Act III

1. Act III

2. Act III, Scene i Misunderstanding and DEATH (Monday Mid-afternoon)

3. Act III, Scene i • Act III begins just after Romeo and Juliet’s secret marriage. Remember, throughout this scene, no one knows that they have been married and that Romeo is now related to the Capulets! • This event (an example of dramatic irony) is what allows (1)the climax to occur in this scene and speed the “star cross’d lovers” toward their end. • At the beginning of the scene, Benvolio, Mercutio, and some Montagues are on the streets of Verona. it is a very hot day, and the Capulets are out looking for trouble. • Benvolio suggests they retire until nightfall.

4. Act III, Scene i (cont.) • Mercutio chastises Benvolio for being a hypocrite and chooses to stay out in the open despite the heat. • Tybalt and the Capulets enter. Tybalt is looking for Romeo (remember the letter and the party incident). • Mercutio eggs on Tybalt even though (4)Benvolio suggests that they get off the street and fight where no one can see them. Mercutio, again, refuses to budge. • Romeo, happy about his recent nuptial, enters; Tybalt turns his attention toward Romeo.

5. Act III, Scene i (cont.) • In front of everyone, Tybalt humiliates Romeo by openly insulting him several times. • (5)Romeo tries to calm Tybalt by explaining that he does not know Romeo nor does he understand the current situation. He begs him to leave him be (be satisfied). • Shocked at the docile Romeo’s actions, (6)Mercutio takes up for Romeo and calls Tybalt a “rat-catcher”; Tybalt and Mercutio begin to swordfight. • Romeo gets between them to separate them, and in that instant, (2)Tybalt stabs Mercutio under Romeo’s arm.

6. Act III, Scene i (cont.) • Seeing what has happened, Tybalt withdraws. • Romeo checks to see that (8)Mercutio is all right; Mercutio down plays the wound, curses both houses for their feuding, and is carried off stage by Benvolio. • Benvolio enters moments later to tell Romeo that Mercutio has just died of his wounds. • (7)Romeo blames himself for not manning-up and dealing with Tybalt, which resulted in the death of his friend and the Prince’s relative. His anger builds to a pitch.

7. Act III, Scene i (cont.) • Tybalt re-enters as Romeo works himself into a frenzy. • “Either thou, or I, or both, must go with him [Mercutio]” • (2)Romeo avenges the death of Mercutio by killing his wife’s cousin, Tybalt. Benvolio pushes Romeo to flee. • Before he leaves, (10)Romeo says, “O, I am fortune’s fool!” a reference to the fact that (3)he believes this was Fate’s plan and otherwise unavoidable. • Others enter and (11)Benvolio sorts out the details of the fray; the Capulets want Romeo killed for the death of Tybalt.

8. Act III, Scene i (cont.) • (12)Prince Escalus, angered at the death of his kinsman, sympathizes with the Montagues and refuses to take Romeo’s life (probably because he did not start the fight). • Instead, (2), (13)the Prince fines both families and exiles Romeo. • Exile leaves Romeo on his own, without family or friends, never to return to his wife in Verona, that is unless he wishes to die. • This scene turns the beautiful picture of the marriage at the end of Act II on its head, making the feud more heated.

9. Act III, Scene i (cont.) Was this series of events avoidable? -or- Was this FATE?

10. Act III, Scene ii Happiness Destroyed (Monday around Twilight)

11. Hood my unmanned blood bating in my cheeks, With thy black mantle, till strange love, grow bold,  Think true love acted simple modesty.  Come, night. Come, Romeo. Come, thou day in night,  For thou wilt lie upon the wings of night  Whiter than new snow upon a raven's back. Come, gentle night, come, loving, black-browed night,  Give me my Romeo. And when I shall die,  Take him and cut him out in little stars,  And he will make the face of heaven so fine  That all the world will be in love with night And pay no worship to the garish sun.  Oh, I have bought the mansion of a love,  But not possessed it, and though I am sold,  Not yet enjoyed. So tedious is this day  As is the night before some festival To an impatient child that hath new robes  And may not wear them.

12. Act III, Scene ii • In the Capulet orchard, Juliet awaits her wedding night with her new husband; she is impatient for the day to end and night to come. • Initially, because of the Nurse’s lack of specificity, (2)Juliet believes that Romeo has been killed. • Everything begins to unravel when (1)the beauty of love to come is shattered bythe Nurse’s sorrowful entrance. • When the truth of the brawl is uncovered, (3)Juliet curses Romeo for being the opposite of what he seemed (“O, that deceit should dwell in such a gorgeous place!”)

