically because they are forbidden to be together, but rather because a chain of events (of which their families’ ongoing feud with each other is but one) and a message that never arrives lead to a misunderstanding which results in their suicides.

Romeo and Juliet is often read as both a tragedy and a great celebration of romantic love, but it clearly throws out some difficult questions about the nature of love, questions which are rendered even more pressing when we consider the headlong nature of the play’s action and the fact that Romeo and Juliet meet, marry, and die all within the space of a few days.

Below, we offer some notes towards an analysis of this classic Shakespeare play and explore some of the play’s most salient themes.

It’s worth starting with a consideration of just what Shakespeare did with his source material. Interestingly, two families known as the Montagues and Capulets appear to have actually existed in medieval Italy: the first reference to ‘Montagues and Capulets’ is, curiously, in the poetry of Dante (1265-1321), not Shakespeare.

In Dante’s early fourteenth-century epic poem, the  Divine Comedy , he makes reference to two warring Italian families: ‘Come and see, you who are negligent, / Montagues and Capulets, Monaldi and Filippeschi / One lot already grieving, the other in fear’ ( Purgatorio , canto VI). Precisely why the families are in a feud with one another is never revealed in Shakespeare’s play, so we are encouraged to take this at face value.

The play’s most famous line references the feud between the two families, which means Romeo and Juliet cannot be together. And the line, when we stop and consider it, is more than a little baffling. The line is spoken by Juliet: ‘Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?’ Of course, ‘wherefore’ doesn’t mean ‘where’ – it means ‘why’.

But that doesn’t exactly clear up the whys and the wherefores. The question still doesn’t appear to make any sense: Romeo’s problem isn’t his first name, but his family name, Montague. Surely, since she fancies him, Juliet is quite pleased with ‘Romeo’ as he is – it’s his family that are the problem. Solutions  have been proposed to this conundrum , but none is completely satisfying.

There are a number of notable things Shakespeare did with his source material. The Italian story ‘Mariotto and Gianozza’, printed in 1476, contained many of the plot elements of Shakespeare’s  Romeo and Juliet . Shakespeare’s source for the play’s story was Arthur Brooke’s  The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet  (1562), an English verse translation of this Italian tale.

The moral of Brooke’s tale is that young love ends in disaster for their elders, and is best reined in; Shakespeare changed that. In Romeo and Juliet , the headlong passion and excitement of young love is celebrated, even though confusion leads to the deaths of the young lovers. But through their deaths, and the example their love set for their parents, the two families vow to be reconciled to each other.

Shakespeare also makes Juliet a thirteen-year-old girl in his play, which is odd for a number of reasons. We know that  Romeo and Juliet  is about young love – the ‘pair of star-cross’d lovers’, who belong to rival families in Verona – but what is odd about Shakespeare’s play is how young he makes Juliet.

In Brooke’s verse rendition of the story, Juliet is sixteen. But when Shakespeare dramatised the story, he made Juliet several years younger, with Romeo’s age unspecified. As Lady Capulet reveals, Juliet is ‘not [yet] fourteen’, and this point is made to us several times, as if Shakespeare wishes to draw attention to it and make sure we don’t forget it.

This makes sense in so far as Juliet represents young love, but what makes it unsettling – particularly for modern audiences – is the fact that this makes Juliet a girl of thirteen when she enjoys her night of wedded bliss with Romeo. As John Sutherland puts it in his (and Cedric Watts’) engaging  Oxford World’s Classics: Henry V, War Criminal?: and Other Shakespeare Puzzles , ‘In a contemporary court of law [Romeo] would receive a longer sentence for what he does to Juliet than for what he does to Tybalt.’

There appears to be no satisfactory answer to this question, but one possible explanation lies in one of the play’s recurring themes: bawdiness and sexual familiarity. Perhaps surprisingly given the youthfulness of its tragic heroine, Romeo and Juliet is shot through with bawdy jokes, double entendres, and allusions to sex, made by a number of the characters.

These references to physical love serve to make Juliet’s innocence, and subsequent passionate romance with Romeo, even more noticeable: the journey both Romeo and Juliet undertake is one from innocence (Romeo pointlessly and naively pursuing Rosaline; Juliet unversed in the ways of love) to experience.

In the last analysis, Romeo and Juliet is a classic depiction of forbidden love, but it is also far more sexually aware, more ‘adult’, than many people realise.

Discover more from Interesting Literature

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Type your email…

4 thoughts on “A Summary and Analysis of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet”

Modern reading of the play’s opening dialogue among the brawlers fails to parse the ribaldry. Sex scares the bejeepers out of us. Why? Confer “R&J.”

It’s all that damn padre’s fault!

• Pingback: A Summary and Analysis of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
• Pingback: A Short Analysis of the ‘Two Households’ Prologue to Romeo and Juliet – Interesting Literature

Comments are closed.

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

• Ask LitCharts AI
• Discussion Question Generator
• Essay Prompt Generator
• Quiz Question Generator

• Literature Guides
• Poetry Guides
• Shakespeare Translations
• Literary Terms

Romeo and Juliet

William shakespeare.

Ask LitCharts AI: The answer to your questions

In Renaissance-era Verona, Italy, two noble families, the Montagues and Capulets, are locked in a bitter and ancient feud whose origin no one alive can recall. After a series of public brawls between both the nobles and the servants of the two families, which shed blood and disturb the peace in Verona’s city streets, Prince Escalus , the ruler of Verona, declares that anyone in either family involved in any future fighting will be put to death.

Every year, the Capulets throw a masquerade ball. The Montagues are, of course, not invited. As Capulet and Lady Capulet fuss over the arrangements for the party, ensuring that everything is perfect for their friends and guests, they hope that their daughter Juliet will fall in love with the handsome count Paris at the ball. At 13, Juliet is nearly of marriageable age, and the Capulets believe that marrying Paris would allow their daughter to ascend the social ladder in Verona. During the party, two Montagues, 16-year-old Romeo and his cousin Benvolio , along with their bawdy, quick-tongued friend Mercutio , a kinsmen of Prince Escalus, crash the affair. Romeo attends the party reluctantly, and only because he is hoping to see Rosaline , a young woman he has been hopelessly in love with—and unsuccessfully pursuing—for quite some time. His lack of romantic success has made him noticeably forlorn as of late, much to the chagrin of his friends, who nonetheless poke fun at their lovesick friend’s melodramatic state. Tybalt , a hot-blooded member of House Capulet, notices the intrusion of the Montagues and recognizes them in spite of their masks—but when he draws his rapier and begins approaching them to provoke a fight, Capulet urges Tybalt not to embarrass their family.

