Key points
Romeo and Juliet is a play by William Shakespeare, which was first performed in the 1590s. The play is set in Verona, a city in modern-day Italy.
The play tells the story of a young couple who fall in love at first sight. They risk everything to be together because their families, the Capulets and the Montagues, are enemies.
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy, a type of play that contains suffering and an unhappy ending for the main characters.
Video about the plot of Romeo and Juliet
Watch the following video to learn about the plot of Romeo and Juliet:
Narrator: This is all about forbidden love between teenagers from families that hate each other. They die and their families are like, “ok – timeout, let’s be pals”.
Well this looks romantic… Woah! Who’s fighting?! Oh, it’s the Montagues and Capulets. Where’s Romeo? Romeo’s lovesick. Woah! Not that sick! Romeo’s in love with Rosaline. So, the Capulets throw a big party Romeo and his buddy Benvolio want to sneak in. Luckily, it’s fancy dress so no one will notice they’re Montagues.
Rosaline is there, but pow! Romeo instantly falls in love with Juliet. That’s so cute. But wait, she’s a Capulet! Woah! After the party Romeo sneaks into the Capulet garden and sees Juliet at the balcony. She says, “Romeo, Romeo” and they decide to get married the next day! Woah! Is this Verona or Vegas!?
Romeo and Juliet get married in secret. Later Tybalt – who’s Juliet’s cousin – kills one of Romeo’s buddies, Mercutio, and Romeo is so mad, he kills Tybalt. Woah! Romeo is banished. Juliet is heartbroken that Romeo has been banished! But the Friar has a plan. He’ll give her a drug to fake her own death, she’ll get put in the Capulet tomb and wake up a day later. Then Romeo and Juliet can both escape!
So, Juliet drinks the Friar’s potion and it LOOKS like she’s died. She’s buried in the Capulet tomb. They’re all crying! The plan is foolproof, as long as the Friar’s message gets through to Romeo to tell him the plan! What?! It doesn’t?!
Romeo hears that Juliet has died, buys poison, goes to the tomb, thinks Juliet is dead, drinks the poison and dies! Woah! Two seconds later Juliet wakes up! Woah! Sees Romeo dead, then stabs herself. Woah!
Then their Mums and Dads turn up and agree to stop fighting. And never was a story of more woah, than this of Juliet and her Romeo.
Did you know?
Romeo and Juliet has been adapted into films, operas and ballets. It has also served as inspiration for musicals, for example West Side Story.
Main characters
Who are the main characters in Romeo and Juliet?
The main characters in Romeo and Juliet are Romeo, Juliet, Friar Lawrence and the Nurse.
Romeo, a member of the Montague family, falls in love with Juliet, a member of the Capulet family. The Montagues and Capulets are enemies.
Friar Lawrence is a religious man who helps the couple get married and gives them advice.
The Nurse is Juliet’s companion and a servant of the Capulets. She has looked after Juliet since she was a child and also helps the couple get married.
There are also some other important characters:
- Tybalt - Juliet’s cousin, a violent member of the Capulet family.
- Benvolio - Romeo’s cousin and a peacemaker.
- Mercutio - Romeo’s best friend who is not a member of either of the feuding families.
A fight breaks out between Montague and Capulet servants
The Capulets and Montagues are powerful families who are enemies. The play opens with servants from each family starting a fight in the streets of Verona. Benvolio, a Montague, tries to stop the fighting whereas Tybalt, a Capulet, encourages the men to fight.
Prince Escalus, the city’s ruler, stops the fighting. He warns the families that if anyone else fights in the streets they will be sentenced death.
Romeo declares his love for Rosaline
Benvolio then talks with his cousin Romeo, who is miserable. He is in love with a girl called Rosaline but she doesn’t return his feelings. Benvolio advises him to consider other girls. Romeo insists that nobody can ever compare to Rosaline.
Listening activity
Listen to this audio clip, in which Romeo talks about his love for Rosaline, and then answer the question below.
Romeo: Alas, that Love, whose view is muffled still,
Should, without eyes, see pathways to his will!
Where shall we dine? O me! What fray was here?
