Module 3 Lessons: Romeo and Juliet- Act 5

7. Romeo and Juliet- Act 5

Lesson 80

Romeo and Julietï¿½Act 5

Scene 1

It's now Thursday morning, approximately 36 hours after Juliet has taken the potion. She is due to wake up late Thursday afternoon or early Thursday evening. Romeo's man, Balthasar, brings him news of Juliet's "death." Unaware of the secret plan of Friar Laurence and Juliet, Romeo believes the sad news. Desperate and grieving, he decides to join Juliet in death.

Read Scene 1. Then read the following discussion.

Chelsea: It's very sad at the beginning of the scene when Romeo believes that good news is coming but instead Balthasar tells him Juliet "sleeps in Capels' monument."

Lin: Didn't Balthasar know about the phony poison?

Chelsea: Only the friar and Juliet know, but I seem to remember that the friar was going to send a message to Romeo in Mantua. What happened?

Mr. Haas: You'll find out what went wrong with Friar Laurence's message in the next scene.

Dominic: Romeo reacts very quickly to the terrible news. Everything happens so quickly—before you know it, he's purchased poison to kill himself and hired horses to take himself and Balthasar to the Capulet tomb.

Mr. Haas: Shakespeare's tragedies move rather quickly in the last act.

Respond to the following questions.

Romeo has a premonition in lines 6 to 9 that is similar to a premonition Juliet had in Act 3, Scene 5. Write down both premonitions.
Why does the apothecary agree to sell Romeo poison? Why was the apothecary reluctant to do so?
In lines 37 to 56, Romeo paints a vivid picture of the apothecary shop. Pick two details that you think are particularly vivid. Explain the images they create.
Lines 80 to 83 express a theme that transcends the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Paraphrase these lines, illustrating the general idea they convey.

Scene 2

This scene is the shortest in the play. Friar Laurence discovers, as does the audience, the reason why Friar John was unable to deliver the message to Romeo. Juliet is about to wake from her deep sleep, and Friar Laurence hurries to the Capulet tomb to keep Juliet safe until Romeo arrives.

Read Scene 2. Then read the following discussion.

Scene 3

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The previous scene was the shortest in the play and Scene 3 is the longest. It's Thursday evening, and Paris and his page arrive to place flowers on Juliet's grave. Romeo arrives soon afterwards. A fight occurs and Romeo kills Paris. Finding Juliet in the tomb, and believing her dead, Romeo swallows poison and dies. Friar Laurence arrives and tries to convince Juliet to come away with him. She refuses, he leaves, and it's then that she finds Romeo dead. Snatching Romeo's dagger, she stabs herself, falls upon his body, and dies. The Capulets, Lord Montague, and Prince Escalus come upon the slaughter, and hear the details of the tragic tale from Friar Laurence. Finally, Montague and Capulet join hands in peace as they recognize family hatred has destroyed their precious children.

Read Scene 3. Then listen to "Romeo and Juliet 2" on your English Language

Arts 10-1 audio CD where you'll hear a discussion about some of the ideas in

Scene 3, such as human flaws, fate, and tragedy. Afterwards, respond to the following questions.

How has fate worked against Romeo and Juliet in the last two scenes?
In what ways are Romeo, Juliet, and Friar Laurence at fault?
Romeo descends into the "bed of death"—Juliet's tomb—with three purposes in mind. What are they? In line 45, calling the Capulet tomb a "detestable maw" and a "womb of death," Romeo extends the metaphor in the next three lines. Paraphrase lines 45 to 48 in your own words, and explain why the extended metaphor is effective.
In lines 49 to 53, Paris reveals his two misconceptions about Romeo. What are they?
Romeo shows himself to be a more complex character in this scene. What character traits does he reveal when dealing with Balthasar, Paris, the dead Tybalt, and with his dear Juliet? Remember to fill in your character-trait chart.
In what ways are Romeo and Juliet's dying words the same?

a. Paraphrase Lord Capulet's words of lines 202 to 205.
b. Line 210 brings news of another death. Make a chart similar to the following, listing all the deaths in the play, observing the order in which each occurred, the cause of each death, and the family of the deceased.

Death Family Cause

Mercutio Escalus When Romeo won't fight Tybalt, Mercutio intervenes on his behalf and is killed by Tybalt when Romeo tries to separate the two combatants.

c. Friar Laurence's explanation of the tragedy—in lines 229 to 269—and the information from Balthasar, as well as from Paris's page, reveal little, if any, new information to the audience. Why do you think Shakespeare included these speeches?
d. Capulet and Montague promise to memorialize each other's child. What do they vow to do?
e. The Prince's words bring an emphatic conclusion to the play, yet one line remains ambiguous. He states that "Some shall be pardon'd, and some punished." To whom do you think he is referring? Why?

Journal Entry

Now that you've read and studied Romeo and Juliet, write a response to the entire play. For example, what did you especially like? What parts were confusing? What was realistic? Unrealistic? What parts do you find most compelling? If you were going to give advice to a student about how to study the play, what advice would you give?

This concludes the play. In just a brief four days, Romeo and Juliet met, fell in love, married, and died. You felt, as did Elizabethan audiences, that their deaths could have been avoided. Romeo and Juliet is especially sad and tragic because the protagonists are young—near your age.

Juliet's tomb in Verona
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Suggested Answers

1. a. Romeo's premonition: "I dreamt my lady came and found me dead . . . And breathed such life with kisses in my lips, / That I revived, and was an emperor."

