ROMEO SI JULIETA Opera ncepe ntr-o pia?a publica din Verona unde Sampsonsi Geson poarta discu?

ii de spre ura lor pentru familia Montague. Apoi ?i face apari?ia ?i Benvolio care ncear ca sa-i desparta, dar lupta continua o data ce vine ?i Tybalt. To?i ace?tia au f ost convin?i sa renun?e la conflict de catre copiii celor doua familii. Apoi Lad y Montague ntreaba de Romeo, iar Benvolio ?i Montague ?i fac planuri pentru a-l fa ce sa renun?e la iubirea care-l mistuie. n scena a doua a actului 1, Paris i spune lui Capulet ca vrea sa se nsoare cu Julie ta, dar acesta nu renun?a u?or. Romeo afla de la servitorul lui Capulet ca va av ea loc o petrecere la palat ?i se hotara?te sa participe la aceasta. Julieta est e anun?ata de mama sa ca Paris dore?te sa o ia n casatorie, dar ea refuza. La pet recerea organizata de Capulet, Romeo alaturi de Mercutio, Benvolio ?i Tybalt ?i f ac apari?ia. Purtnd nsa ma?ti, Romeo reu?e?te sa vorbeasca cu aleasa inimii sale ? i chiar sa o sarute. Dupa acest moment, cei trei prieteni de care era nso?it Rome o, afla ca acesta s-a strecurat n gradina Capuletilor pentru a vorbi cu Julieta. n urma acesteia, Romeo pleaca la parintele Lorenzo pentru a-l ruga sa-i cunune pe cei doi ndragosti?i. Mai trziu, cei patru prieteni discuta ntre ei, dar sunt ntrerup?i de doica Julietei care vrea sa se asigure ca planurile lui Romeo sunt ct se poate de sincere. Dupa ce afla acest lucru, ea i spune Julietei, care se duce la parintele Lorenzo pent ru a se spovedi. Aici, ea se ntlne?te cu alesul inimii sale cu care se ?i cununa. Dupa aceasta, ntr-o pia?a publica are loc o confruntare cu spada ntre Romeo ?i Tyb alt, iar Mercutio, ncercnd sa-i desparta, este omort de rivalul lui Romeo. n final, uciga?ul l provoaca din nou la duel pe Romeo, dar este omort de acesta. Despre ace asta ntmplare afla prin?ul ?i Lady Capulet, care hotarasc ca Romeo sa plateasca cu propria-i via?a pentru faptele sale. Apoi are loc o discu?ie ntre doica ?i Julie ta n care doica dezaproba atitudinea pozitiva a fetei n privin?a uciga?ului varului ei Tybalt. ntre timp, Romeo se ascunde n chilia parintelui Lorenzo, dar este urmarit de doica pna acolo. Aceasta i da un inel din partea Julietei ?i-i spune care i este starea. Totodata, Capulet ?i Paris pun la cale casatoria acestuia din urma cu Julieta. Dupa toate acestea, Julieta vorbe?te cu mama sa despre planurile tatalui ei de a o casatori cu Paris. Tatal sau afla ?i se cearta cu ea. ntre timp, doica ncearca sa o convinga sa se marite cu nobilul, deoarece Romeo va muri sigur. Dupa cearta cu parin?ii, Julieta se duce sa se spovedeasca parintelui Lorenzo, care o sfatu ie?te sa se marite cu Paris miercuri, iar nainte de noaptea nun?ii sa bea licoare a din sticlu?a pe care i-o va da el, care va da impresia ca este moarta, dar ea se va trezi dupa 24 de ore. n ziua nun?ii, n timp ce pregatirile erau n toi ?i to?i membrii familiei mpreuna cu servitorii sunt ocupa?i, Julieta bea con?inutul sticlei ?i este gasita de doica n pat, to?i membrii familiei fiind anunta?i, nunta nemaiputnd avea loc. Romeo, fii nd anun?at de Balthazar ca iubirea lui este moarta, cumpara de la un farmacist o sticla de otrava ?i pleaca ntr-acolo. Dupa nmormntarea Julietei n cavoul familiei, Romeo se bate cu Paris ?i-l omoara. ntre timp, parintele Lorenzo ncearca sa ajunga la timp pentru a-l vesti pe Romeo ca totul este o nscenare, nsa stnd de vorba cu B althazar, ajunge prea trziu ?i-l gase?te pe baiat ntins la podea, otravit. Julieta se treze?te ?i vazndu-l pe Romeo ntins ?i nemi?cat, se sinucide cu pumnalul iubit ului ei. To?i membrii ambelor familii descopera corpurile nensufle?ite ?i afla de la Lorenzo tot ce s-a ntamplat. n final, cele doua familii se mpaca ajungnd la conc luzia ca ura lor a dus la moartea lui Romeo ?i a Julietei. Piesa se termina cu o elegie pentru ndragosti?i: "Pentru ca nu a fost niciodata o poveste de mai mult vai/Dect cea Julietei ?i al ei Romeo."[1]

