William Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet: storylines
4 storylines and 65 events, in the order they happen. Follow where the plots fork and come together; hover over or tap an event to see what happens.
Act 1
Act 2
Act 3
Act 4
Act 5
123451234561234512345123Act 1
- The Verona feudCapulets and Montagues brawl
A quarrel between servants grows into a public fight involving members of both houses.
Act 1, Scene 1 › - The Verona feudPrince threatens the feuders
Prince Escalus restores order and decrees death for anyone who disturbs Verona’s peace again.
Act 1, Scene 1 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveRomeo reveals unrequited love
Romeo tells Benvolio that he is miserable because Rosaline will not return his love.
Act 1, Scene 1 › - Paris's courtship of JulietCapulet invites Paris
Capulet encourages Paris to court Juliet and invites him to the evening’s feast.
Act 1, Scene 2 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveRomeo reads the guest list
An illiterate Capulet servant asks Romeo to read the invitations, revealing that Rosaline will attend.
Act 1, Scene 2 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveBenvolio persuades Romeo
Benvolio convinces Romeo to attend the feast and compare Rosaline with other women.
Act 1, Scene 2 › - Paris's courtship of JulietLady Capulet proposes Paris
Lady Capulet tells Juliet that Paris wishes to marry her and praises him as a suitable husband.
Act 1, Scene 3 › - Paris's courtship of JulietJuliet agrees to look
Juliet promises to observe Paris at the feast but will not commit herself beyond her mother’s wishes.
Act 1, Scene 3 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveMercutio describes Queen Mab
Mercutio answers Romeo’s talk of dreams with an elaborate account of the fairy Queen Mab.
Act 1, Scene 4 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveRomeo foresees disaster
Romeo fears that the night’s festivities will begin events leading to his untimely death.
Act 1, Scene 4 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveRomeo joins the masque
Despite his foreboding, Romeo follows his masked companions to the Capulet feast.
Act 1, Scene 4 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveRomeo sees Juliet
Romeo notices Juliet across the room and is immediately captivated by her beauty.
Act 1, Scene 5 › - The Verona feudCapulet restrains Tybalt
Capulet prevents Tybalt from attacking Romeo after Tybalt recognises the intruder’s voice.
Act 1, Scene 5 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveRomeo and Juliet kiss
Romeo and Juliet exchange kisses before each learns that the other belongs to the enemy house.
Act 1, Scene 5 ›
Act 2
- Romeo and Juliet's loveRomeo evades his friends
Romeo climbs into the Capulet orchard rather than leave with Benvolio and Mercutio.
Act 2, Scene 1 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveMercutio mocks Romeo
Mercutio calls for Romeo with bawdy references to Rosaline, but Romeo remains hidden.
Act 2, Scene 1 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveBenvolio and Mercutio leave
Unable to find Romeo, Benvolio and Mercutio abandon their search and go home.
Act 2, Scene 1 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveRomeo overhears Juliet
Hidden below Juliet’s window, Romeo hears her confess her love and lament his Montague name.
Act 2, Scene 2 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveRomeo and Juliet vow love
Romeo reveals himself, and the lovers exchange solemn declarations of devotion.
Act 2, Scene 2 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveJuliet proposes marriage
Juliet promises to send a messenger so Romeo can provide arrangements for their wedding.
Act 2, Scene 2 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveRomeo requests immediate marriage
Romeo asks Friar Laurence to marry him to Juliet that very day.
Act 2, Scene 3 › - Friar Laurence's plansFriar Laurence accepts
Though surprised by Romeo’s sudden change of love, the friar agrees in hopes of ending the feud.
Act 2, Scene 3 › - The Verona feudMercutio reveals Tybalt’s challenge
Mercutio and Benvolio discuss the challenge that Tybalt has sent to Romeo.
Act 2, Scene 4 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveRomeo reconciles with Mercutio
Romeo joins Mercutio in lively wordplay, restoring their customary good humour.
Act 2, Scene 4 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveRomeo instructs the Nurse
Romeo tells the Nurse to send Juliet to Friar Laurence’s cell for marriage and to arrange a rope ladder.
Act 2, Scene 4 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveNurse teases impatient Juliet
The Nurse delays giving her news by complaining of weariness while Juliet anxiously presses her.
Act 2, Scene 5 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveNurse reveals the wedding
The Nurse finally tells Juliet to go to Friar Laurence’s cell, where Romeo waits to marry her.
Act 2, Scene 5 › - Friar Laurence's plansFriar warns Romeo
Friar Laurence cautions Romeo that violent delights may have violent endings and urges moderation.
Act 2, Scene 6 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveJuliet joins Romeo
Juliet arrives at the cell and exchanges declarations of love with Romeo.
Act 2, Scene 6 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveFriar marries the lovers
Friar Laurence leads Romeo and Juliet away to complete their secret marriage.
Act 2, Scene 6 ›
Act 3
- The Verona feudTybalt kills Mercutio
Mercutio receives a mortal wound when Romeo intervenes in his duel with Tybalt.
Act 3, Scene 1 › - The Verona feudRomeo kills Tybalt
Enraged by Mercutio’s death, Romeo fights Tybalt and kills him.
Act 3, Scene 1 › - The Verona feudPrince banishes Romeo
After hearing the witnesses, Prince Escalus sentences Romeo to exile from Verona.
