Summary:
The story of "Romeo and Juliet" was about their
unrequited and pure love to one another. Their love story started when Romeo
went to the Capulet's traditional feast and saw Juliet. When he immediately saw
her, he fell in love with her. Also, Juliet fell in love with Romeo. Because of
that, they talked to each other often and send each other letters and messages
too. They secretly communicated to one another through Juliet's Nurse. When
they finally told each other about their feelings, they decided to get married.
Romeo soon arranged their secret marriage together with Friar Lawrence. Their
secret marriage became successful. After they got married, Romeo was banished
from Verona because he killed Tybalt from an incident that afternoon also.
Romeo went to Mantua and bid his farewell to Juliet. Juliet on the other hand
was arranged to marry Paris on the next Thursday. Of course, Juliet didn't want
to marry Paris so she made a plan with Friar Lawrence. And because Friar
Lawrence knew that Juliet was already married to Romeo, he decided to help
Juliet with her plan. She gave Juliet a potion that will make her look dead for
forty-eight hours. On the night before her wedding, she drank the potion and
fell asleep. Soon, their plan became effective for other people really did
think that Juliet was already dead. On the other hand, Romeo being concerned to
Juliet sends one of his servants, Balthasar to search for Juliet in Verona.
Before that, Friar Lawrence sends Romeo a letter containing their plan about
Juliet's fake death. But apparently, Romeo wasn't able to receive it. Balthasar
saw the funeral of Juliet and soon he reported it to Romeo. Romeo after being
informed quickly decided to go back to Verona. But before that, he went to the
apothecary to buy a drug that would instantly kill him. When he had it already,
he went directly to Juliet's tomb. There he saw Paris and killed him. After
that he went where Juliet was lying. He drank the drug and soon he died. Juliet
woke up and seeing Romeo dead beside her, she decided to kill herself for her
to be able to be with Romeo. After those tragic experiences, the Capulet and
the Montague ended their war between them.
Plot:
In the city of Verona there were fighting Capulets and Montagues
which was stopped by Prince Escalus who told them that there will be a death
punishment once they fought and disturb the city again. On the other hand,
Capulet planned to have their traditional feast. Romeo went to the party
together with Benvolio and Mercutio. At the party, Romeo saw Juliet and
immediately fell in love with her. Unluckily, while they were talking, Tybalt
heard the voice of Romeo so he ordered them to leave to avoid any arguments. As Romeo left the party and as the
Nurse got hold of Juliet, they discovered each other’s identity. But because of
their so called “love” for one another, they still met and send letters. One
day, they decided to get married. Romeo quickly went to Friar Lawrence to seek
some help while Juliet asked for her Nurse’s help for her preparation for her
wedding. Luckily, their wedding became successful. Apparently, on that day
also, Tybalt fought with Mercutio and his friends. Mercutio was killed as
Romeo tried to stop their fight. Romeo became angry so he lost his control. He
killed Tybalt in anger and because of that he was banished from Verona. Juliet
was worried for what Romeo did. She sent her Nurse to Friar Lawrence and found
out that Romeo was there. On that night, Romeo went to Juliet and bid his
farewell before he went to Mantua. Despite of all those things, Juliet was
arranged to marry Paris on the next Thursday. But because Juliet doesn’t want to marry him, he asked the
help of Friar Lawrence for her to be able to escape the wedding. Friar Lawrence
helped Juliet and gave her a potion that would make her look like dead. They
planned to send to Romeo a letter about this plan. But unfortunately, Romeo
wasn’t able to receive the letter. Instead what Romeo received from Balthasar
was that Juliet was already dead. He decided to go back to Verona that day but
before that he went to the apothecary and bought a drug that would kill him
instantly. After that he returned to Verona and went to Juliet’s tomb. There he
saw Paris and fought with him. He killed Paris. Then Romeo went beside Juliet
and drank the drug which made him die. Juliet woke up and saw what happened to
Romeo. She decided to kill herself with a knife. Because of the deaths of
Juliet and Romeo, their families decided to end the war between them and build
a monument for their honor.
Characters:
The characters in the story are Romeo (He is a sixteen-year-old
man who belongs to the great family of Montague. He is good-looking, clever,
independent, affectionate and a passionate lover. He is also extremely brave
especially in terms of fighting for his loved ones and quite selfless that he
can risk his own life for them. But sometimes he is also immature for having
such childish acts in the play and also for being uncontrollable once he got
mad and angry. Also, he is somewhat hard-headed for disobeying his parents.),
Juliet (She is a thirteen-year-old girl who belongs to the well-bred family of
the Capulet. She is lovely, delicate, gentle and still innocent in terms of
true love. Despite of being so innocent, she was still able to feel and love Romeo
truly and madly. She is also loyal and honest for she was able to stick with
their love in spite of Romeo being far away from her without any
communication.), Friar Lawrence (He is a friend to both Romeo and Juliet. He is
helpful, kind, approachable, considerate and clever. He is also professional in
terms of using different potions and herbs. He was the one who married Romeo
and Juliet secretly and the one who planned Romeo's escape away from Verona. He
is also hopeful that the war between the Capulet and the Montague would soon
end.), Mercutio (He is Romeo's best friend. He is cheerful, imaginative,
lively, brave and friendly. He was the one who pushed Romeo in going to the
Capulet's traditional feast. Because of him, Romeo and Juliet had the chance to
meet each other. Also, he was the one who pushed Romeo in forgetting Rosaline,
Romeo's first love.), Juliet's Nurse (She was the one who cared and loved
Juliet like her own daughter for her whole life. She is kind, loving, caring,
loyal, honest and truthful. She is also trust-worthy for she was able to keep
Juliet and Romeo's secret from the Capulets. She is supportive for always being
there for Juliet whenever she needs her.), Capulet and Lady Capulet (They are
the parents of Juliet. They are powerful and strong. They are strict to Juliet
for they want to protect her from the Montague. Despite of being so protective
and strict, they still love their daughter.), Montague and Lady Montague (They
are the parents of Romeo. They are loving and concerned.), Paris (He was the
suitor of Juliet who was truly recommended by his father. He is arrogant and
powerful.), Benvolio (He is Romeo's cousin. He is kind, helpful and
considerate. He also pushed Romeo to forget about Rosaline.), Tybalt (He is
Juliet's cousin. He is fearful, violent and sensitive. He is also a warfreak.)