Synopsis "Romeo and Juliet: Act I" The opening act of Romeo and Juliet. See also: Acts II, III, IV, V Problems listening to this file? See media help. Wikisource has original text related to this article: The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet The play, set in Verona, begins with a street brawl between Montague and Capulet supporters who are sworn enemies. The Prince of Verona intervenes and declares that further breach of the peace will be punishable by death. Later, Count Paris talks to Capulet about marrying his daughter, but Capulet is wary of the reques t because Juliet is only thirteen. Capulet asks Paris to wait another two years and invites him to attend a planned Capulet ball. Lady Capulet and Juliet's nurs e try to persuade Juliet to accept Paris's courtship. Meanwhile, Benvolio talks with his cousin Romeo, Montague's son, about Romeo's r ecent depression. Benvolio discovers that it stems from unrequited infatuation f or a girl named Rosaline, one of Capulet's nieces. Persuaded by Benvolio and Mer cutio, Romeo attends the ball at the Capulet house in hopes of meeting Rosaline. However, Romeo instead meets and falls in love with Juliet. After the ball, in what is now called the "balcony scene", Romeo sneaks into the Capulet orchard an d overhears Juliet at her window vowing her love to him in spite of her family's hatred of the Montagues. Romeo makes himself known to her and they agree to be married. With the help of Friar Laurence, who hopes to reconcile the two familie s through their children's union, they are secretly married the next day. Juliet's cousin Tybalt, incensed that Romeo had sneaked into the Capulet ball, c hallenges him to a duel. Romeo, now considering Tybalt his kinsman, refuses to f ight. Mercutio is offended by Tybalt's insolence, as well as Romeo's "vile submi ssion,"[1] and accepts the duel on Romeo's behalf. Mercutio is fatally wounded w hen Romeo attempts to break up the fight. Grief-stricken and wracked with guilt, Romeo confronts and slays Tybalt. Montague argues that Romeo has justly executed Tybalt for the murder of Mercutio . The Prince, now having lost a kinsman in the warring families' feud, exiles Ro meo from Verona and declares that if Romeo returns, "that hour is his last."[2] Romeo secretly spends the night in Juliet's chamber, where they consummate their marriage. Capulet, misinterpreting Juliet's grief, agrees to marry her to Count Paris and threatens to disown her when she refuses to become Paris's "joyful br ide."[3] When she then pleads for the marriage to be delayed, her mother rejects her. Juliet visits Friar Laurence for help, and he offers her a drug that will put he r into a death-like coma for "two and forty hours."[4] The Friar promises to sen d a messenger to inform Romeo of the plan, so that he can rejoin her when she aw akens. On the night before the wedding, she takes the drug and, when discovered apparently dead, she is laid in the family crypt. The messenger, however, does not reach Romeo and, instead, Romeo learns of Julie t's apparent death from his servant Balthasar. Heartbroken, Romeo buys poison fr om an apothecary and goes to the Capulet crypt. He encounters Paris who has come to mourn Juliet privately. Believing Romeo to be a vandal, Paris confronts him and, in the ensuing battle, Romeo kills Paris. Still believing Juliet to be dead , he drinks the poison. Juliet then awakens and, finding Romeo dead, stabs herse lf with his dagger. The feuding families and the Prince meet at the tomb to find

all three dead. Friar Laurence recounts the story of the two "star-cross'd love rs". The families are reconciled by their children's deaths and agree to end the ir violent feud. The play ends with the Prince's elegy for the lovers: "For neve r was a story of more woe / Than this of Juliet and her Romeo."[5]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_and_Juliet

The play, Hamlet, begins with the news of King Hamlet of Denmark's recent death and Denmark preparing for a possible war with Fortinbras of Norway. A ghost is s potted, resembling the late King, near Elsinore Castle by two guards. King Claud ius has married Queen Gertrude, the late King's wife, quickly after the King's d eath. Polonius warns his daughter, Ophelia, against falling in love with Hamlet, saying he will only break her heart. Hamlet, son of the late King of Denmark, meets the Ghost who reveals he was pois oned by King Claudius, telling him to avenge his death but to not punish the que en. Polonius learns of Ophelia's meeting with Prince Hamlet, who studied her fac e and promptly left, leaving Polonius to think his odd behavior was because Ophe lia rejected him. King Claudius instructs courtiers, Rosencrantz and Guildenster n, to spy on Hamlet, Queen Gertrude believes it is because of her recent marriag e and the death of her husband. Hamlet suspects Ophelia is spying on him, so he increases his hostility towards her. Hamlet then creates a play depicting the death of his father, as the Ghost told him, to see if the Ghost's words were true. A mime preceding the play mimic s the Ghost's description of the death, but goes unnoticed. After, the play The Murder of Gonzago is performed, causing King Claudius to act in a suspicious way as if the Ghost's words were true. During a monologue, King Claudius reveals hi s guilt. Meanwhile, Queen Gertrude tries to scold her son for the play, but in t urn is scolded for her quick remarriage. She cries out of fear, leaving a man hi ding behind the curtains to do the same. Hamlet reacts and stabs him, killing hi m not knowing it was Polonius. Hamlet continues to scold his mother until the Gh ost reappears and tells him to be kind to the Queen. She agrees to stop living w ith King Claudius. King Claudius is shocked by the death of Polonius, thinking it could have easily been him. Queen Gertrude lies for her son, saying that he went mad. King Claudi us in turn gets scared, forcing him to send Hamlet away to England, planning to kill him there. Fortinbras marches Denmark as Hamlet wishes he could be more lik e him while questioning about how he cannot fight when his father was murdered a nd mother made a whore he returns to Denmark. Ophelia goes mad from grief after learning of her father's death. King Claudius meets with Laertes, Ophelia's brot her, telling him that Hamlet killed his father and plans for the two to fight in a fencing match, plotting to kill Hamlet. At the burial of Ophelia, Hamlet and Laertes fight over her grave, each believin g they love her more. Hamlet tells his friend Horatio of his escape in England a nd had Rosencrantz and Guildenstern killed instead, revealing his desire to kill the King. Meanwhile, Queen Gertrude drinks a poisoned cup which was meant for h er son, as she dies, she reveals of her poisoning. Hamlet fences against Laertes and is cut by his sword. During the duel, the two switch swords. Having cut Lae rtes with his sword, Laertes tells of the poison tip. As Hamlet is dying, he sta