When the masked Romeo spots Juliet from across the room, he instantly falls in love with her. Juliet is equally smitten. The two of them speak, exchanging suggestive jokes, and then kiss. As the party ends, Romeo and Juliet, pulled away from one another to attend to their friends and family, separately discover who the other truly is. Both are distraught—Juliet laments that her “only love [has] sprung from [her] only hate.” As the party winds down and Romeo’s friends prepare to leave, Romeo breaks off from them, jumps an orchard wall, and hides in the dark beneath Juliet’s bedroom window. She emerges onto her balcony and bemoans her forbidden love for Romeo, wishing aloud that he could “be some other name.” Romeo jumps out from his hiding place and tells Juliet that he’d do anything for her—he is determined to be with her in spite of the obstacles they face. Romeo and Juliet exchange vows of love, and Romeo promises to call upon Juliet tomorrow so they can hastily be married.

The next day, Romeo visits a kindly but philosophical friar, Friar Laurence , in his chambers. He begs Friar Laurence to marry him to his new love, Juliet. Friar Laurence urges Romeo to slow down and take his time when it comes to love: “these violent delights,” he predicts, “have violent ends.” But Romeo insists he and Juliet know what they’re doing. Friar Laurence comes around, realizing that a marriage between Romeo and Juliet could end their parents’ age-old feud. Later that day, Benvolio and Mercutio encounter Tybalt, who is furious that the Montagues crashed the Capulet party. Tybalt has, in a letter, challenged Romeo to a duel, and Mercutio and Benvolio are worried about the impulsive Romeo rising to the skilled Tybalt’s challenge. When Romeo shows up to find Tybalt, Benvolio, and Mercutio exchanging verbal barbs and teetering on the edge of a fight, Romeo does all he can to resist dueling with Tybalt. He and Juliet have just hastily visited Friar Laurence’s chambers together and are now married. Romeo doesn’t want to fight Tybalt, who is now technically his kinsman—but he knows he can’t reveal the truth to Tybalt, either. Before Romeo can explain his reasons for hesitating, Mercutio disgustedly steps in and challenges Tybalt to a duel himself. Romeo tries to separate them, but Tybalt stabs and kills Mercutio under Romeo's arm. Mercutio dies from his wounds, cursing both the Montagues and the Capulets and invoking “a plague [on] both houses.” In a miserable, mournful rage, Romeo kills Tybalt, then declares himself “fortune’s fool.” Benvolio urges him to hurry from the square. The prince and the citizens’ watch arrive, along with the elders of House Capulet and House Montague. Benvolio tells Prince Escalus what has unfolded, and the prince decides to banish Romeo to Mantua rather than sentence him to death.

Back at the Capulet manse, Juliet dreamily awaits the arrival of Romeo, whom she believes is hurrying from church so that they can spend their wedding night together. Juliet’s reveries are shattered with her nurse enters and informs her that Romeo has slain Tybalt and been banished from Verona. Juliet is furious with Romeo for killing Tybalt, but at the same time, her love for him is so profound that she admits she’d rather he lived than Tybalt. Juliet bids her nurse to go find Romeo and bring him to her, letting him know that she still wants to see him in spite of his actions. The nurse heads to Friar Laurence’s chambers, where the miserable, embarrassed, and angry Romeo is hiding. Though Romeo laments his fate to Friar Laurence, the friar urges Romeo to see that he is lucky to be alive, and promises to find a way to bring him back to Verona from exile in Mantua soon enough. The nurse arrives and summons Romeo to Juliet’s chambers—he happily follows her, and Friar Laurence urges Romeo to head straight to Mantua in the morning and await word from a messenger.

The death of Tybalt affects Capulet deeply. He decides to marry Juliet to Paris immediately, to cheer both Juliet and himself up. Juliet and Romeo bid each another farewell as the dawn breaks the next morning, and though Juliet says she has a terrible feeling she’ll never see Romeo again, she urges him to hurry on to Mantua. Lady Capulet enters Juliet’s chambers just after Romeo leaves to find her daughter weeping. Believing Juliet is still sad over Tybalt’s death, Lady Capulet delivers the news that Juliet will soon be married to Paris. Juliet refuses, and Lady Capulet urges Juliet to tell her father of her decision. Capulet enters, and, when Juliet stubbornly and angrily refutes the arrangement he’s made for her, Capulet threatens to disown her. Lady Capulet sides with her husband, and even the nurse advises Juliet to marry Paris and forget Romeo.

Juliet rushes to Friar Laurence in a rage, threatening to kill herself if he cannot devise a plan to get her out of the marriage to Paris. Friar Laurence, sensing Juliet’s deep pain, quickly comes up with a scheme: he gives her a vial of potion that, once drunk, will make it seem like she's dead—but will really only put her to sleep for about 40 hours. Juliet will be laid to rest in the Capulet tomb, and once she wakes up there, Friar Laurence will collect her and hide her until Romeo returns from Mantua. The friar promises to get news of the plan to Romeo so that he can hurry back home. Juliet takes the vial and returns home with it. Though she is afraid the potion might either kill her or not work at all, Juliet drinks it and immediately falls unconscious. The next morning the Capulet household wakes to discover that Juliet has seemingly died. As Capulet and Lady Capulet dramatically mourn their daughter’s loss, Friar Laurence chides them for their tears—in life, he says, they sought Juliet’s social “promotion.” Now that she is in heaven, she has received the highest promotion of all.

In Mantua, Romeo’s servant Balthasar approaches and tells him that Juliet has died. Romeo is devastated—he plans to “deny [the] stars” and return to Verona. Before leaving Mantua, however, he visits the shop of a local apothecary who sells forbidden poisons . If Juliet really is dead, Romeo plans to drink the vial of poison and kill himself inside her tomb. Back in Verona, Friar Laurence learns that his brother in the cloth, Friar John , has failed to deliver the letter about Juliet’s feigned “death” to Romeo—Romeo has no idea that Juliet is really alive. Friar Laurence hurries to the Capulet crypt to try to head off any calamity. At the gravesite, however, trouble is brewing: Paris has arrived with his page, intending to scatter flowers around Juliet’s tomb. Romeo and Balthasar approach, and Paris hides to see who has come to the crypt. Romeo takes up some tools and begins to break open the Capulet tomb. The astonished, offended Paris steps forward to stop him. The two duel, and Romeo kills Paris. Romeo succeeds in opening Juliet’s tomb, and brings Paris’s corpse down into it with him.

