R & J Act 4-5 Study Guide

1. 1. What happens in Act IV Scene 1?

• Juliet meets Romeo in the dead of night to run away
• Friar Laurence comes up with a plan for Juliet to escape her marriage to Paris
• Paris marries Juliet at Saint Peter's Church
• Juliet meets her true love, Romeo, at the Capulet ball

2. 2. What happens in Act IV Scene 2?

• Friar Laurence gives Juliet a sleeping potion
• Romeo moves to Mantua with Balthazar
• Lord and Lady Capulet spend the night preparing for Juliet's wedding
• Juliet agrees to marry Paris, so Capulet moves up the wedding to Wednesday

3. 3. What happens in Act IV Scene 3?

• Romeo learns that Juliet has died while he is in Mantua
• Paris gets married to Juliet at Saint Peter's Church
• Juliet decides to trust the Friar's plan and finds the courage to take the potion
• Lord and Lady Capulet learn that Juliet is actually married to Romeo

4. 4. What happens in Act IV Scene 4?

• Lord Capulet spends the night prepping for Juliet's wedding the next day
• Romeo buys poison from an old apothecary
• Romeo and Tybalt fight in the streets of Mantua
• Tybalt is buried in the Capulet family vault

5. 5. What happens in Act IV Scene 5?

• Tybalt is buried in the Capulet family tomb
• Romeo learns that Juliet has been found dead
• Juliet is discovered "dead," and the Friar gets her body to the family vault
• Romeo learns that Paris and Juliet have been married

6. 6. What happens in Act V Scene 1?

• Friar Laurence learns that his letters to Romeo weren't delivered
• Romeo and Paris fight in front of the Capulet tomb
• Juliet awakens in the family tomb and finds Romeo and Paris waiting for her
• Romeo learns that Juliet has died, and he plans to return to Verona

7. 7. What happens in Act V Scene 2?

• Friar Laurence discovers that Friar John didn't deliver the letters to Romeo
• Romeo kills Paris with the apothecary's poison
• Tybalt's ghost convinces Juliet to die for Romeo
• Balthasar delivers the Friar's letters to Romeo

8. 8. What happens in Act V Scene 3?

• Romeo and Paris fight outside of the Capulet tomb
• The star-crossed lovers die
• The families, full of grief, reconcile their differences
• All of these

9. 9. Translate this into modern English:

"Things that, to hear them told, have made me tremble — And I will do it without fear or doubt, To live an unstained wife to my sweet love." (Juliet, 4.1)

• Therefore, based on the experiences of your long life, give me some advice.
• If, in all your wisdom you can’t help me, then you must acknowledge the wisdom of my resolving my problems with this knife. God joined my heart and Romeo’s, and you joined our hands.
• All these things that would have once made me shudder just to hear about. I would do it all without any fear or doubt to live as a virtuous wife to my sweet love.
• When I hear these things I go cold, but with fear and doubt, I will live a clean wife to my love.

10. 10. Translate this into modern English:

"But, gentle nurse, I pray thee leave me to myself tonight, For I have need of many orisons To move the heavens to smile upon my state" (Juliet 4.3)

• But my gentle nurse, please, leave me by myself tonight. I have many prayers to make in order to get heaven to smile on my coming marriage

• If it’s okay with you, I’d prefer to be left alone tonight and let the nurse stay with you, for I’m sure you’ve got your hands full with this business and could use some extra help

• Farewell! God knows when we’ll meet again. I feel a thrill of fear in my veins that almost seems like it could freeze up my life’s warmth

• Maybe I’ll call them back to comfort me. Oh but why should the nurse be here? I must go through this grim process alone. Potion, let’s do this. But what if this mixture doesn’t work at all?