Notes Romeo and Juliet

Notes – Romeo and Juliet

Act IV Notes

Scene i –Friar Laurence’s cell

Paris has come to speak with Friar Laurence
Paris speaks of his upcoming wedding to Juliet – concerned about Juliet’s grief, which he assumes is about Tybalt’s death
Friar questions how quickly
Juliet comes to talk with Friar Lawrence
She is hysterical about the situation with Romeo
She would rather die
She would rather go with a dead man
She would rather sleep where dead bones are
She would rather be chained with bears
Asks the Friar for advice – says she will die if he can’t help her
The Friar says he sees some hope, but there is danger involved
He says that if she is refusing to marry Paris and is willing to kill herself, she probably will accept the plan
She is to go home and accept the idea of marrying Paris
Then, that night, drink the potion he gives her  will cause her to appear dead – pale, stiff, cold – for 42 hours  then she will awaken as from a pleasant sleep
Paris, and her family, will think her dead
She will be put in the family vault
Romeo will leave town, but he will return
The Friar and Romeo will come to the graveyard to watch for her to awake
Then, Romeo and Juliet will escape to Mantua
The Friar will send another friar to speed a letter detailing the plan to Romeo

Scene ii – Hall in Capulet’s house – preparation for the wedding

Scene iii – Juliet’s bedchamber

Juliet asks the nurse and her mother, Lady Capulet, to leave her alone for the night
Juliet admits that she is very afraid of drinking the liquid
What is the mixture doesn’t work?
What is the Friar is trying to kill Juliet, and the liquid kills her?
What if she wakes up in the tomb before Romeo rescues her?
She might suffocate – there is no healthy air there
She will be terrified of the bones of the ancestors, including Tybalt
She might be so scared that she will bash her own brains with bones
She drinks the liquid and falls upon her bed

Scene iv – Capulet’s household – Lord and Lady Capulet have a conversation about their marriage

Scene v – Capulet household

The nurse discovers that Juliet is “dead”  she runs and tells Lady Capulet
Lady Capulet is heartbroken – says wake up or I’ll die with you
Lord Capulet says death ties his tongue and won’t let him speak
The Friar comes and asks whether Juliet is ready  he is told of her death
Paris says he will love Juliet, even in death
Lord Capulet says his joys are buried
Friar Lawrence says that heaven now has Juliet
Her body was mortal and had to die  heaven gives her immortal life
Her life is the best it can possibly be – “the woman is best married who dies a young bride”
He instructs the parents to dress her in her best clothes and take her to the church
He says we should rejoice that she is in heaven