Romeo and Juliet Summary
There are two families, Capulet and Montague, in Verona who feud frequently. Romeo, the son of Montague, tells his cousin, Benvolio, that he loves a woman named Rosaline, who does not love him back. In the family of the Capulet, a man named Paris, a relative of the Prince, wants to marry Juliet who is only twelve years of age. Her father agrees with this union, but asks Paris to wait to marry her until she is fourteen years of age. At a feast, to celebrate this union, Juliet is supposed to decide if “she could fall in love with him (Paris)." Benvolio convinces Romeo to sneak in to the feast to meet other women in Verona. Romeo agrees to this because he knows that Rosaline will be there and he wants to win her back. As Romeo sees Juliet, he instantly falls in love with her. Once Tybalt sees Romeo he is furious that a Montague would attend a Capulet dinner. Tybalt is ready to fight, but another Capulet holds him back. Later in night, Romeo and Juliet meet and start speaking to each other. They begin to grow quite fond of each other and end up kissing without knowing the names of the other person. Later, Romeo finds out from Juliet's nurse that she is a Capulet. Juliet finds out that Romeo is a Montague. They both grow very sad because their families would never approve of this union. As Benvolio and Romeo leave, Romeo realizes he is unable to leave without Juliet. He hops the the orchard wall and hides in the garden. Once Romeo sees Juliet, he calls out to her and confesses his love to her and the next day Friar Lawrence marries them. Later on the day that Romeo and Juliet are married, Romeo is challenged by Tybalt to a duel because Romeo attended the feast. Mercutio offers to fight in Romeo's place and ends up dying. After Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeo kills Tybalt and becomes banished by the Prince. Upset about the death of Tybalt, Juliet’s father speeds up the wedding between Paris and Juliet. Juliet doesn't want to marry Paris so the Friar helps her fake her death so she can live with Romeo. Before a letter can be given to Romeo, he finds out that Juliet is “dead” and he buys a potion to kill himself outside the tomb where Juliet’s body lays. Romeo sees Paris. They fight and Romeo ends up killing Paris and he kills himself. Juliet wakes up and sees Romeo dead and she kills herself. Both families see the dead bodies of their children outside the crypt and agree to stop fighting. The Capulets and the Montagues also build gold shrines to Romeo and Juliet.