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R&J Summary Notes (Act IV All Scenes)

In Act 4, Scene 1, Friar Lawrence and Paris discuss Juliet's impending marriage, which Juliet is reluctant about. Friar Lawrence provides Juliet with a potion that will make her appear dead for 42 hours, allowing her to escape the marriage and reunite with Romeo. The act concludes with Juliet taking the potion, while the following scenes depict the chaos that ensues when she is discovered 'dead' the next morning.

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5 views4 pages

R&J Summary Notes (Act IV All Scenes)

In Act 4, Scene 1, Friar Lawrence and Paris discuss Juliet's impending marriage, which Juliet is reluctant about. Friar Lawrence provides Juliet with a potion that will make her appear dead for 42 hours, allowing her to escape the marriage and reunite with Romeo. The act concludes with Juliet taking the potion, while the following scenes depict the chaos that ensues when she is discovered 'dead' the next morning.

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lovelyy.loriii
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Act 4 Scene 1

Tuesday Morning
 The scene opens up with Friar Lawrence and
Paris talking. Friar Lawrence is concerned
about how soon the wedding is, Paris tells
him that Lord Capulet wants it to be so.
 Paris claims that Lord Capulet has rushed this
marriage to stop Juliet from crying over
Tybalt. His logic being that if she is with
someone, she will stop crying sooner.
 At this point Juliet comes in. Her responses to
Paris show her lack of enthusiasm towards
getting married (What must be shall be)
 She asks to speak to Friar Lawrence. Once
alone with him, she breaks down and says
she is depressed over this marriage (Come
weep with me, past hope, past cure, past
help)
 Friar Lawrence tells her that he is aware of
the problem but has not yet found a solution.
Juliet tries to kill herself but is stopped by
Friar Lawrence.
 He says if Juliet is willing to kill herself, then
she can try something similar to death. (Thou
hast the strength of will to slay thyself, Then
is it likely thou wilt undertake A thing like
death).
 He shows her a vial (Small bottle) of poison
and instructs her to drink it before she goes
to bed on Wednesday night. The poison will
essentially “kill” her, but it will be temporary.
When she is discovered she will be taken to
the Capulet tomb and laid to rest. After 42
hours, the poison will wear off and she will
wake up again. He will send a letter to
Romeo to tell him to come to Verona and
watch when she wakes up so that he can
take her to Mantua.
 Juliet eagerly takes the vial and leaves.
Act 4 Scene 2
Tuesday Evening
 Juliet’s father and the servants are busy
preparing the household for the wedding.
 Juliet returns from Friar Lawrence’s church
and apologises to her father for being so
rebellious and asks her father for forgiveness
and he will obey him from now on.
 In his happiness & excitement, Juliet’s father
proposes they move the wedding to
Wednesday (I’ll have this know knit up to-
morrow morning).
 Juliet’s mom thinks they will be short of food,
but Lord Capulet assures her all will be well.
 Juliet asks the nurse to help her pick an outfit
for the wedding and both leave.
Act 4 Scene 3
Tuesday Night
 Juliet has picked out her wedding attire. Lady
Capulet comes in and asks if she needs help.
Juliet tells her all is well and ask her and the
nurse to leave her alone for the night.
 After everyone leaves, Juliet start to question
whether or not the potion will work. She has
the following fears:

- What if the potion doesn’t work and


she wakes up tomorrow?
- What if the Friar gave her actual poison
to kill her to save himself from being
dishonoured?
- What if she wakes up too early, Romeo
is not there and she suffocates from
lack of air in the tomb?
- What if she wakes up too early and is
frightened by the thought of being
surrounded by corpses and ghosts and
she loses her mind?
 Eventually Juliet stops having these thoughts
and drinks the potion to get back to Romeo
(Romeo I come! This do I drink to thee.)
Act 4 Scene 5
 Wednesday morning of the wedding, the
nurse is asked to go wake Juliet for her
wedding.
 She enters her room, tries to wake Juliet, but
then suddenly realises she is dead.
 The nurse screams for help (help help, my
lord, my lady) and Lady Capulet arrives to
see what the noise is.
 Lord Capulet then arrives and says that Paris
is ready for her, to which the nurse tells him
Juliet is dead. He also discovers the vial that
contained the poison.
 Eventually the Friar takes her and gets her
ready for her church ceremony and eventual
burial in the Capulet tomb.
END OF ACT 4

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