Yet tell me not, for I have heard it all:
Here's much to do with hate, but more with love:
Why, then, O brawling love, O loving hate,
O any thing, of nothing first create!
O heavy lightness, serious vanity,
Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms,
Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health,
Still-waking sleep, that is not what it is!
This love feel I, that feel no love in this.
Dost thou not laugh?
How does Romeo express his feelings in this clip?
Romeo uses oxymorons to express his pain and confusion at being in love with somebody who does not love him back.
An oxymoron is when two words that have opposite meanings are put together, for example, “cold fire” and “sick health”.
Paris asks for Juliet’s hand in marriage
Count Paris, a wealthy relative of Prince Escalus, tells Lord Capulet that he wants to marry his daughter, Juliet. Lord Capulet thinks that Juliet may be too young to get married, but he encourages Paris to win her love.
Lord Capulet throws a grand party at his house. Romeo and Benvolio are accidentally invited to the Capulet party and decide to attend in disguise. Romeo hopes to see Rosaline at the party, but his friends encourage him to meet other girls.
Why do Romeo and Benvolio attend the party in disguise?
Romeo and Benvolio disguise themselves to go to the party because they are Montagues and the party is being hosted by the Capulets. They were invited by mistake and are not welcome at the party, given the feud between their families.
Romeo and Juliet fall in love and get married in secret
Before the party Lady Capulet tells Juliet about Paris’ interest and Juliet promises to consider him as a potential husband.
Juliet’s cousin Tybalt recognises Romeo and wants to challenge him to a fight. Lord Capulet orders him to leave Romeo alone and not disturb the party.
Whilst dancing, Romeo sees Juliet and falls in love with her at first sight. They speak and declare their love for each other. Romeo forgets all about his earlier feelings for Rosaline.
As Romeo leaves, he asks the Nurse for Juliet’s name. The Nurse tells him that she is the daughter of Lord Capulet, and Romeo is shocked to discover that he and Juliet should be enemies. Juliet is also shocked when she finds out Romeo is a Montague.
Romeo sneaks into the Capulet garden to see Juliet. The couple decide that they want to get married even though their families are enemies.
The Nurse helps arrange the wedding and Friar Lawrence marries the couple. He hopes that their marriage will end the fighting between their families and bring peace to Verona.
Why is the scene in which Romeo and Juliet decide to marry called the ‘balcony scene’?
The scene in which Romeo and Juliet decide to get married is often called the ‘balcony scene’. This is because lots of productions stage the scene with Juliet on a balcony looking down at Romeo in the garden. In fact, Shakespeare rarely wrote stage directions or information about how to set the scene, so there is no mention of a balcony in the actual play. There is a famous balcony in Verona which has been called the Romeo and Juliet balcony.
Tybalt kills Mercutio
In revenge for Romeo attending the Capulet party, Tybalt challenges Romeo to a fight. Romeo refuses to fight Tybalt, saying he loves Tybalt like family. Mercutio is disgusted by Romeo and takes his place in the fight, but is killed by Tybalt.
Video - Mercutio’s fight with Tybalt
Watch the following video to learn how a director might stage the fight scene between Mercutio and Tybalt.
Presenter: Here are the Directors. 12 divorces, nine lawsuits and three stints in rehab between them, these guys know what they want and they normally get it. Today, they’re looking for innovative ways to bring to life the fight between Tybalt Capulet and Mercutio in act three, scene one of Romeo and Juliet.
First into the Directors’ Den are designers Graham and Martha. They are convinced a traditional sword fight is the best way of staging the untimely death of young Mercutio, after he’s taken the place of his good friend Romeo.
Graham: I am for you!
Director 1: Graham, Graham stop! I’ve got a good feeling about you two. My main concern, aside from Martha being killed, is it all seems quite traditional. How would you give this scene a modern twist?
Graham: We could be gangsters with machine guns.
Director 2: Interesting, so how many machineguns do you actually have?
Graham: At the moment we’re, we’re looking into…
Director 2: Answer the question. How many machineguns do you have on you right now?
Graham: We have no machineguns.
Director: No guns and no deal. Next into the Directors’ Den are the appallingly named ‘Marshall the Arts’. These designers plan on setting the play in feudal Japan, using Karate to stage the fight.