As Romeo looks upon Juliet, he notes that her cheeks and lips still seem flushed with blood—but, believing she is dead, resolves to drink the poison after a final kiss. Romeo drinks the vial and dies. Friar Laurence arrives to find a terrible scene before him. Juliet wakes, and Friar Laurence urges her to follow him without looking at the bodies. As sounds of the citizens’ watch approach, however, Friar Laurence flees, begging Juliet to follow him so he can install her in a nunnery. Instead, Juliet stays behind with Romeo’s corpse. Seeing the poison in his hand, she tries to drink a drop from his lips, but Romeo has left none for her. Instead, she pulls Romeo’s dagger from his hip and uses it to kill herself. Several watchmen arrive and bring Friar Laurence, Balthasar, Prince Escalus, and Paris’s page to the crypt to investigate what has happened. As the truth unravels, the elders of House Montague and Capulet arrive. Prince Escalus tells them that their hatred has killed their children. “All,” the prince says, “are punished.” The Capulets and Montagues agree to end their feud and erect statues of each other’s children in the town square.

• Quizzes, saving guides, requests, plus so much more.

The Definitive Guide to Analysing Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’: Summary, Context, Themes & Characters

Thinking to yourself, “Notes, o notes, wherefore art my notes?” Well, if you’re struggling with your analysis of Romeo and Juliet for English, we’ve got your back with a summary featuring the key characters, context and themes!

On top of that, we’ve got a free example of an analysis table (also known as a TEE table ) and a sample paragraph on Romeo and Juliet for you to download! 

So, let’s dive into our analysis of Romeo and Juliet! 

Romeo and Juliet Summary Key Characters in Romeo and Juliet Context Themes Explored in Romeo and Juliet Analysis of Romeo and Juliet

Summary of Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is a tragic love story by Shakespeare about two lovers who are not meant to be together as they come from feuding families.

To summarise it, Romeo of the Montagues and Juliet of the Capulets were born to be sworn enemies due to the life long conflict between their families. Yet, they embarked in a forbidden love together that led to their deaths, which finally reconciles the two families. 

The play is set out in five acts and we’ll dive into more detail on what happens during each of the acts. 

Access the Romeo and Juliet Downloadable Sample Paragraph and Examples of Analysis PDF here!

Act I of the play starts with a Chorus who introduces two powerful families in the City of Verona, Italy. These are the Montagues and Capulets, who have been on bad terms with one another for a long time.

The Capulets are holding a party for their daughter, Juliet, to meet Count Paris for an arranged marriage. Meanwhile, Romeo, the son of Montague, disguises himself and crashes the party with his friends in hopes of seeing Rosaline, his previous lover.

Instead, Romeo falls in love at first sight when he meets Juliet and the two become very attracted to each other. 

However, Romeo and Juliet soon discover that they come from opposing families and realise their doomed love . At the same time, Tybalt who is Juliet’s cousin, recognises Romeo and drives Romeo and his friends out from the Capulet house. 

In Act II, as Romeo’s friends were leaving the Capulet place, Romeo stays behind to find Juliet. Romeo sees Juliet in her window, and they confess their love for one another and agree to marry the next day .

Romeo runs to Friar Laurence, who agrees to help as he believes Romeo and Juliet’s marriage will end the feud between the Montagues and Capulets. With the help of Juliet’s nurse and Friar Laurence, Romeo and Juliet marry in secret. 

In Act III, Tybalt challenges Romeo to a fight. Romeo declines the fight and remains calm while being disrespected by Tybalt. This angers Romeo’s friend, Mercutio who starts a fight with Tybalt.

Romeo tries to stop the fight, but Mercutio is accidentally killed . Enraged, Romeo chases Tybalt down and kills him.

The Prince of Verona banishes Romeo for his crimes. Before Romeo leaves for Mantua, Friar Laurence helps Romeo and Juliet stay the night together.

Meanwhile, Lord Capulet arranges for Paris and Juliet to wed the next day. Juliet is upset because she does not want to marry Paris, and this angers her parents as they do not know about Juliet’s secret affair with Romeo. 

In Act IV, Juliet asks Friar Lawrence for help and he gives her a sleeping potion that will make her appear dead . The next morning, the Capulet family finds Juliet in her bed and believes that she had died.

Friar Laurence sends a messenger to inform Romeo about Juliet’s plan and instructs Romeo to collect a sleeping Juliet from the Capulet house. 

Act V is the most intense part of the story as the very important message did not reach Romeo in time due to the plague that delayed the messenger’s journey.

Instead, Romeo hears the news of Juliet’s death and buys himself poison. Romeo goes to Juliet’s tomb in the Capulet’s house, kills a grieving Paris, drinks the poison and dies before Juliet wakes up.

Friar Laurence enters but is too late. He tells Juliet what had happened and Juliet stabs herself from heartbreak.

Friar Laurence, the Prince, the Capulets and the Montague father come together and agree to make peace following the children’s death. 

Romeo and Juliet Characters

In case you’ve missed anything, here is a list of the key characters in Romeo and Juliet who are pivotal to the plot. 

Romeo Montague Romeo is the handsome son of the head of Montagues and is 16 years old. He is sensitive, though he can become quite impulsive when his emotions get the better of him. Unlike his friends, Romeo is not interested in violence but passionate about love. At the beginning of the play, Romeo was madly in love with Rosaline before falling in love with Juliet. Furthermore, Romeo shares his love for his own friends and family too, including Mercutio and Friar Laurence. 

Juliet Capulet Juliet is the beautiful 13 year old daughter of the Capulet family. Juliet starts off as a naive girl who knows little about love but soon gains the courage to go against her father’s wishes to marry Romeo in secret instead of marrying Paris like her father wanted. She’s loyal and trusts Romeo wholeheartedly, choosing to support Romeo despite him killing off her cousin, Tybalt. 

Friar Laurence  Friar Laurence is a Franciscan friar who helps Romeo and Juliet. He is a nice man who is also skilled in herbs and potion making. He always has a plan to help Romeo and Juliet in hopes that their relationship will calm the tension between two families and bring peace. 

Mercutio Mercutio is Romeo’s best friend and he is quite the character. He is loud, opinionated, and charismatic with a bombastic attitude that’s flowing in wit and sarcasm. He also has quite a hot temper. Unlike Romeo, Mercutio is highly hedonistic as he tries to convince Romeo to see love as a sexual pursuit. 

Tybalt Tybalt is Juliet’s cousin from her mother’s side. He is often protective over his family and he acts aggressive and violent whenever he feels offended. He absolutely hates the Montagues. 

