Romeo and Juliet- Act IV
Updated: May 3, 2021
Act IV
FALLING ACTION:
In Friar Lawrence cell, Paris informs Friar Lawrence about his marriage on Thursday with Juliet. Friar Lawrence tries to delay the wedding by finding a loophole yet no use. Juliet arrives and Paris talks with her. Juliet tries to avoid him by playing along and asks for privacy to do confession. Juliet is now overwhelmed with despair and tells Friar Lawrence that she will kill herself with the knife if she is to marry him. She also asks for a solution, to live her life with Romeo. Friar gives a vial and asks her to drink it on Wednesday night and sleep. The vial will make her fall asleep as in death, her skin will turn pale without blood and the pulse will be stopped and when Paris comes to wake her he will find her body as if dead. They will do the rituals and keep the body dressed up fine in the Capulet’s tomb where she will be awake as from asleep after 42 hours. He in the meantime will send Friar John as a messenger to Mantua. Soon Romeo will come to rescue her and live happily ever after. Juliet is bold to do anything to remain a pure wife she says and leaves.
Enter Capulet, Lady Capulet and Nurse and two or three serving men. All are busy preparing for the wedding (the invitations, the cooks and everything). Juliet comes back home and pleads her father saying she has sinned and wishes to listen to anything he says and now she asks Nurse to help her choose the wedding wears and jewels. In happiness, Capulet moves the wedding to the next day (Wednesday) and goes to meet Paris to make him ready.
Juliet in her room picks the wears for the occasion with the help of Nurse. L. Capulet also comes there to see if they require any help. Juliet tricks them both to go and do their arrangements. After they leave, she takes the vial out and is worried about the unpredictable situations, the vial’s use (will it do as he say or kill or make her wake early and get married to Paris or will wake late and so suffocate in Tomb to death and the tomb with her ancestor’s bones and Tybalt’s fresh corpse). Speaking out all her scary imaginations Juliet drinks the vial and falls asleep on the bed hidden by the bed curtain.
Capulet, Lady Capulet, Nurse and servicemen work on the arrangements for catering. They also wait for Paris. Capulet hears the music of Paris’ arrival and asks Nurse to wake Juliet and get her ready for the wedding.
Nurse calls on Juliet to wake her up with different pets’ names. But she remains silent when Nurse looks at her she finds her dead and calls the family members cursing the day. Lady Capulet, Capulet both shout in pain on seeing their only child’s death before her wedding day. They believe God has taken her life, they did not think its suicide. Paris and Friar Lawrence arrive and know Juliet is dead. This breaks Paris’ heart. Friar Lawrence calms down all and gets ready for the rituals. Capulet shouts with sorrow that all the happy arrangements are now to be used for the funeral. Nurse stops the musicians from playing music as this has changed into a sad occasion now. Peter requests a a‘ Heart’s ease’ song from them, but they argue over the issue and make Peter go. After this, they plan to remain in the place for dinner.
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