Act 3, Scene 1 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveNurse reports Tybalt’s death
The distraught Nurse tells Juliet that Tybalt is dead and Romeo has been banished.
Act 3, Scene 2 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveJuliet defends Romeo
After briefly condemning Romeo, Juliet rebukes herself and remains loyal to her husband.
Act 3, Scene 2 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveJuliet sends Romeo’s ring
Juliet gives the Nurse a ring to take to Romeo and asks that he come for a final farewell.
Act 3, Scene 2 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveRomeo rejects banishment
Romeo collapses in despair when Friar Laurence tells him that the Prince has exiled him.
Act 3, Scene 3 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveNurse gives Juliet’s ring
The Nurse brings Romeo Juliet’s ring and urges him to go and comfort her.
Act 3, Scene 3 › - Friar Laurence's plansFriar sends Romeo to Mantua
Friar Laurence directs Romeo to visit Juliet secretly, then escape to Mantua until reconciliation is possible.
Act 3, Scene 3 › - Paris's courtship of JulietCapulet promises Juliet
Capulet assures Paris that Juliet will marry him and sets the wedding for Thursday.
Act 3, Scene 4 › - Paris's courtship of JulietLady Capulet carries word
Capulet sends his wife to tell Juliet of the arranged marriage before morning.
Act 3, Scene 4 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveRomeo and Juliet part
At daybreak, Romeo leaves Juliet’s chamber and departs for exile in Mantua.
Act 3, Scene 5 › - Paris's courtship of JulietJuliet refuses Paris
Juliet rejects the arranged marriage, provoking Capulet to threaten and disown her.
Act 3, Scene 5 › - Paris's courtship of JulietNurse advises marrying Paris
The Nurse urges Juliet to forget Romeo and marry Paris, causing Juliet to reject her counsel.
Act 3, Scene 5 ›
Act 4
- Paris's courtship of JulietJuliet threatens suicide
After an uneasy encounter with Paris, Juliet tells Friar Laurence she will kill herself rather than marry him.
Act 4, Scene 1 › - Friar Laurence's plansFriar devises false death
Friar Laurence proposes that Juliet drink a potion that will make her appear dead for forty-two hours.
Act 4, Scene 1 › - Friar Laurence's plansJuliet accepts the potion
Juliet takes the vial and agrees to follow the friar’s plan for reuniting her with Romeo.
Act 4, Scene 1 › - Friar Laurence's plansJuliet feigns obedience
Juliet returns home, begs Capulet’s pardon and pretends that she now gladly accepts Paris.
Act 4, Scene 2 › - Paris's courtship of JulietCapulet advances the wedding
Delighted by Juliet’s submission, Capulet moves the wedding forward from Thursday to Wednesday.
Act 4, Scene 2 › - Friar Laurence's plansJuliet dismisses her attendants
Juliet sends the Nurse and Lady Capulet away so that she can carry out the plan alone.
Act 4, Scene 3 › - Friar Laurence's plansJuliet fears the potion
Juliet imagines poison, suffocation and madness in the family tomb but resolves to proceed.
Act 4, Scene 3 › - Friar Laurence's plansJuliet drinks the potion
Invoking Romeo, Juliet empties the vial and falls upon her bed.
Act 4, Scene 3 › - Paris's courtship of JulietCapulets prepare the wedding
Capulet directs the bustling household as food and other necessities are readied before dawn.
Act 4, Scene 4 › - Paris's courtship of JulietCapulet sends the Nurse
Hearing Paris approach with musicians, Capulet orders the Nurse to wake and dress Juliet.
Act 4, Scene 4 › - Friar Laurence's plansNurse finds Juliet unresponsive
The Nurse attempts to wake Juliet and concludes that she is dead.
Act 4, Scene 5 › - Paris's courtship of JulietCapulets mourn Juliet
Juliet’s parents and Paris lament her apparent death, transforming the wedding day into mourning.
Act 4, Scene 5 › - Friar Laurence's plansFriar redirects the wedding
Friar Laurence tells the household to prepare Juliet for burial instead of marriage.
Act 4, Scene 5 ›
Act 5
- Romeo and Juliet's loveBalthasar reports Juliet’s death
Balthasar tells Romeo that Juliet lies dead in the Capulet monument.
Act 5, Scene 1 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveRomeo resolves to die
Romeo determines to return to Verona and die beside Juliet that night.
Act 5, Scene 1 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveRomeo buys lethal poison
Romeo persuades an impoverished apothecary to sell him a powerful poison.
Act 5, Scene 1 › - Friar Laurence's plansFriar John returns
Friar John reports that quarantine prevented him from delivering Friar Laurence’s letter to Romeo.
Act 5, Scene 2 › - Friar Laurence's plansFriar Laurence hastens tombward
Realising Romeo remains uninformed, Friar Laurence takes tools and hurries to free Juliet from the tomb.
Act 5, Scene 2 › - Paris's courtship of JulietRomeo kills Paris
Romeo fights and kills Paris outside Juliet’s tomb, then lays him inside it.
Act 5, Scene 3 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveRomeo drinks poison
Believing Juliet dead, Romeo kisses her and drinks the apothecary’s poison.
Act 5, Scene 3 › - Romeo and Juliet's loveJuliet stabs herself
Juliet awakens, finds Romeo dead and kills herself with his dagger.
Act 5, Scene 3 ›