Context of Romeo and Juliet

Shakespeare had written Romeo and Juliet based on the true love story from the 3rd century about two Italian lovers who come from the families Cappelletti and Montecchi . The play was written during the Renaissance period where there were great changes in religion, politics, science and the arts. 

When the play was written, Europe had just undergone ‘The Reformation’, where it transitioned from being a traditional Catholic nation to a Protestant society. When Europe was a Catholic society, mortal sin such as bigamy (where you marry someone else while being married to one person) was punished severely.

However, as it progressed into a Protestant nation that broke free from the strict rules of Catholicism, society gained more freedom and less oppression . As people exercised more freedom, they explored notions of humanism which is a Renaissance concept of individual power over their own lives. 

Fate and Destiny

Even so, the Elizabethan people still highly believed that their lives were tied to fate and destiny. If you think astrology is popular now, it was actually all the hype during the Elizabethan era!

Elizabethans would plan their whole lives based on astrology readings, including their love lives, travels and more depending on whether the stars favoured them.

As such, Elizabethans valued providentialism, the belief that they have no power in changing their fate as everything in their lives is already ‘predestined’ for them. 

Family Values

Family values were also kept quite traditional, as the Elizabethan society remained patriarchal. This means that the father was always the head of the household while the women were left with no rights, properties or legal authority , though they can influence their husbands’ decisions.

Children were also used as property and often engaged in arranged marriages as part of a political or financial deal to gain wealth.

Romeo and Juliet may seem too young to be married but in the Elizabethan years, it was considered normal for people to marry young.

As such, love was perceived to be a dream for Elizabethans who often enter into arranged marriages. It is often restrained with little contact between “lovers”, and the only expressions of love come in gifts, letters and poems.

This is perhaps why the Elizabethan audience were so enticed by Romeo and Juliet’s passionate love for one another , as this was rarely seen in their society. 

Appreciation for Theatre

That being said, plays were highly popular in the Elizabethan theatres. Here is where the rich and poor gather in rowdy crowds to watch plays.

Poorer people stood near the stages while richer people watched from stands above. As such, Shakespearean plays became really popular in this era , as there was a great appreciation for the arts across all groups from all backgrounds.  

Romeo and Juliet Themes

Here are three key themes from Romeo and Juliet. Feel free to look to these for inspiration when you’re planning to write your thesis and topic sentences in your essay . 

Fate VS Free Will

Shakespeare lived in a transition period where people were starting to gain their own freedom to live their lives, yet were still tied to the notions of fate and destiny. You can see this with his characters, Romeo and Juliet, who try to exercise their free will by choosing to be with one another despite their opposing family history.

Yet, it is Romeo and Juliet’s own actions and decisions that ultimately led to their doomed fate. This reinforces the Elizabethan belief that fate and destiny govern our lives, even when we try to control it ourselves. 

Some key quotes that explore this idea include: 

Love VS Conflict

It would be nice to say that “love conquers all” in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, but it’s not as simple as that. 

Love and conflict coexist within this text. The love between Romeo and Juliet is seen as a sign of hope to bring peace to the ongoing feud between the Montagues and Capulets.

However, the conflict between families grew so violent that it had caused the deaths of their beloved children and the love between them. Ultimately, Shakespeare shows us that love affects conflict, and conflict affects love. 

Here are some quotes that allow you to explore this a bit deeper: 

The Freedom of Youth Rebellion

Have you ever wanted to do whatever you felt like, without your parents butting in?

If that’s a yes from you, you’ll probably be able to relate to Romeo and Juliet. These two are also young teenagers who rebel against their parents’ wishes and express their individuality through their love for one another.

However, an excess of youthful spirit can also lead to dire consequences, as Romeo and Juliet’s unbridled passion for one another led to their unfortunate end. 

Here are some key quotes that relate to this theme:

If none of these themes resonate with you, here are some other ideas that you may find interesting: 

• External conflict VS internal conflict 
• The conflict between independence VS family obligation 
• The consequences of unbridled emotions 

How to Analyse Romeo and Juliet in 3 Steps

Students often jump right into answering the question when writing their thesis for their essays. Many don’t realise that it is only after you’ve analysed your text that you can write an amazing thesis that not only answers the question, but proves that you really do know the text inside out. 

Let’s go through the three simple steps you can take to analyse Romeo and Juliet and ace that essay!

Step 1: Select your example(s)

You may be thinking to yourself, “There’s lots happening in Romeo and Juliet so where do I even start?”

A great place to start is to look for an example with a technique . This technique can offer a deeper insight into the text, which will help you form an in-depth analysis. 

Here are two quotes we have selected to focus on the theme of fate VS free will: 

“It is the east, and Juliet is the sun” 

“I defy you, stars!” 

Step 2: Identify your technique(s) 

Students often fall into the trap of listing every technique they can find or using highly complicated techniques in hopes of getting a good mark. This is not true! 

It is better to find a technique which allows you to talk about your theme in more depth and build your argument throughout your essay. 

Techniques that provide a deeper understanding of the text include symbols, metaphors, recurring motifs, allegories, connotations and similes. Try to avoid using surface level techniques such as alliteration or repetition. 

The three techniques found in the quotes above include simile, symbolism and allusion to astrology. 

If you can, try to find a few techniques within one quote to help you kill two birds with one stone! 

Step 3: Write the analysis 

When you’re writing an analysis, try not to list out every technique you can find in the quote. It is very important to explain what the effect of the technique is and how that relates to your argument.

An example of listing out techniques looks like this:

Simile is used as Romeo refers to Juliet as the metaphorical “Sun” and uses the symbolism of astrology as he “def(ies) you, stars” to allude to fate versus free will.  

To avoid this, we need to go into how each of these techniques support our argument.

First of all, the simile of Juliet being like the “Sun” reveals Romeo’s love for Juliet that transcends beyond their families’ feud. The symbol of the “Sun” is also important to emphasise the fated doom between the two star crossed lovers.

The allusion to astrology in “I defy you, stars!” shows how fate governs Romeo and Juliet’s relationship. Once we put these techniques together, our analysis will look like: 

Shakespeare’s simile in Romeo’s description of Juliet as the “Sun” reveals their perception that their love can transcend beyond the boundaries of their families’ strife. Yet, the symbolism of the “Sun” reminds the audience that Romeo and Juliet still remain as “star crossed lovers” who are destined to die despite their efforts to overcome their fated doom. As Romeo proclaims “I defy you, stars” before submitting to his fate, the astrological allusion reinforces how destiny continues to govern their lives, reinstating the Elizabethan belief that fate will always overpower free will.  