bs King Claudius with the sword, killing him. He tells Horatio to not commit sui cide and as his final wish to have Fortinbras as the next King of Denmark. Forti nbras arrives, leaving Horatio to tell his dear friend's story.

HAMLET Plot Overview O n a dark winter night, a ghost walks the ramparts of Elsinore Castle in Denmar k. Discovered first by a pair of watchmen, then by the scholar Horatio, the ghos t resembles the recently deceased King Hamlet, whose brother Claudius has inheri ted the throne and married the king s widow, Queen Gertrude. When Horatio and the watchmen bring Prince Hamlet, the son of Gertrude and the dead king, to see the ghost, it speaks to him, declaring ominously that it is indeed his father s spirit , and that he was murdered by none other than Claudius. Ordering Hamlet to seek revenge on the man who usurped his throne and married his wife, the ghost disapp ears with the dawn. Prince Hamlet devotes himself to avenging his father s death, but, because he is c ontemplative and thoughtful by nature, he delays, entering into a deep melanchol y and even apparent madness. Claudius and Gertrude worry about the prince s errati c behavior and attempt to discover its cause. They employ a pair of Hamlet s frien ds, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to watch him. When Polonius, the pompous Lord Chamberlain, suggests that Hamlet may be mad with love for his daughter, Ophelia , Claudius agrees to spy on Hamlet in conversation with the girl. But though Ham let certainly seems mad, he does not seem to love Ophelia: he orders her to ente r a nunnery and declares that he wishes to ban marriages. A group of traveling actors comes to Elsinore, and Hamlet seizes upon an idea to test his uncle s guilt. He will have the players perform a scene closely resembli ng the sequence by which Hamlet imagines his uncle to have murdered his father, so that if Claudius is guilty, he will surely react. When the moment of the murd er arrives in the theater, Claudius leaps up and leaves the room. Hamlet and Hor atio agree that this proves his guilt. Hamlet goes to kill Claudius but finds hi m praying. Since he believes that killing Claudius while in prayer would send Cl audius s soul to heaven, Hamlet considers that it would be an inadequate revenge a nd decides to wait. Claudius, now frightened of Hamlet s madness and fearing for h is own safety, orders that Hamlet be sent to England at once. Hamlet goes to confront his mother, in whose bedchamber Polonius has hidden behi nd a tapestry. Hearing a noise from behind the tapestry, Hamlet believes the kin g is hiding there. He draws his sword and stabs through the fabric, killing Polo nius. For this crime, he is immediately dispatched to England with Rosencrantz a nd Guildenstern. However, Claudius s plan for Hamlet includes more than banishment , as he has given Rosencrantz and Guildenstern sealed orders for the King of Eng land demanding that Hamlet be put to death. In the aftermath of her father s death, Ophelia goes mad with grief and drowns in the river. Polonius s son, Laertes, who has been staying in France, returns to Den mark in a rage. Claudius convinces him that Hamlet is to blame for his father s an d sister s deaths. When Horatio and the king receive letters from Hamlet indicatin g that the prince has returned to Denmark after pirates attacked his ship en rou te to England, Claudius concocts a plan to use Laertes desire for revenge to secu re Hamlet s death. Laertes will fence with Hamlet in innocent sport, but Claudius will poison Laertes blade so that if he draws blood, Hamlet will die. As a backup