Juliet's premonition: "O God, I have an ill-divining soul! / Methinks I see thee, now thou art below, / As one dead in the bottom of a tomb. / Either my eyesight fails, or thou look'st pale." (lines 54 to 57)

b. The apothecary sells Romeo poison because he is poor and needs the 40 ducats that Romeo is prepared to pay. He is reluctant because Mantua's law forbids the sale of poison, and he risks the penalty of death should he carry out Romeo's request.

c. Responses will vary. Two particularly vivid passages, which convey images of dusty, dirty rooms, foul, stale odours, and general neglect and poverty are the following:

"And in his needy shop a tortoise hung, / An alligator stuff'd, and other skins / Of ill-shaped fishes."
". . . about his shelves / A beggarly account of empty boxes, / Green earthen pots, bladders and musty seeds, / Remnants of packthread and old cakes of roses, / Were thinly scatter'd."

d. Money can do as much damage to human beings as can poison. In other words, a desire for, and preoccupation with, money can be soul-destroying.

2. a. Fate has not served Romeo and Juliet well in the following ways:

The letter to Romeo that explains the details of Juliet's "supposed death" does not reach Romeo; consequently, he wants to join her in death.
Friar Laurence isn't able to make it to the Capulet tomb in time to prevent Paris's death or Romeo taking poison.
Although Juliet is due to wake up within a few minutes, Romeo kills himself first, thinking his wife is dead.
Fear of "the Watch" prompts Friar Laurence to leave Juliet alone, allowing her to kill herself with Romeo's dagger.

b. Romeo is impatient and consumed by love for Juliet. Consequently, his feelings control his thoughts.

Friar Laurence, knowing the impulsiveness of the two young people, could have been more vigilant and protective.

Juliet leaves her life in the hands of Friar Laurence. As a result, she is completely helpless for 42 hours, unable to write or talk to Romeo. She, too, is so consumed by love that she lets her heart rule her head.

c. Romeo's three purposes are

to see Juliet's face (line 29)
to take a precious ring from Juliet's finger (lines 30 and 31)
to kill himself and join Juliet in death (line 48)

d. Romeo addresses the Capulet tomb, saying the following: You detestable tomb of death, full with so many dead bodies, you that keeps my lovely Juliet away from me and away from life, I will force your stone doors open. Once I enter your terrible interior, I'll give you another dead body—mine!

The extended metaphor is effective because it conveys a vivid image of a stone tomb, filled with many dead bodies in various stages of decay. Romeo's picture of death as an insatiable creature with a gorged stomach, filled to overflowing, is a powerful and revolting image.

e. Paris's mistaken ideas about Romeo are the following:

Paris assumes Romeo is responsible for the death of Juliet because Romeo "murder'd . . . [Tybalt], with which grief, / It is supposed, the fair creature died." (lines 50 and 51)
Paris thinks Romeo has come to the Capulet tomb to "do some villainous shame / To the dead bodies." (lines 52 and 53)

f. Romeo is decisive and resolute throughout the last scene. His energy is focused, and he is firm when dealing with Balthasar. He fights with Paris reluctantly but with conviction, and kills him for only one reason: Paris is preventing him from entering Juliet's tomb. Regardless of what people think about Romeo's decision to poison himself, such an action implies courage, unconditional love, and a feeling of despair.

g. Romeo's dying words are, "Here's to my love! O true apothecary! / Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die." (lines 119 and 120)

Juliet's dying words are, ". . . I'll be brief. O happy dagger! / This is thy sheath; there rust, and let me die." (lines 168 to 170)

Both speak to that which they use to kill themselves: Romeo, the apothecary and poison; Juliet, Romeo's dagger. The last word each speaks is "die." Another similarity is that both want a swift and immediate death—Juliet uses the word "brief," and Romeo, "quick."

3. a. Oh, no! Look at our bleeding daughter. How can this be? Romeo's dagger is missing from its sheath and is in our fair daughter's chest.

b. This chart contains a note of all the deaths in Romeo and Juliet.

Death	Family	Cause
Mercutio	Escalus	When Romeo won't fight Tybalt, Mercutio intervenes on his behalf and is killed by Tybalt when Romeo tries to separate the two combatants.
Tybalt	Capulet	To avenge the death of Mercutio, Romeo kills Tybalt.
Lady Montague	Montague	Romeo's exile causes her so much anguish that she dies of grief.
Paris	Escalus	Romeo bears Paris no ill will, but when Paris won't allow him to enter the Capulet tomb, Romeo kills him so that he may join his love, Juliet.
Romeo	Montague	Out of a desire to join Juliet in death, Romeo takes a quick-acting poison.
Juliet	Capulet	After seeing her beloved Romeo dead beside her in the tomb, Juliet takes his dagger and kills herself.

c. Responses may vary. Perhaps the Capulets and the Montagues need to recognize the fact that all the deaths have been caused by their family feud. The summaries emphasize the tragedy. The explanations also act as an effective review of a complex plot. While listening to the explanations, the audience can consider whether it was human action and fate, or both, that led to the premature deaths of so many people in Verona.

d. Capulet and Montague both promise to put up pure gold statues of Romeo and Juliet in Verona as a painful reminder of the hatred that destroyed their precious children.

e. Lord and Lady Capulet and Montague are both pardoned and punished. Prince Escalus will probably pardon them because they themselves didn't break the peace. However, they're punished because each family lost two members; as a result, they will forever feel the pain of loss and grief associated with those deaths.

It's difficult to say if Prince Escalus will punish or pardon Balthasar and the page of Paris for their minor roles in the tragedy. Prince Escalus may punish Friar Laurence because he is a "Holy Father" and a mature person who allowed—some may say encouraged—two impulsive youths to do as they wished. It's doubtful that any of the characters mentioned in this response will be executed, imprisoned, or banished for their role in the tragedy. However, they will have to live with guilt for the remainder of their lives.