You’ve made it to the end! Find another sample analysis paragraph of Romeo and Juliet here !

Need some help with your essay analysis of other texts aside from Romeo and Juliet?

Check out other texts we’ve created guides for below:

• Lord of the Flies
• Photograph 51
• In Cold Blood
• The Meursault Investigation
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• The Book Thief
• Away by Michael Gow
• Blade Runner
• Fahrenheit 451

We’ve also got a bunch of articles specifically on plays by Shakespeare  which you can have a read through below:

• A Midsummer Night’s Dream
• The Merchant of Venice
• Much Ado About Nothing
• King Richard III
• The Tempest

Are you looking for some extra help with your analysis of Romeo and Juliet?

We have an incredible team of tutors and mentors.

We can help you master your analysis of Romeo and Juliet by taking you through the summary, context, key characters and themes. We’ll also help you ace your upcoming English assessments with personalised lessons conducted one-on-one in your home or online!

We’ve supported over  8,000 students over the last 11 years , and on average our students score mark improvements of over 20%!

To find out more and get started with an inspirational tutor and mentor,   get in touch today  or give us a ring on  1300 267 888!

Kate Lynn Law graduated in 2017 with an all rounders HSC award and an ATAR of 97.65. Passionate about mentoring, she enjoys working with high school students to improve their academic, work and life skills in preparation for the HSC and what comes next. An avid blogger, Kate had administered a creative writing page for over 2000 people since 2013, writing to an international audience since her early teenage years. 

• Topics: ✏️ English , ✍️ Learn

Related Articles

The extensive guide to analysing shakespeare’s ‘the tempest’: summary, context, characters & themes, important quotes you should pay attention to in the merchant of venice, the ultimate guide to shakespeare for hsc english, 45,861 students have a head start....

Get exclusive study content & advice from our team of experts delivered weekly to your inbox!

Looking for English Support?

Discover how we can help you!

We provide services in

• History & Society
• Science & Tech
• Biographies
• Animals & Nature
• Geography & Travel
• Arts & Culture
• Games & Quizzes
• On This Day
• One Good Fact
• New Articles
• Lifestyles & Social Issues
• Philosophy & Religion
• Politics, Law & Government
• World History
• Health & Medicine
• Browse Biographies
• Birds, Reptiles & Other Vertebrates
• Bugs, Mollusks & Other Invertebrates
• Environment
• Fossils & Geologic Time
• Entertainment & Pop Culture
• Sports & Recreation
• Visual Arts
• Demystified
• Image Galleries
• Infographics
• Top Questions
• Britannica Kids
• Saving Earth
• Space Next 50
• Student Center

What are some examples of film adaptations of Romeo and Juliet ?

• How did Shakespeare die?
• Why is Shakespeare still important today?

Romeo and Juliet

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

• Internet Shakespeare Editions - Romeo and Juliet
• Shakespeare Birthplace Trust - Romeo and Juliet
• Theatre Database - Romeo and Juliet
• Lit2Go - "Romeo and Juliet"
• Folger Shakespeare Library - Romeo and Juliet
• Shakespeare Online - Romeo and Juliet: Analysis by Act and Scene
• PlayShakespeare.com - Romeo and Juliet Overview
• Internet Archive - "Romeo and Juliet"
• Romeo and Juliet - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

What is Romeo and Juliet about?

Romeo and Juliet is about a young hero and heroine whose families, the Montagues and the Capulets, respectively, are ferocious enemies. Romeo and Juliet ’s passionate star-crossed love leads to their demise, which ultimately serves to pacify the relationship between their families.

What is Romeo and Juliet based on?

Shakespeare’s principal source for the plot of Romeo and Juliet was The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet , a long narrative poem written in 1562 by the English poet Arthur Brooke , who had based his poem on a French translation of a tale by the Italian writer Matteo Bandello .

Where is Romeo and Juliet set?

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is set in Verona , Italy.

How is Romeo and Juliet still relevant today?

The characters of Romeo and Juliet have been continuously depicted in literature, music, dance, and theatre. The premise of the young hero and heroine whose families are enemies is so appealing that Romeo and Juliet have become, in the modern popular imagination, the representative type of star-crossed lovers.

Some of the most distinct film adaptations of Romeo and Juliet are Franco Zeffirelli ’s 1968 version of the same name, which notably cast actors similar in age to the play’s young protagonists; Baz Luhrmann ’s visually vibrant 1996 Romeo + Juliet ; and the 2013 zombie romantic comedy Warm Bodies . Learn more.

Romeo and Juliet , play by William Shakespeare , written about 1594–96 and first published in an unauthorized quarto in 1597. An authorized quarto appeared in 1599, substantially longer and more reliable. A third quarto, based on the second, was used by the editors of the First Folio of 1623. The characters of Romeo and Juliet have been depicted in literature , music, dance, and theatre. The appeal of the young hero and heroine—whose families, the Montagues and the Capulets, respectively, are implacable enemies—is such that they have become, in the popular imagination, the representative type of star-crossed lovers.

Shakespeare’s principal source for the plot was The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet (1562), a long narrative poem by the English poet Arthur Brooke , who had based his poem on a French translation of a tale by the Italian Matteo Bandello .

Shakespeare sets the scene in Verona , Italy . Juliet and Romeo meet and fall instantly in love at a masked ball of the Capulets, and they profess their love when Romeo, unwilling to leave, climbs the wall into the orchard garden of her family’s house and finds her alone at her window. Because their well-to-do families are enemies, the two are married secretly by Friar Laurence . When Tybalt, a Capulet, seeks out Romeo in revenge for the insult of Romeo’s having dared to shower his attentions on Juliet, an ensuing scuffle ends in the death of Romeo’s dearest friend, Mercutio . Impelled by a code of honour among men, Romeo kills Tybalt and is banished to Mantua by the Prince of Verona, who has been insistent that the family feuding cease . When Juliet’s father, unaware that Juliet is already secretly married, arranges a marriage with the eminently eligible Count Paris, the young bride seeks out Friar Laurence for assistance in her desperate situation. He gives her a potion that will make her appear to be dead and proposes that she take it and that Romeo rescue her. She complies. Romeo, however, unaware of the friar’s scheme because a letter has failed to reach him, returns to Verona on hearing of Juliet’s apparent death. He encounters a grieving Paris at Juliet’s tomb, reluctantly kills him when Paris attempts to prevent Romeo from entering the tomb, and finds Juliet in the burial vault. There he gives her a last kiss and kills himself with poison. Juliet awakens, sees the dead Romeo, and kills herself. The families learn what has happened and end their feud.