and Prince Escalus (He is the one responsible for keeping the peace in Verona
at all times.)
Settings:
Generally, the story of “Romeo and Juliet" took place in the
beautiful city of Verona and Mantua in Italy in the Renaissance Period around
the 14th and 15th century.
Exposition:
In the city of Verona, Italy there were two powerful families that
were rivals for an unknown reason. Their family members were always fighting in
the streets of Verona causing many destruction and disturbances around the
city. Because of that, Prince Escalus decided to make a punishment for those
who will fight again in the city which is death. On the other hand, Romeo and
Benvolio met and they talked about Romeo's unrequited love for Rosaline.
Benvolio tried to convince Romeo to stop thinking about Rosaline. Soon, they
met a servant of the Capulet asking for some help to find the guests on the
invitation for the Capulet's traditional feast and of course Romeo helped him.
When Romeo saw the name of Rosaline, he decided to attend the party together
with Benvolio and Mercutio.
Rising
Action:
On the Capulet's party, soon, Romeo saw Juliet and immediately
fell in love with her. They talked to each other and Juliet on the other hand,
fell in love with him as well. But when Tybalt heard Romeo's voice, he
immediately reacted and wanted Romeo to get out of the party. To avoid any
arguments, Romeo just left and went out of the party. He was informed that
Juliet was a Capulet and on the other hand, Juliet was also informed that Romeo
was a Montague. Despite of knowing each other's identities, they still loved
and longed for each other. Soon, they told each other about their feelings.
After that, they usually meet and send love letters to one another. Because of
all those things that they've gone through together, they decided to be married
as soon as possible. Romeo asked the help of Friar Lawrence about their secret
marriage and luckily, he agreed while Juliet asked for the help and support of
her Nurse for their escape at their house. Their marriage was successfully done
and celebrated. On that day, Romeo met with Benvolio and Mercutio. But when he
arrived, he saw Mercutio and Benvolio fighting with Tybalt together with the
other Capulets. At first, he tried to stop them. But when Tybalt killed
Mercutio, he fought with them. And because of too much anger, he killed Tybalt.
He was shocked and frightened at first so he decided to hide in Friar
Lawrence's place. There Friar Lawrence cured his wounds and told her about his
banishment in Verona.
Climax:
The banishment of Romeo in the city of Verona became finally
official. When he knew about it, he was so depressed and he doesn't want to
live anymore. Also, when Juliet was informed about Romeo's banishment she was
panicking and sad. She immediately sends her Nurse to Friar Lawrence to ask if
Romeo was there. When the Nurse got there, she saw Romeo and became sad also.
She told him that Juliet will wait for him that night. Soon, the Nurse left.
Romeo went to Juliet's place as agreed. They talked sincerely again and bid
their farewells.
Falling
Action:
Juliet was arranged to marry Paris on the next Thursday. First,
Juliet protested to her parents but none of them listened to her. On their
meeting with Friar Lawrence, she acted like she's already fine with it. But
when Paris left, he asked for Friar Lawrence's help. She asked for something
that will help her in escaping with their marriage. Friar Lawrence gave her a potion
that will make her body like dead. After so many preparations, at the end of
the day, Juliet asked her Nurse and mother to leave her alone for her to have
some rest. When they left, Juliet drank the potion and it immediately became
effective. Juliet appeared to be dead in front of many people. Soon, the
wedding became a funeral. On the other hand, Romeo sent Balthasar to look for
Juliet in Verona. Unluckily, there was a message from Friar Lawrence about the
plan that he and Juliet made that was not sent to Romeo. So what Balthasar saw
which was the funeral of Juliet was the one reported to Romeo. When Romeo
received the information from Balthasar, he decided to go back to Verona to
visit her beloved lady. But before he went to Verona with Balthasar, he decided
to visit the apothecary in Mantua. There he bought a drug that could kill him
instantly. When they arrived in Verona, they went to Juliet's tomb directly.
Romeo ordered Balthasar to deliver his letter to his father the next morning
and stay away already. Balthasar fakely agreed to Romeo and just hid under a
yew-tree instead. Romeo started to open Juliet's tomb not knowing that Paris
was there also. When they saw each other, they fought. Romeo killed Paris.
Soon, Romeo went beside Juliet and started to drink the drug that he bought
from the apothecary. The drug fastly became effective and soon, he died. Juliet
woke up and saw her beloved Romeo lying dead beside her. She cried and cursed.
Because of her true and pure love for him, she decided to be with him so she
killed herself using a knife.
Denouement:
Because of the death of both Romeo and Juliet, the Capulets and
the Montagues decided to end the war between them. They agreed about their
children's love and decided to support one another. They also decided to build
a statue of Romeo and Juliet to honor them for their incomparable love story.
