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nurse agree to help them, hoping
the union will end the feud. The next
day in the street, Mercutio taunts
Tybalt Capulet and the two begin
to fence. But although only Romeo
knows it, Tybalt is now his cousin-
in-law and Romeo tries to break up
the fight. Tybalt fatally wounds
Mercutio. Romeo kills Tybalt in
revenge, and the Prince banishes
Romeo from Verona to Mantua.
Seeing Juliet distraught,
although not knowing why, old
Capulet decides her wedding to
Paris must go ahead right away.
Desperate, Juliet asks Friar Laurence
for help. The friar advises her to
escape the wedding by taking a
sleeping-potion, which will make her
seem dead for 42 hours. The friar will
send a message to Romeo in
Mantua, who can then rescue her
from the family tomb when she
awakens. Juliet goes ahead with the
plan, and is found apparently dead
on the morning of the wedding.
The friar’s message does not
reach Romeo and he hears only
of Juliet’s death. Grief-stricken,
Romeo rushes back to Verona and
creeps into the Capulet tomb,
where he meets Paris. The twoTHE LORD CHAMBERLAIN’S MAN
Act 3 Act 4 Act 5
fight and Paris is killed. Romeo lays
down beside Juliet’s apparently
lifeless body, takes poison, and
dies. Not long after, Juliet regains
consciousness and finds Romeo
dead. She tries to take the poison
from his lips with a kiss, but death
eludes her, so she takes Romeo’s
dagger, stabs herself, and dies.
As the bodies are discovered,
Friar Laurence explains the sorry
situation to the Prince, who
lambasts the families whose
feuding has brought this tragedy.
The old men shake hands and
agree to end their enmity. ❯❯3.5
3.5 4.3–4 5.3
4.1 5.3 5.3
Romeo and Juliet
spend their wedding
night together.Romeo flees to
Mantua, and Juliet’s
wedding to Paris is
arranged.Juliet takes the
drug and is found
apparently dead
in her bed.Lying next to Juliet’s
body, Romeo takes
poison and dies.Juliet is persuaded
by Friar Laurence to
drug herself to
escape her wedding
to Paris.Returning to Verona,
Romeo sneaks into
Juliet’s tomb but
meets Paris and kills
him in a fight.Juliet wakes to find
Romeo dead and
stabs herself
in despair.5.3
Horrified by the
discovery of the dead
lovers, the Montagues
and Capulets end
their feud.