plan, the king decides to poison a goblet, which he will give Hamlet to drink s hould Hamlet score the first or second hits of the match. Hamlet returns to the vicinity of Elsinore just as Ophelia s funeral is taking place. Stricken with grie f, he attacks Laertes and declares that he had in fact always loved Ophelia. Bac k at the castle, he tells Horatio that he believes one must be prepared to die, since death can come at any moment. A foolish courtier named Osric arrives on Cl audius s orders to arrange the fencing match between Hamlet and Laertes. The sword-fighting begins. Hamlet scores the first hit, but declines to drink fr om the king s proffered goblet. Instead, Gertrude takes a drink from it and is swi ftly killed by the poison. Laertes succeeds in wounding Hamlet, though Hamlet do es not die of the poison immediately. First, Laertes is cut by his own sword s bla de, and, after revealing to Hamlet that Claudius is responsible for the queen s de ath, he dies from the blade s poison. Hamlet then stabs Claudius through with the poisoned sword and forces him to drink down the rest of the poisoned wine. Claud ius dies, and Hamlet dies immediately after achieving his revenge. At this moment, a Norwegian prince named Fortinbras, who has led an army to Denm ark and attacked Poland earlier in the play, enters with ambassadors from Englan d, who report that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead. Fortinbras is stunned by the gruesome sight of the entire royal family lying sprawled on the floor dea d. He moves to take power of the kingdom. Horatio, fulfilling Hamlet s last reques t, tells him Hamlet s tragic story. Fortinbras orders that Hamlet be carried away in a manner befitting a fallen soldier.

MACBETH T he play begins with the brief appearance of a trio of witches and then moves t o a military camp, where the Scottish King Duncan hears the news that his genera ls, Macbeth and Banquo, have defeated two separate invading armies one from Irelan d, led by the rebel Macdonwald, and one from Norway. Following their pitched bat tle with these enemy forces, Macbeth and Banquo encounter the witches as they cr oss a moor. The witches prophesy that Macbeth will be made thane (a rank of Scot tish nobility) of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland. They also prophesy tha t Macbeth s companion, Banquo, will beget a line of Scottish kings, although Banqu o will never be king himself. The witches vanish, and Macbeth and Banquo treat t heir prophecies skeptically until some of King Duncan s men come to thank the two generals for their victories in battle and to tell Macbeth that he has indeed be en named thane of Cawdor. The previous thane betrayed Scotland by fighting for t he Norwegians and Duncan has condemned him to death. Macbeth is intrigued by the possibility that the remainder of the witches prophecy that he will be crowned kin g might be true, but he is uncertain what to expect. He visits with King Duncan, a nd they plan to dine together at Inverness, Macbeth s castle, that night. Macbeth writes ahead to his wife, Lady Macbeth, telling her all that has happened. Lady Macbeth suffers none of her husband s uncertainty. She desires the kingship f or him and wants him to murder Duncan in order to obtain it. When Macbeth arrive s at Inverness, she overrides all of her husband s objections and persuades him to kill the king that very night. He and Lady Macbeth plan to get Duncan s two chamb erlains drunk so they will black out; the next morning they will blame the murde r on the chamberlains, who will be defenseless, as they will remember nothing. W hile Duncan is asleep, Macbeth stabs him, despite his doubts and a number of sup ernatural portents, including a vision of a bloody dagger. When Duncan s death is discovered the next morning, Macbeth kills the chamberlains ostensibly out of rage

at their crime and easily assumes the kingship. Duncan s sons Malcolm and Donalbain flee to England and Ireland, respectively, fearing that whoever killed Duncan d esires their demise as well. Fearful of the witches prophecy that Banquo s heirs will seize the throne, Macbeth hires a group of murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. They ambush Banqu o on his way to a royal feast, but they fail to kill Fleance, who escapes into t he night. Macbeth becomes furious: as long as Fleance is alive, he fears that hi s power remains insecure. At the feast that night, Banquo s ghost visits Macbeth. When he sees the ghost, Macbeth raves fearfully, startling his guests, who inclu de most of the great Scottish nobility. Lady Macbeth tries to neutralize the dam age, but Macbeth s kingship incites increasing resistance from his nobles and subj ects. Frightened, Macbeth goes to visit the witches in their cavern. There, they show him a sequence of demons and spirits who present him with further propheci es: he must beware of Macduff, a Scottish nobleman who opposed Macbeth s accession to the throne; he is incapable of being harmed by any man born of woman; and he will be safe until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane Castle. Macbeth is relieved a nd feels secure, because he knows that all men are born of women and that forest s cannot move. When he learns that Macduff has fled to England to join Malcolm, Macbeth orders that Macduff s castle be seized and, most cruelly, that Lady Macduf f and her children be murdered. When news of his family s execution reaches Macduff in England, he is stricken wit h grief and vows revenge. Prince Malcolm, Duncan s son, has succeeded in raising a n army in England, and Macduff joins him as he rides to Scotland to challenge Ma cbeth s forces. The invasion has the support of the Scottish nobles, who are appal led and frightened by Macbeth s tyrannical and murderous behavior. Lady Macbeth, m eanwhile, becomes plagued with fits of sleepwalking in which she bemoans what sh e believes to be bloodstains on her hands. Before Macbeth s opponents arrive, Macb eth receives news that she has killed herself, causing him to sink into a deep a nd pessimistic despair. Nevertheless, he awaits the English and fortifies Dunsin ane, to which he seems to have withdrawn in order to defend himself, certain tha t the witches prophecies guarantee his invincibility. He is struck numb with fear , however, when he learns that the English army is advancing on Dunsinane shield ed with boughs cut from Birnam Wood. Birnam Wood is indeed coming to Dunsinane, fulfilling half of the witches prophecy. In the battle, Macbeth hews violently, but the English forces gradually overwhel m his army and castle. On the battlefield, Macbeth encounters the vengeful Macdu ff, who declares that he was not of woman born but was instead untimely ripped from his mother s womb (what we now call birth by cesarean section). Though he realizes that he is doomed, Macbeth continues to fight until Macduff kills and beheads h im. Malcolm, now the King of Scotland, declares his benevolent intentions for th e country and invites all to see him crowned at Scone.