For a discussion of this play within the context of Shakespeare’s entire corpus, see William Shakespeare: Shakespeare’s plays and poems .

• TOP CATEGORIES
• AS and A Level
• University Degree
• International Baccalaureate
• Uncategorised
• 5 Star Essays
• Study Tools
• Study Guides
• Meet the Team

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet  by William Shakespeare

Published:  1590s

Country:  United Kingdom

Publisher:  Thomas Creede

Romeo and Juliet is probably the most famous literary love story in the world. Even people who’ve never read or seen the play know the names of the two main characters. When Shakespeare wrote the play more than 400 years ago, arranged marriages were far more common than romantic love and would continue to be so for a long time. 

The play takes a radical, and modern, approach to male/female relationships, without being sentimental. It is after all a tragedy. What destroys the two lovers is not the hasty, impulsive nature of their love, but the fact that, because of the loathing their two families have for one another, they are never allowed to love freely or openly. 

The play continues to resonate in the 21st century, because human beings still create seemingly unbreakable barriers of class, creed, race, or sexuality between their children, and Juliet’s words still echo: “‘Tis but thy name that is my enemy.” 

More on Romeo and Juliet

• ACTS - Read our detailed act by act breakdown to get an understanding of the plot, and then look at some exemplar essays to help you generate your own ideas.
• CHARACTERS - Find out all about the characters that Shakespeare created by reading our character analysis and essays on each characters.
• THEMES - Fate, love and hate- get to know the key themes in Romeo and Juliet to give you ideas for your own essays.

Romeo and Juliet Essays

Have a read of these hand picked essays to give you some ideas and inspiration for your coursework.

How does Shakespeare use imagery in his play Romeo and Juliet to intensify the drama, create atmosphere and illuminate the central themes?

By using a variety of metaphors, dramatic irony, use of figurative language and his explanation of poetic forms he conveys meaning and character excellently.

Although centuries old Romeo and Juliet is still relevant today. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Although centuries old Romeo and Juliet is still relevant today. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? I strongly agree with this statement the reason being, 

How Does Shakespeare Use The Idea Of Opposition As A Dramatic Device In 'Romeo and Juliet'? What Are The Effects Of These Techniques?

Shakespeare uses an immense amount of opposition in the play, 'Romeo and Juliet'; this creates dramatic impact. The oppositions have a major effect on the... 

Romeo and juliet- Themes

Themes Shakespeare uses a number of methods and themes to illustrate the atmosphere in this play. He uses the methods and themes to make the play more effective and motivating. 

Examine the role of women in Romeo and Juliet, and explore the role of women in 16th century society

Women had a specific place in society, and they were expected to conform to expectations of their positions. Women were owned by their husbands, and had little... 

William Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet in the 16th century

Not every Montague shared in the intense hatred for caplets. Romeo Montague was quite the opposite; he was infatuated with Rosaline, a Capulet. However Rosaline... 

Romeo and Juliet

89 pages • 2 hours read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Pre-Reading Context

Thought & Response Prompts

Paired Texts & Other Resources

Essay Questions

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay. 

Scaffolded/Short-Answer Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the play over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Mercutio has many clever and joking lines. He often wants to cheer up Romeo and make others laugh.

• How does the tone of the play change when Mercutio is killed? ( topic sentence )
• How do events in the rest of the play show that Mercutio’s death is an important turning point in the plot? Name at least three events and use details from the text to support your ideas.
• Finally, discuss in your concluding sentence or sentences how Mercutio’s death connects to the theme of feuds and rivalry .

2. Consider the setting of the famous balcony scene and the placement and movement of the characters throughout it.

• What might Shakespeare have been suggesting with the use of the balcony, symbolically? ( topic sentence )

Related Titles

By William Shakespeare

All's Well That Ends Well

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Antony and Cleopatra

As You Like It

Henry IV, Part 1

Henry IV, Part 2

Henry VI, Part 1

Henry VI, Part 3

Julius Caesar

Love's Labour's Lost

Measure For Measure

Much Ado About Nothing

Featured Collections

Audio Study Guides

View Collection

Books Made into Movies

British Literature

Elizabethan Era

Romeo and Juliet

By william shakespeare, romeo and juliet summary and analysis of act 1.

The chorus introduces the play and establishes the plot that will unfold. They explain how two families in Verona – the Capulets and the Montagues - have reignited an ancient feud, and how two lovers, one from each family, will commit suicide after becoming entangled in this conflict. These lovers are Juliet Capulet and Romeo Montague. Only after the suicides will the families decide to end their feud.

Act One, Scene One

Two Capulet servants – Sampson and Gregory – loiter on the street, waiting for some Montague servants to pass. They banter, using sexual innuendo and raunchy puns to joke about women, and speak with animosity about the Montagues. They lament that the law prohibits fighting, and wonder how to start a battle legally.

When the Montague servants – Abram and Balthasar – arrive, Sampson bites his thumb at them (which is rude but not illegal). Insulted, Abram confronts Sampson and a fight begins.

Benvolio , Romeo's cousin, arrives to discover the fight in progress. Drawing his sword, he commands them to stop. Then, Tybalt , Juliet's cousin, walks onto the street. Upon seeing his rival, Benvolio, Tybalt also draws his sword, reigniting the altercation.

Lord Capulet – the patriarch of the family – arrives at the battle, and demands a sword so that he might join in. However, Lady Capulet restrains him, even after Lord Montague emerges ready to fight.

It turns out that the Citizens of the Watch have spread word of the street fight, and Prince Escalus arrives before anyone is killed. The Prince chides the Montagues and the Capulets for their mutual aggression, which he believes is making the streets of Verona unsafe. The Prince then orders everyone to return home and cease hostilities at the risk of great punishment. He personally accompanies the Capulets home.

The Montagues and Benvolio remain on stage. The family asks Benvolio where Romeo is, and he tells them that the boy has been in a strange mood lately. When a somber Romeo finally appears, the Montagues ask Benvolio to determine the cause of his melancholy, after which they depart.

When Benvolio asks Romeo about the source of his gloom, Romeo explains that he is pining for a woman named Rosaline, who plans to remain chaste for the rest of her life. This unrequited love is the cause of Romeo's depression.

Act One, Scene Two

Paris Lord Capulet for permission to marry Juliet, but Capulet insists that Paris should be patient, since Juliet is only thirteen. However, Capulet does grant Paris permission to woo Juliet and thereby win her approval. Capulet suggests to Paris that he should try to impress Juliet at a masked ball that the Capulets are hosting that evening. Capulet then hands his servant Peter a list of names and orders the man to invite everyone on the list to the party.

