Act 5

• Scene 1


  • Romeo's friend Balthasar arrives from Verona with news of Juliet's death
  • Romeo goes to an apothecary to get poison to kill himself at Juliet's side
• Scene 2


  • Friar Lawrence speaks to Friar John and it's revealed that the letter was never delivered to Romeo due to Friar John being quarantined (plague)
  • Friar Lawrence decides to go to Juliet himself instead
• Scene 3


  • Romeo arrives at Juliet's tomb and kills Paris who tries to stop him
  • Romeo drinks the poison
  • Friar Lawrence arrives as Juliet wakes up but refuses to go with him
  • Juliet kisses Romeo and stabs herself
  • Friar Lawrence explains what happens when the Watch show up and Capulet and Montague make up
• "Is it even so? then I defy you, stars!"


  Scene 1

  Romeo says he will defy fate and his destiny
• "Put this in any liquid thing you will, And drink it off; and, if you had the

  strength Of twenty men, it would dispatch you straight."


  Scene 1

  The Apothecary tells Romeo how strong the poison is and how quickly it works
• "tempt not a desperate man"


  Scene 3

  Romeo responds to Paris' death threat as he is already desperate to die
• "The letter was not nice but full of charge Of dear import, and the

  neglecting it May do much danger."


  Scene 2

  Friar Lawrence tells Friar John of the importance of the letter and the dire consequences of it not being delivered
• "beauty's ensign yet Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks, And death's pale flag is not advanced there."


  Scene 3

  Romeo focuses on Juliet's beauty instead of her personality when he sees her. The 'crimson' implies that Juliet could already be recovering
• "Here's to my love! O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die."


  Scene 3

  Romeo almost toasts the poison to Juliet before kissing her and dying
• "O happy dagger! This is thy sheath; there rust, and let me die."


  Scene 3

  Juliet makes the impulsive and decisive decision to stab herself with Romeo's dagger. The decisiveness would be seen as not 'womanly' and she acts quickly to avoid being stopped by anyone
• "A glooming peace this morning with it brings… Some shall be pardon'd, and some punished: For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo."


  Scene 3

  The Prince concludes the play by emphasising the importance of forgiveness and punishment in the context of Romeo and Juliet's tragic love story. Female empowerment is shown by referencing Juliet first