KING LEAR lot Overview L ear, the aging king of Britain, decides to step down from the throne and divid e his kingdom evenly among his three daughters. First, however, he puts his daug hters through a test, asking each to tell him how much she loves him. Goneril an d Regan, Lear s older daughters, give their father flattering answers. But Cordeli a, Lear s youngest and favorite daughter, remains silent, saying that she has no w ords to describe how much she loves her father. Lear flies into a rage and disow ns Cordelia. The king of France, who has courted Cordelia, says that he still wa nts to marry her even without her land, and she accompanies him to France withou t her father s blessing.

Lear quickly learns that he made a bad decision. Goneril and Regan swiftly begin to undermine the little authority that Lear still holds. Unable to believe that his beloved daughters are betraying him, Lear slowly goes insane. He flees his daughters houses to wander on a heath during a great thunderstorm, accompanied by his Fool and by Kent, a loyal nobleman in disguise. Meanwhile, an elderly nobleman named Gloucester also experiences family problems . His illegitimate son, Edmund, tricks him into believing that his legitimate so n, Edgar, is trying to kill him. Fleeing the manhunt that his father has set for him, Edgar disguises himself as a crazy beggar and calls himself Poor Tom. Like L ear, he heads out onto the heath. When the loyal Gloucester realizes that Lear s daughters have turned against their father, he decides to help Lear in spite of the danger. Regan and her husband, Cornwall, discover him helping Lear, accuse him of treason, blind him, and turn him out to wander the countryside. He ends up being led by his disguised son, Ed gar, toward the city of Dover, where Lear has also been brought. In Dover, a French army lands as part of an invasion led by Cordelia in an effor t to save her father. Edmund apparently becomes romantically entangled with both Regan and Goneril, whose husband, Albany, is increasingly sympathetic to Lear s c ause. Goneril and Edmund conspire to kill Albany. The despairing Gloucester tries to commit suicide, but Edgar saves him by pullin g the strange trick of leading him off an imaginary cliff. Meanwhile, the Englis h troops reach Dover, and the English, led by Edmund, defeat the Cordelia-led Fr ench. Lear and Cordelia are captured. In the climactic scene, Edgar duels with a nd kills Edmund; we learn of the death of Gloucester; Goneril poisons Regan out of jealousy over Edmund and then kills herself when her treachery is revealed to Albany; Edmund s betrayal of Cordelia leads to her needless execution in prison; and Lear finally dies out of grief at Cordelia s passing. Albany, Edgar, and the e lderly Kent are left to take care of the country under a cloud of sorrow and reg ret.

OTHELLO O thello begins on a street in Venice, in the midst of an argument between Roder igo, a rich man, and Iago. Roderigo has been paying Iago to help him in his suit to Desdemona. But Roderigo has just learned that Desdemona has married Othello, a general whom Iago begrudgingly serves as ensign. Iago says he hates Othello, who recently passed him over for the position of lieutenant in favor of the inex perienced soldier Michael Cassio. Unseen, Iago and Roderigo cry out to Brabanzio that his daughter Desdemona has b een stolen by and married to Othello, the Moor. Brabanzio finds that his daughte r is indeed missing, and he gathers some officers to find Othello. Not wanting h is hatred of Othello to be known, Iago leaves Roderigo and hurries back to Othel lo before Brabanzio sees him. At Othello s lodgings, Cassio arrives with an urgent message from the duke: Othello s help is needed in the matter of the imminent Tur kish invasion of Cyprus. Not long afterward, Brabanzio arrives with Roderigo and others, and accuses Othello of stealing his daughter by witchcraft. When he fin

