Romeo and Juliet: Scene Summaries

Act 1 Scene Summaries

Prologue: The Chorus sets out the plot of the play, introducing Romeo and Juliet as ‘star-crossed lovers’ from two feuding families.
Scene 1: A fight breaks out on the streets of Verona between servants from the feuding families, the Montagues and Capulets. Romeo is introduced as a melancholic youth in love with a woman named Rosaline.
Scene 2: Capulet holds a masquerade ball to introduce his daughter Juliet to potential suitors, particularly Count Paris.
Scene 3: Lady Capulet and Nurse tell Juliet that Paris wishes to marry her.
Scene 4: Romeo, Mercutio, and Benvolio decide to attend Capulet’s feast.
Scene 5: Romeo and Juliet meet at the feast and fall in love without realising they are from rival households.

Act 2 Scene Summaries

Scene 1: After the feast, Romeo climbs over the Capulet’s wall and into their garden to find Juliet.
Scene 2: The famous balcony scene where Romeo and Juliet profess their love for each other.
Scene 3: Friar Lawrence agrees to marry Romeo and Juliet, hoping it might reconcile their families.
Scene 4: Mercutio and Benvolio encounter Tybalt. When they meet Romeo, Mercutio teases him about his love for Juliet.
Scene 5: Juliet nervously awaits news from her Nurse about Romeo’s intentions.
Scene 6: Friar Lawrence marries Romeo and Juliet in secret.

Act 3 Scene Summaries

Scene 1: The tension between the Montagues and Capulets leads to the fatal duel between Tybalt and Mercutio, and the subsequent exile of Romeo.
Scene 2: Juliet learns of Tybalt’s death and Romeo’s banishment, causing her to initially curse Romeo before mourning her husband’s absence.
Scene 3: Romeo, hiding in Friar Lawrence’s cell, learns of his banishment.
Scene 4: Capulet arranges for Juliet to marry Paris in three days.
Scene 5: Romeo and Juliet bid their bittersweet goodbyes after their wedding night.

Act 4 Scene Summaries

Scene 1: Juliet seeks help from Friar Lawrence, who gives her a potion that will make her appear dead.
Scene 2: Juliet agrees to marry Paris and receives Capulet’s blessing.
Scene 3: Juliet drinks the potion alone in her room.
Scene 4: The Capulet household prepare for the wedding.
Scene 5: The Nurse discovers Juliet ‘dead’ in her bed.

Act 5 Scene Summaries

Scene 1: Romeo buys poison from an apothecary in Mantua and receives the news of Juliet’s death from Balthasar.
Scene 2: Friar Lawrence learns that his letter explaining his plan to Romeo has not been delivered.
Scene 3: Romeo’s grief at Juliet’s tomb leads to his suicide. Juliet awakes to find him dead and takes her own life. The two feuding families reconcile at the sight of their children’s tragic end.