Category: Writing

Place: Capulet Household

Time: Night

Characters: Juliet, Nurse

Juliet is anxiously waiting for Romeo to return. Nurse sees Juliet and tells her of a tragic death. Juliet thinks its Romeo until Nurse eventually explains it’s Tybalt who has died and Romeo has killed him. She then explains he has been exiled from Verona (a fate worse than death). Juliet is first furious with him but after reflection that Tybalt would have killed Romeo and it was either Tybalt or Romeo to die.

Quote: “There’s no trust, no faith, no honesty in men, all perjur’d, all forsworn, all naught, all dissemblers.”

Place: Streets of Verona

Time: Monday afternoon

Characters: Mercutio, Benvolio, Montague Servingmen, Romeo, Tybalt, Capulet Servingman, Officer, Prince Escalus, Lady Capulet, Montague

Mercutio, Benvolio and some of his men are heading home when they run into Tybalt and some of his men. Tybalt is looking for Romeo and coincidently, Romeo appears. Tybalt issues a challenge for a dual and Romeo refuses. In outrage, Mercutio unsheathed his sword and prepares to fight. Romeo steps in between them and Mercutio is stabbed under Romeo’s arm. Mercutio dies and in rage Romeo kills Tybalt. Romeo flees the scene as Prince Escalus and family members from both houses appear. The family members can’t decide who to blame so Prince Escalus decides to banish Romeo and kill him on sight.

Quote: “Prince: Romeo slew him, he slew Mercutio. Who now the price of his dear blood doth owe? Montague: Not Romeo, Prince, he was Mercutio’s friend. His life concludes but what the law should end, The life of Tybalt. Prince: And for that offence immediately we do exile him hence.

Place: Friar Lawrence’s cell

Time: Monday afternoon

Characters: Friar Lawrence, Romeo, Juliet

Romeo and Juliet meet and are married *off scene for the audience*.

Place: Capulet household

Time: Monday afternoon

Characters: Nurse, Juliet

Juliet is waiting for a very late Nurse to arrive and tell her about Romeo’s marriage arrangements. Nurse arrives and tells Juliet to go to Friar Lawrence’s cell immediately. Juliet is overjoyed and goes there.

Quote: “The clock struck nine when is did send the Nurse… and from nine to twelve is three long hours, yet she is not come.”

Place: Street in Verona

Time: Monday, midday

Characters: Mercutio, Benvolio, Romeo, Nurse, Peter

Mercutio and benvolio are still looking for Romeo in the streets. He then appears and shortly afterwards Romeo talks to the Nurse about the marrying of Juliet. The Nurse agrees to pass on the message to go to Friar Lawrence’s cell.

Quote: “Alas, poor Romeo, he is already dead, stabbed with a white wench’s black eye, run through the ear with a love song, the very pin of his heart cleft with a blind bow-boy’s butt shaft (cupid’s arrow) and he is a man to encounter Tybalt?”

Place: Friar Lawrence’s cell

Time: Monday Morning

Characters: Friar Lawrence, Romeo.

Friar Lawrence is alone picking herbs and comparing them to virtues of humans alone when Romeo arrives and tells him of his love for Juliet and his wish to marry her, the enemies daughter. Friar Lawrence originally disagreed but then saw that it could turn the hatred between the families to friendship.

Quote: “For this alliance may so happy prove to turn your households rancour to pure love.”

Soliloquy (speaking thoughts out loud): “In man as well as herbs, grace and rude will and where the worser predominant full soon canker death eats up that plant”

Place: Capulet orchard

Time: Late night early morning

Characters: Romeo, Juliet.

This is one of Shakespeare’s most famous scenes, the balcony scene where Romeo and Juliet discuss their future romance wise, what they would do for eachother and the danger surrounding their love.

Place: An orchid outside Capulet house

Time: Late night/early morning

Characters: Romeo, Benvolio and Mercutio

Mercutio and Benvolio are trying to find Romeo using Rosaline as a motivator.

Time: Night.

Place: Capulet household.

Characters: Romeo, Juliet, Tybalt, Capulet, Cousin Capulet, Nurse, Multiple Servants, Benvolio.

At the party, Capulet welcomes the guests inside and Romeo spots Juliet in the crowd and it’s love at first sight. Tybalt finds Romeo but is restrained by Capulet before a scene is caused. Romeo and Juliet kiss and Romeo flees without Juliet knowing his name of house. Nurse then tells her about Romeo.

Quote: What lady’s that which doth enrich the hand of yonder knight?

“But he that hath the steerage of my course direct my sail.”

The metaphor here is that Romeo is a boat. Alone in a large ocean, alone and completely alone. The boat has no control over the waters of fate but “he that hath the steerage” can navigate the waters of fate and decide on the location. It is always a planned before however. You can’t just set off without preparing. This is why the navigator will know the destination before the journey. It could be planned months ahead, maybe years. But Romeo doesn’t know this course. He is just a vessel in his mind. He is making God steer him to wherever planned. The same metaphor is used in both the book and the movie. It has to have a significant meaning in the story then.

In the movie the scene that the metaphor appears is where Romeo gives up to his decided fate and to let God take over. He believes it is futile for him to resist fate and so he takes an unknown drug and he is left in the worlds control. He makes the metaphor at that moment because he believes that something major is going to happen at the party. He cant stop what will happen because it was told aeons ago. That how fate works.