ds out that Othello is on his way to speak with the duke, -Brabanzio decides to go along and accuse Othello before the assembled senate. Brabanzio s plan backfires. The duke and senate are very sympathetic toward Othell o. Given a chance to speak for himself, Othello explains that he wooed and won D esdemona not by witchcraft but with the stories of his adventures in travel and war. The duke finds Othello s explanation convincing, and Desdemona herself enters at this point to defend her choice in marriage and to announce to her father th at her allegiance is now to her husband. Brabanzio is frustrated, but acquiesces and allows the senate meeting to resume. The duke says that Othello must go to Cyprus to aid in the defense against the Turks, who are headed for the island. D esdemona insists that she accompany her husband on his trip, and preparations ar e made for them to depart that night. In Cyprus the following day, two gentlemen stand on the shore with Montano, the governor of Cyprus. A third gentleman arrives and reports that the Turkish fleet has been wrecked in a storm at sea. Cassio, whose ship did not suffer the same fate, arrives soon after, followed by a second ship carrying Iago, Roderigo, Des demona, and Emilia, Iago s wife. Once they have landed, Othello s ship is sighted, a nd the group goes to the harbor. As they wait for Othello, Cassio greets Desdemo na by clasping her hand. Watching them, Iago tells the audience that he will use as little a web as this hand-holding to ensnare Cassio (II.i.169). Othello arrives, greets his wife, and announces that there will be reveling that evening to celebrate Cyprus s safety from the Turks. Once everyone has left, Rode rigo complains to Iago that he has no chance of breaking up Othello s marriage. Ia go assures Roderigo that as soon as Desdemona s blood is made dull with the act of sport, she will lose interest in Othello and seek sexual satisfaction elsewhere ( II.i.222). However, Iago warns that elsewhere will likely be with Cassio. Iago cou nsels Roderigo that he should cast Cassio into disgrace by starting a fight with Cassio at the evening s revels. In a soliloquy, Iago explains to the audience tha t eliminating Cassio is the first crucial step in his plan to ruin Othello. That night, Iago gets Cassio drunk and then sends Roderigo to start a fight with him . Apparently provoked by Roderigo, Cassio chases Roderigo across the stage. Gove rnor Montano attempts to hold Cassio down, and Cassio stabs him. Iago sends Rode rigo to raise alarm in the town. The alarm is rung, and Othello, who had left earlier with plans to consummate hi s marriage, soon arrives to still the commotion. When Othello demands to know wh o began the fight, Iago feigns reluctance to implicate his friend Cassio, but he u ltimately tells the whole story. Othello then strips Cassio of his rank of lieut enant. Cassio is extremely upset, and he laments to Iago, once everyone else has gone, that his reputation has been ruined forever. Iago assures Cassio that he can get back into Othello s good graces by using Desdemona as an intermediary. In a soliloquy, Iago tells us that he will frame Cassio and Desdemona as lovers to make -Othello jealous. In an attempt at reconciliation, Cassio sends some musicians to play beneath Oth ello s window. Othello, however, sends his clown to tell the musicians to go away. Hoping to arrange a meeting with Desdemona, Cassio asks the clown, a peasant wh o serves Othello, to send Emilia to him. After the clown departs, Iago passes by and tells Cassio that he will get Othello out of the way so that Cassio can spe ak privately with Desdemona. Othello, Iago, and a gentleman go to examine some o f the town s fortifications. Desdemona is quite sympathetic to Cassio s request and promises that she will do e verything she can to make Othello forgive his former lieutenant. As Cassio is ab out to leave, Othello and Iago return. Feeling uneasy, Cassio leaves without tal king to Othello. Othello inquires whether it was Cassio who just parted from his