Male actor: And but one word with one of us, couple it with something, make it a word and a blow. Argh! Argh! Argh!
Director 3: Guys I think we’ve seen enough. But it’s a nice idea for the fight and setting it in Japan could be really interesting, well done.
Director 1: I agree with you, but my main problem is, why on earth would you come into the Directors’ Den wearing pyjamas? It shows a blatant lack of respect.
Female actor: Erm… these aren’t our pyjamas.
Director 1: Someone else’s pyjamas? That’s even worse! I’m out.
Presenter: With the Karate idea well and truly knocked out, the Directors are still looking for something a little bit different, and these dancing designers believe that they have the answer.
Director 2: I’ve got to say those moves are bear fresh. Nuff respeck.
Director 3: Can I just say, this scene often takes place in the streets and I think this idea takes that to the next level, I really like it. Just one question – how does Mercutio get killed in a dance-off?
Presenter: Enter Rosie and Neil, two designers who believe that their idea for the fight scene is a force to be reckoned with.
Director 1: That’s ridiculous, we’re not setting up a production in some fictional fantasy world.
Romeo kills Tybalt and is forced to leave Verona
Romeo, angered by Mercutio’s death, kills Tybalt in revenge. As a result, Prince Escalus orders Romeo to leave Verona and never return. If he does return, he will be killed.
Juliet hears that her cousin Tybalt is dead and that Romeo has been ordered to leave Verona. She is heartbroken and confused.
Before he leaves Verona, Romeo goes to Juliet and they spend the night together. He leaves in the morning, and the couple are both devastated.
Which of these statements are true?
Tybalt wants to fight Romeo because he believes his family’s honour has been insulted.
Romeo initially refuses to fight Tybalt.
Tybalt wants to fight Romeo because he has discovered his secret marriage to Juliet.
Statements 1 and 2 are true - Tybalt wants to fight Romeo because Romeo attended the Capulet party, which was an insult to the Capulets, and Romeo at first refuses to fight Tybalt.
Statement 3 is false - Tybalt does not know that Romeo and Juliet are married. He wants to fight Romeo because Romeo attended the Capulet party and Tybalt believes this action insulted his family’s honour.
Friar Lawrence and Juliet make a plan to reunite her with Romeo
Juliet is heartbroken at losing Romeo. Her father orders her to marry Paris and is angry when she refuses. The Nurse advises Juliet to do as her father says and Juliet feels abandoned.
Friar Lawrence has a risky plan to bring Romeo and Juliet back together. The Friar will give Juliet a sleeping potion to make her appear dead. Her family will lay her apparently lifeless body in the Capulet tomb. Friar Lawrence will send a letter to Romeo so that Romeo can meet Juliet at the tomb and they can run away together.
What happens when Juliet takes the potion?
Juliet takes the potion as she goes to bed. The Nurse, who does not know about the plan, is very distressed when she discovers Juliet in the morning, thinking that she is dead. The Capulets place Juliet in the tomb. News of the plan never reaches Romeo. He only hears that Juliet is dead and leaves for Verona immediately.
Romeo thinks Juliet is dead and drinks poison
News of the plan never reaches Romeo. He only hears that Juliet is dead and leaves for Verona immediately. Distraught, he buys some poison and heads to the Capulet tomb, where he finds Paris. He begs Paris to leave but Paris refuses and challenges Romeo to a fight. Romeo kills Paris.
Romeo enters the tomb and finds Juliet. Heartbroken because he thinks she is dead, he drinks the poison and dies.
Friar Lawrence arrives in the tomb just as Juliet starts to wake up. When the Friar hears people coming, he tries to get Juliet to leave with him. When she refuses, he flees the tomb and leaves Juliet. Juliet, who is heartbroken that Romeo is dead, tries to drink some of Romeo’s poison but there is none left. Instead, she kills herself with Romeo’s dagger.
The Capulets and Montagues agree to stop fighting
Friar Lawrence explains everything to Prince Escalus and the two families. Realising that Romeo and Juliet have died because of the conflict, the Capulets and Montagues are horrified and declare they will erect gold statues of the young couple to honour their memories. They vow to never fight again.
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