Romeo and Juliet, the most renowned romantic play written by William Shakespeare about two star-crossed lovers whose deaths, ultimately unites their families. This play belongs to a tradition of tragic romances. This is one of the plays that has been widely played on many stages and even used for operas.
The play begins at Verona, with a street brawl between Montague and Capulet supporters, who are sworn as enemies to each other. The Prince of Verona then declares that if there is any further breach of peace, the punishment shall be severe.
Now, Count Paris who is a kinsman to Capulet asks him to marry his daughter (Juliet), but he is asked to wait for about two years for the marriage. Later, he orders his daughter to marry Paris and Paris is invited to a Capulet ball.
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Meanwhile, Romeo is in depression of his infatuated love for Rosaline. Romeo is being persuaded by his cousin Benvolio to attend the ball so that he may find Rosaline.
However, instead of finding Rosaline, he instantly falls in love with Juliet, and soon after the ball he tries to meets Juliet (famously known as the Balcony Scene of the play), where he overhears he saying to her nurse that she has fallen for him, in spite of the family rivalries.
Romeo discloses who he is and they decide to get married. With the help of Friar Laurence, they get secretly marries and Friar Lawrence hope that the enmity of both the families gets over through the unison of their children.
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The visit of Romeo at the ball was incensed by Tybalt, who is a cousin of Juliet and challenges Romeo to a duel. But Romeo refuses the fight and this makes Mercutio, a close friend of Romeo to accept the fight on behalf of him.
The fight ends when Mercutio is being fatally wounded and making Romeo slaying Tybalt. This leads to more rivalry among the family and leads Romeo to exile from Verona with a threat of being executed on return. However, Romeo spends the night with Juliet. Capulet misinterprets his daughter’s grief and agrees to marry her to Paris even though Juliet pleads to prolong the marriage.
As Juliet does not want to get married to Paris, she visits Friar Lawrence and he offers her a drug that would put her in a deathlike coma for two and forty hours and promises to send a messenger for Romeo informing the plan, so that they could reunite when she wakes up.
On the day before the marriage, Juliet consumes this medicine and is misunderstood as being dead and laid in the family tomb. But sadly, the messenger does not reach Romeo and he comes to know about Juliet’s apparent death.
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Unable to withstand the pain, Romeo buys poison and goes to the Capulet`s tomb. There he sees Paris who has come to mourn privately. Thinking that Romeo must be behind his love’s death, he deals with Romeo leading to his killing by Romeo.
Romeo drinks the poison believing Juliet to be dead. On awakening, Juliet sees Romeo dead and she stabs herself to death. When the families meet at the tomb, Friar Lawrence the entire incident and both the families reunite leaving back their enmity at the loss of their children.
A beautifully said love story of all ages is what Romeo and Juliet is.