wife, and Iago, beginning to kindle Othello s fire of jealousy, replies, No, sure, I cannot think it, / That he would steal away so guilty-like, / Seeing your com ing (III.iii.37 39). Othello becomes upset and moody, and Iago furthers his goal of removing both Cas sio and Othello by suggesting that Cassio and Desdemona are involved in an affai r. Desdemona s entreaties to Othello to reinstate Cassio as lieutenant add to Othe llo s almost immediate conviction that his wife is unfaithful. After Othello s conve rsation with Iago, Desdemona comes to call Othello to supper and finds him feeli ng unwell. She offers him her handkerchief to wrap around his head, but he finds it to be [t]oo little and lets it drop to the floor (III.iii.291). Desdemona and Othello go to dinner, and Emilia picks up the handkerchief, mentioning to the au dience that Iago has always wanted her to steal it for him. Iago is ecstatic when Emilia gives him the handkerchief, which he plants in Cass io s room as evidence of his affair with Desdemona. When Othello demands ocular proof (III.iii.365) that his wife is unfaithful, Iago says that he has seen Cassio wipe his beard (III.iii.444) with Desdemona s handkerchief the first gift Othello ever ga ve her. Othello vows to take vengeance on his wife and on Cassio, and Iago vows that he will help him. When Othello sees Desdemona later that evening, he demand s the handkerchief of her, but she tells him that she does not have it with her and attempts to change the subject by continuing her suit on Cassio s behalf. This drives Othello into a further rage, and he storms out. Later, Cassio comes onst age, wondering about the handkerchief he has just found in his chamber. He is gr eeted by Bianca, a prostitute, whom he asks to take the handkerchief and copy it s embroidery for him. Through Iago s machinations, Othello becomes so consumed by jealousy that he falls into a trance and has a fit of epilepsy. As he writhes on the ground, Cassio co mes by, and Iago tells him to come back in a few minutes to talk. Once Othello r ecovers, Iago tells him of the meeting he has planned with Cassio. He instructs Othello to hide nearby and watch as Iago extracts from Cassio the story of his a ffair with Desdemona. While Othello stands out of earshot, Iago pumps Cassio for information about Bianca, causing Cassio to laugh and confirm Othello s suspicion s. Bianca herself then enters with Desdemona s handkerchief, reprimanding Cassio f or making her copy out the embroidery of a love token given to him by another wo man. When Desdemona enters with Lodovico and Lodovico subsequently gives Othello a letter from Venice calling him home and instating Cassio as his replacement, Othello goes over the edge, striking Desdemona and then storming out. That night, Othello accuses Desdemona of being a whore. He ignores her protestat ions, seconded by Emilia, that she is innocent. Iago assures Desdemona that Othe llo is simply upset about matters of state. Later that night, however, Othello o minously tells Desdemona to wait for him in bed and to send Emilia away. Meanwhi le, Iago assures the still-complaining Roderigo that everything is going as plan ned: in order to prevent Desdemona and Othello from leaving, Roderigo must kill Cassio. Then he will have a clear avenue to his love. Iago instructs Roderigo to ambush Cassio, but Roderigo misses his mark and Cassi o wounds him instead. Iago wounds Cassio and runs away. When Othello hears Cassi o s cry, he assumes that Iago has killed Cassio as he said he would. Lodovico and Graziano enter to see what the commotion is about. Iago enters shortly thereafte r and flies into a pretend rage as he discovers Cassio s assailant Roderigo, whom he murders. Cassio is taken to have his wound dressed. Meanwhile, Othello stands over his sleeping wife in their bedchamber, preparing to kill her. Desdemona wakes and attempts to plead with Othello. She asserts her innocence, but Othello smothers her. Emilia enters with the news that Roderigo is dead. Othello asks if Cassio is dead too and is mortified when Emilia says he is not. After crying out that she has been murdered, Desdemona changes her stor

y before she dies, claiming that she has committed suicide. Emilia asks Othello what happened, and Othello tells her that he has killed Desdemona for her infide lity, which Iago brought to his attention. Montano, Graziano, and Iago come into the room. Iago attempts to silence Emilia, who realizes what Iago has done. At first, Othello insists that Iago has told t he truth, citing the handkerchief as evidence. Once Emilia tells him how she fou nd the handkerchief and gave it to Iago, Othello is crushed and begins to weep. He tries to kill Iago but is disarmed. Iago kills Emilia and flees, but he is ca ught by Lodovico and Montano, who return holding Iago captive. They also bring C assio, who is now in a chair because of his wound. Othello wounds Iago and is di sarmed. Lodovico tells Othello that he must come with them back to Venice to be tried. Othello makes a speech about how he would like to be remembered, then kil ls himself with a sword he had hidden on his person. The play closes with a spee ch by Lodovico. He gives Othello s house and goods to Graziano and orders that Iag o be executed.

THE TEMPEST A storm strikes a ship carrying Alonso, Ferdinand, Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo, Stephano, and Trinculo, who are on their way to Italy after coming from the wedd ing of Alonso s daughter, Claribel, to the prince of Tunis in Africa. The royal pa rty and the other mariners, with the exception of the unflappable Boatswain, beg in to fear for their lives. Lightning cracks, and the mariners cry that the ship has been hit. Everyone prepares to sink. The next scene begins much more quietly. Miranda and Prospero stand on the shore of their island, looking out to sea at the recent shipwreck. Miranda asks her f ather to do anything he can to help the poor souls in the ship. Prospero assures her that everything is all right and then informs her that it is time she learn ed more about herself and her past. He reveals to her that he orchestrated the s hipwreck and tells her the lengthy story of her past, a story he has often start ed to tell her before but never finished. The story goes that Prospero was the D uke of Milan until his brother Antonio, conspiring with Alonso, the King of Napl es, usurped his position. Kidnapped and left to die on a raft at sea, Prospero a nd his daughter survive because Gonzalo leaves them supplies and Prospero s books, which are the source of his magic and power. Prospero and his daughter arrived on the island where they remain now and have been for twelve years. Only now, Pr ospero says, has Fortune at last sent his enemies his way, and he has raised the tempest in order to make things right with them once and for all. After telling this story, Prospero charms Miranda to sleep and then calls forth his familiar spirit Ariel, his chief magical agent. Prospero and Ariel s discussio n reveals that Ariel brought the tempest upon the ship and set fire to the mast. He then made sure that everyone got safely to the island, though they are now s eparated from each other into small groups. Ariel, who is a captive servant to P rospero, reminds his master that he has promised Ariel freedom a year early if h e performs tasks such as these without complaint. Prospero chastises Ariel for p rotesting and reminds him of the horrible fate from which he was rescued. Before Prospero came to the island, a witch named Sycorax imprisoned Ariel in a tree. Sycorax died, leaving Ariel trapped until Prospero arrived and freed him. After