13. Act III, Scene ii (cont.) • After (4)the Nurse agrees with Juliet (“Shame come to Romeo!”),Juliet regrets her initial view of Romeo, stating that “All this is comfort” for Romeo is alive . • The Nurse consoles Juliet, saying that she will seek Romeo out to comfort her. • Juliet is so distraught when she finds out about Romeo’s exile that she compares his sentence with the death of her entire family. • Before the Nurse exits, (5)Juliet gives her a ring to give to Romeo. This token of affection is meant to assure Romeo that Juliet still loves him and that he is to come to her.

14. Act III, Scene iii Maintaining Sanity (Monday night)

15. Act III, Scene iii • After killing Tybalt, (1)Romeo seeks out Friar Lawrence for asylum and comforting advice. • When he arrives on scene with the Friar, Romeo does not know that he has been exiled by the Prince. • The Friar relates the Prince’s sentence, and (2)Romeo goes ballistic; he states that all he has is in Verona (“there is no world without Verona walls,” “heaven is here, where Juliet lives.”). • Romeo remains inconsolable despite the Friar’s advice; he even refuses to hide when someone knocks on the door to the cell.

16. Act III, Scene iii (cont.) • The Friar eventually hides Romeo and lets in the visitor. It is the Nurse, sent by Juliet to bring Romeo to her. • The Nurse tells Romeo that Juliet “weeps and weeps” “and Tybalt calls; and then on Romeo cries”. • Romeo launches into a fit of self-loathing, believing he has destroyed the very thing he treasures most. (4)He draws his sword and is about to cut out his “name”. • The Friar prevents Romeo from harming himself by rebuking him and his emotions; “Art thou a man?” The Friar proceeds to count the many blessings that have been heaped upon Romeo. • (3)Romeo is further revived by the love token (ring) that the Nurse has brought from Juliet.

17. Act III, Scene iii (cont.) • The Friar then provides a plan to fix what has happened: “get thee to thy love, as was decreed” “(5)sojourn inMantua” “where thou shalt live, till we can find a time to blaze your marriage, reconcile your friends, beg pardon of the Prince, and call thee back with twenty hundred thousand times more joy then thou went’st forth in lamentation.” • With this plan, (6)the Friar plans to use Romeo’s secret marriage to Juliet (soon to be consummated) to resolve the brawl that has occurred; thus ending the feud between the families.

18. Act III, Scene iv Another Date is Set (late Monday night)

19. Act III, Scene iv • It is now (1)very late Sunday night/very early Monday morning. • In the Capulet house, Lord and Lady Capulet are talking to Paris about Juliet’s reaction to Tybalt’s death. • (4)Everyone believes that Juliet is distraught because of Tybalt’s death when the audience knows it is really her separation from Romeo that is causing her distress… big time (3)dramatic irony! • To assuage Juliet’s grief, Lord Capulet betroths her to Paris and sets a date for their wedding, (2)Thursday, only three days away. • The scene ends with Lady Capulet going to tell Juliet the news; Juliet is currently “with” Romeo, enjoying her wedding night.

20. Act III, Scene v The Honeymoon and Its END (early Tuesday morning)

21. Act III, Scene v • The scene opens to the Capulet’s orchard; Romeo and Juliet are together, having just enjoyed their first night as man and wife. • (1)A lark (songbird), singing in the orchard, warns the lovers that morning has arrived and it is time for Romeo to leave. • Juliet attempts to convince Romeo to stay; Romeo, taking over the role of the rational thinker, tells her it is morning and he needs to go (he eventually switches back to his old impetuous self). • The Nurse comes into the room and warns them that Lady Capulet (carrying news from Lord Capulet) is one her way to Juliet’s room. This hastens Romeo’s exit.

22. Act III, Scene v (cont.) • As Romeo goes down the balcony, (2)the time of day and Romeo’s pale appearance make him look like corpse at the bottom of a tomb. She looks the same to him. • Lady Capulet enters and (3)Juliet acts as if she is grief-stricken over the death of her cousin Tybalt. • Lady Capulet, to make Juliet feel better, relays (4)the message concerning her betrothal to Paris and their upcoming wedding on Thursday. Upon hearing this, Juliet becomes openly defiant. • Lord Capulet arrives on scene and is told by his wife that Juliet has not reacted to the news as expected.

23. Act III, Scene v (cont.) • Lord Capulet becomes violently angry (“My fingers itch.”) because (5)he feels Juliet is being irrational and ungrateful. • After hearing Juliet voice her unwillingness, Lord Capulet tells her that (6)she will marry Paris, orshe will be disowned and kicked out of his house. For a woman, this is a death sentence. • After Lord and Lady Capulet exit, Juliet is clearly devastated by the news. (7)Her anxiety is increased by the understanding that polygamy is wrong and leads to divine punishment in Hell. • The Nurse advises her to forget Romeo because he is banished and just marry Paris. (8)Juliet becomes suddenly docile and after the Nurse leaves, decides to visit the Friar.