Out on the streets, Peter runs into Romeo and Benvolio, who are talking about Rosaline. Peter cannot read, so he asks them to help him interpret the list. Romeo and Benvolio comply, and upon reading the list, they discover that Rosaline will be at the Capulets' party. They decide to attend - even though it is a Capulet party, they will be able to disguise their identities by wearing masks.

Act One, Scene Three

At the Capulet home, Lady Capulet asks the Nurse to call for Juliet. While they await the girl’s arrival, the Nurse laments the fact that Juliet will be fourteen in under two weeks. When Juliet arrives, the Nurse tells a rambling, embarrassing story about how her late husband had once made an inappropriate sexual joke about Juliet when she was an infant. The Nurse keeps telling her endless tale until Juliet orders her to stop.

Lady Capulet tells Juliet about Paris’s intention to marry her. The mother describes Paris as beautiful, comparing him to a fine book that only lacks a cover. Juliet does not promise anything to her mother, but she does agree to study Paris that night.

Act One, Scene Four

Romeo, Benvolio, and their friend Mercutio walk through the streets to the Capulets' party. Romeo remains depressed over Rosaline, so Mercutio tries to cheer him up with a story about Queen Mab, a fictitious elf who infiltrates men's dreams. Romeo hushes his friend, admitting his concern about the attending a party at the home of his rivals.

Act One, Scene Five

At the party, Romeo mopes in the corner, away from the dancing. From this vantage point, he notices Juliet, and falls in love with her immediately.

Tybalt overhears Romeo asking a servingman about Juliet, and recognizes the masked man's voice. However, before Tybalt can create a scene, Lord Capulet reminds him of the prince’s prohibition of public fighting, and orders the boy to stand down.

Romeo approaches Juliet and touches her hand. They speak together in a sonnet, and Romeo eventually earns Juliet's permission for a kiss. However, before they can talk further, the Nurse calls Juliet to see her mother. After Juliet leaves, Romeo asks the Nurse her name, and is shocked to learn that his new object of desire is a Capulet.

As the party winds down, Juliet asks her Nurse about Romeo. When she learns about Romeo’s identity, she is heartbroken to find out that she has fallen in love with a "loathed enemy" (1.5.138).

Though Romeo and Juliet is ostensibly a tragedy, it has endured as one of Shakespeare’s most renowned masterpieces because of its magnificent blend of styles and remarkable, multi-faceted character development. The play often veers from meticulous plot into more free-form explorations, making it difficult to categorize. However, these are singularly Shakespearean qualities that are apparent from the play’s first Act. Romeo and Juliet begins with a Chorus, which establishes the plot and tone of the play. This device was hardly new to Shakespeare, and in fact mirrors the structure of Arthur Brooke's The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet , from which Shakespeare adapted Romeo and Juliet .

Additionally, the Chorus poses the question of whether or not Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy. During Shakespeare's time, it was typical for a tragedy to begin with a Chorus. In Romeo and Juliet , the opening sonnet presents dire enough circumstances to support that convention. However, tragedy in its strictest form presupposes certain formal conceits. Most important is the idea that an individual (or individuals) is (or are) defeated by forces beyond his or her control; tragedies most often celebrate human willpower in the face of bad luck or divine antagonism. And yet, the forces at play in Romeo and Juliet are hardly beyond human control. Instead, the Montagues and Capulets have allowed their feud to fester. This is evident from the first scene, when even the patriarchs of both families enter the public street fight, ready to kill. The Chorus introduces Shakespeare's unique approach to tragedy by introducing certain established tropes of that genre but by refusing to lay the blame at the universe’s feet.

In addition, the Chorus also introduces certain sources of dramatic tension that re-appear throughout the rest of the play. For example, the diametric opposition between order and disorder is central to to Romeo and Juliet . In the Prologue, the Chorus speaks in sonnet form, which was usually reserved for a lover addressing his beloved. The sonnet is a very structured form of poetry, which indicates a level of order. However, the content of this sonnet – two families who cannot control themselves, and hence bring down disaster on their heads – suggests incredible disorder. The conflict between order and disorder resonates through the rest of Act I. Immediately following the Sonnet is the introduction of Sampson and Gregory, two brutish men whose appearance lays the groundwork for a disordered street brawl. Furthermore, the disorder within the play is evidenced by inverted circumstances. Servants start the quarrel, but soon draw the noblemen into it. The young men enter the fight, but the older men soon try to defy their aged bodies by participating. Moreover, the fact that the near disaster takes place in broad daylight in a public place undermines any expectation of security in Verona.

This underlying theme of disorder is also manifest in the hybrid of styles that Shakespeare employs. The Chorus establishes the fact that the story is meant to be tragic, and yet, Abram and Gregory are typically comic characters, both because of their low status and the lighthearted nature of their speech. While they do discuss their aggression towards the Capulets, they also make numerous sexual puns, undoubtedly intended to amuse the audience. That these sexual innuendos often slide into violent talk of rape only underscores the difficulty of categorizing Shakespeare’s tonal intentions.

It is important to note that Shakespeare wanted Romeo and Juliet to be recognized as tragedy, even though he subverts the genre in many ways. There are a few motifs in Romeo and Juliet that reveal this intention. The first is the recurring motif of death. In Act I, there are several moments where the characters foreshadow the death to come. After she meets Romeo, Juliet states, "If he be married, / My grave is like to be my wedding bed" (1.5.132). When Benvolio tries to stop the street fight, he remarks, "Put up your swords. You know not what you do" (1.1.56). The phrasing of Benvolio's line is a Biblical allusion because it evokes Jesus’s insistence that his apostles cease fighting the Roman guards during his arrest. This symbolism foreshadows Juliet’s death, which occurs after her resurrection.

The Nurse also makes two references that foreshadow Juliet’s death. In the story she tells to Lady Capulet, the Nurse speaks of Juliet’s fall when she was a child. The story foreshadows the fact that Juilet will fall, evoking the medieval and Renaissance concept of the wheel of fortune. Over the course of the play, Juliet indeed rises (appearing at her balcony to speak to Romeo) and falls (her death in the vault). The Nurse also foreshadows the tragedy when she tells Juliet, "An I might live to see thee married once" (1.3.63). Alas, this is exactly what will occur, and Juliet dies barely one day after her marriage. So even as he veers between styles and forms, Shakespeare does ensure that Romeo and Juliet a tragic story.

Even more impressive than his stylistic virtuosity is Shakespeare’s carefully calibrated character development. Almost every character in Romeo and Juliet reveals his or her inner nature through action. For instance, we learn in Act 1 that Benvolio is a pacifist, while Tybalt is hot-headed. Other characters that Shakespeare introduces in Act 1 reveal a glimmer of their inner desires even if they do not yet have a chance to express them. For instance, in the scene between Lord Capulet and Paris, the patriarch introduces his desire to control his daughter. While theoretically defending Juliet's youthful freedom, he also reveals his tendency to think of her as an object by granting Paris the opportunity to woo her. Lord Capulet's attitude towards Juliet will later force the final, tragic turn of events.

Eminent literary critic Harold Bloom believes that, along with Juliet, Mercutio and the Nurse are Shakespeare’s most marvelous creations in the play. The Nurse is intriguing because of her self-deceit. While she claims to care deeply for young Juliet, it becomes evident that she selfishly wishes to control the girl. Her story about Juliet's fall and sharing her late husband's sexual joke are wildly inappropriate comments, and reveal the Nurse's self-obsession and her fascination with sex. For such a functional character, the Nurse is particularly memorable, and a shining example of Shakespeare's ability to create multi-faceted personalities, even for his supporting characters.

Similarly, Shakespeare reveals a lot about Mercutio's character in the young man's Queen Mab speech. At first glance, the speech (and the preceding scene) paint Mercutio as a colorful, sexually-minded fellow, who prefers transient lust over committed love. However, as his speech continues, Mercutio portrays a level of intensity that Romeo lacks. Queen Mab is a rather vicious figure who forces sexuality upon women in a largely unpleasant and violent way. While he shares this story, Mercutio's tone becomes so passionate that Romeo must forcefully quieten him. This speech serves as an indication that Mercutio is a far more mature and insightful figure than his behavior immediately suggests.

In contrast, Prince Escalus and the Citizens of the Watch are largely two-dimensional characters. They serve a merely functional purpose, representing law and order in Verona. While the Prince frequently exhibits strong authority - declaring street fighting illegal and later, banishing Romeo - his decrees only produce minimal results, and the law is never as powerful as the forces of love in the play. Meanwhile, the Citizens of the Watch, though silent, are a nod to the society's attempts to protect itself. Shakespeare regularly indicates that the Citizens are always nearby, which emphasizes the ongoing conflict between the feuding families and society's attempts to restore order.

Though Romeo and Juliet has become an archetypal love story, it is in fact a reflection of only one very specific type of love – a young, irrational love that falls somewhere between pure affection and unbridled lust. Sexuality is rampant throughout the play, starting with the servants' bawdy jokes in the first scene. Also, the lovers do not think of their passion in religious terms (a religious union would have signified a pure love to a Renaissance audience)

Meanwhile, Romeo is a far less complex character than Juliet – indeed, in Shakespeare’s work, the heroines are often more multi-dimensional than their male counterparts. In Act 1, Romeo's most pronounced qualities are his petulance and capriciousness. His friends (and potentially, the audience) find Romeo's melancholy mood to be grating, and are confused when he quickly forgets Rosaline to fall madly in love with Juliet. However, Romeo stands apart from the other men in Act 1. Even Benvolio, the eternal pacifist, has recognized the violent nature of the world, and most of the other men quickly turn to anger and aggression as solutions to their problems. Romeo, on the other hand, exhibits qualities that could be considered feminine by Shakespearean standards – he is melancholy and introverted, choosing to remain distant from both the feud and the violence in Verona.

Juliet, on the other hand, is pensive and practical. When her mother insists she consider Paris as a potential mate, Juliet is clearly uninterested, but understands that a vocal refusal will gain her nothing. Her act of innocent submission will allow her to be devious later on, to her advantage. In Act 1, Juliet is already showing her powers of deception by asking her Nurse about two other men before asking after Romeo because she does not want to arouse her chaperone’s suspicions.

Romeo and Juliet's quick attraction to one other must be viewed through the lens of their youth. Even when Romeo is lusting after Rosaline, he is more interested in her sexuality than her personality, and he is upset to learn that she has chosen a life of chastity. Romeo feels sparks of desire for Juliet before they even speak, reinforcing the young man's quick passions. Shakespeare further underscores Romeo's sexual motivation by associating his and Juliet's love with darkness. For example, Romeo compares Juliet to "a rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear" when he first sees her (1.5.43). The darkness is central to their love, as they can only be together when the day is over. Throughout the play, Shakespeare associates daytime with disorder – not only does the Act I street fight occur in the daytime, but Romeo also kills Tybalt during the day – while order appears within the secrecy afforded by nighttime.

However, the love between Romeo and Juliet is not frivolous. In the fifth scene, the lovers speak in a sonnet that invokes sacrilegious imagery of saints and pilgrims. This indicates the way in which these lovers can only be together when they are completely separated from the flawed morality and complications of the world around them. This disorder is ultimately the obstacle that keeps the apart - and they will eventually decide to withdraw from the world in order to be together. Both Romeo and Juliet believe in the purity of their love - their future may be uncertain, but in the moment, their passion is all-consuming.

Romeo and Juliet Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Romeo and Juliet is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Can you find verbal irony in the play? Where?

One example of verbal irony would be Romeo's reference to the poison he has purchased as a "sweet medicine". A cordial is a sweet liquor or medicine.

Come, cordial and not poison, go with me To Juliet's grave; for there must I use thee.

What do we learn about Mercutio in queen man speech?

The whole speech is based on pagan Celtic mythology. Mercutio’s speech is laced with sexual innuendo. The words “queen” and “mab” refer to whores in Elizabethan England. As his speech goes on we notice the subtext get increasingly sexual...

What does Romeo fear as he approaches Capulet house? What literary device would this be an example of?

Romeo feels something bad is going to happen.

I fear too early, for my mind misgives Some consequence yet hanging in the stars

Looks like foreshadowing to me!

Study Guide for Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet study guide contains a biography of William Shakespeare, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Romeo and Juliet
• Romeo and Juliet Summary
• Romeo and Juliet Video
• Character List

Essays for Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.

• Unity in Shakespeare's Tragedies
• Fate in Romeo and Juliet
• Romeo and Juliet: Under the Guise of Love
• The Apothecary's Greater Significance in Romeo and Juliet
• Romeo and Juliet: Two Worlds

Lesson Plan for Romeo and Juliet

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Romeo and Juliet
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Romeo and Juliet Bibliography

E-Text of Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet e-text contains the full text of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.

• List of Characters

Wikipedia Entries for Romeo and Juliet

• Introduction