Ariel assures Prospero that he knows his place, Prospero orders Ariel to take th e shape of a sea nymph and make himself invisible to all but Prospero. Miranda awakens from her sleep, and she and Prospero go to visit Caliban, Prospe ro s servant and the son of the dead Sycorax. Caliban curses Prospero, and Prosper o and Miranda berate him for being ungrateful for what they have given and taugh t him. Prospero sends Caliban to fetch firewood. Ariel, invisible, enters playin g music and leading in the awed Ferdinand. Miranda and Ferdinand are immediately smitten with each other. He is the only man Miranda has ever seen, besides Cali ban and her father. Prospero is happy to see that his plan for his daughter s futu re marriage is working, but decides that he must upset things temporarily in ord er to prevent their relationship from developing too quickly. He accuses Ferdina nd of merely pretending to be the Prince of Naples and threatens him with impris onment. When Ferdinand draws his sword, Prospero charms him and leads him off to prison, ignoring Miranda s cries for mercy. He then sends Ariel on another myster ious mission. On another part of the island, Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo, and other mi scellaneous lords give thanks for their safety but worry about the fate of Ferdi nand. Alonso says that he wishes he never had married his daughter to the prince of Tunis because if he had not made this journey, his son would still be alive. Gonzalo tries to maintain high spirits by discussing the beauty of the island, but his remarks are undercut by the sarcastic sourness of Antonio and Sebastian. Ariel appears, invisible, and plays music that puts all but Sebastian and Anton io to sleep. These two then begin to discuss the possible advantages of killing their sleeping companions. Antonio persuades Sebastian that the latter will beco me ruler of Naples if they kill Alonso. Claribel, who would be the next heir if Ferdinand were indeed dead, is too far away to be able to claim her right. Sebas tian is convinced, and the two are about to stab the sleeping men when Ariel cau ses Gonzalo to wake with a shout. Everyone wakes up, and Antonio and Sebastian c oncoct a ridiculous story about having drawn their swords to protect the king fr om lions. Ariel goes back to Prospero while Alonso and his party continue to sea rch for Ferdinand. Caliban, meanwhile, is hauling wood for Prospero when he sees Trinculo and think s he is a spirit sent by Prospero to torment him. He lies down and hides under h is cloak. A storm is brewing, and Trinculo, curious about but undeterred by Cali ban s strange appearance and smell, crawls under the cloak with him. Stephano, dru nk and singing, comes along and stumbles upon the bizarre spectacle of Caliban a nd Trinculo huddled under the cloak. Caliban, hearing the singing, cries out tha t he will work faster so long as the spirits leave him alone. Stephano decides tha t this monster requires liquor and attempts to get Caliban to drink. Trinculo re cognizes his friend Stephano and calls out to him. Soon the three are sitting up together and drinking. Caliban quickly becomes an enthusiastic drinker, and beg ins to sing. Prospero puts Ferdinand to work hauling wood. Ferdinand finds his labor pleasant because it is for Miranda s sake. Miranda, thinking that her father is asleep, te lls Ferdinand to take a break. The two flirt with one another. Miranda proposes marriage, and Ferdinand accepts. Prospero has been on stage most of the time, un seen, and he is pleased with this development. Stephano, Trinculo, and Caliban are now drunk and raucous and are made all the m ore so by Ariel, who comes to them invisibly and provokes them to fight with one another by impersonating their voices and taunting them. Caliban grows more and more fervent in his boasts that he knows how to kill Prospero. He even tells St ephano that he can bring him to where Prospero is sleeping. He proposes that the y kill Prospero, take his daughter, and set Stephano up as king of the island. S tephano thinks this a good plan, and the three prepare to set off to find Prospe

ro. They are distracted, however, by the sound of music that Ariel plays on his flute and tabor-drum, and they decide to follow this music before executing thei r plot. Alonso, Gonzalo, Sebastian, and Antonio grow weary from traveling and pause to r est. Antonio and Sebastian secretly plot to take advantage of Alonso and Gonzalo s exhaustion, deciding to kill them in the evening. Prospero, probably on the bal cony of the stage and invisible to the men, causes a banquet to be set out by st rangely shaped spirits. As the men prepare to eat, Ariel appears like a harpy an d causes the banquet to vanish. He then accuses the men of supplanting Prospero and says that it was for this sin that Alonso s son, Ferdinand, has been taken. He vanishes, leaving Alonso feeling vexed and guilty. Prospero now softens toward Ferdinand and welcomes him into his family as the so on-to-be-husband of Miranda. He sternly reminds Ferdinand, however, that Miranda s virgin-knot (IV.i.15) is not to be broken until the wedding has been officially s olemnized. Prospero then asks Ariel to call forth some spirits to perform a masq ue for Ferdinand and Miranda. The spirits assume the shapes of Ceres, Juno, and Iris and perform a short masque celebrating the rites of marriage and the bounty of the earth. A dance of reapers and nymphs follows but is interrupted when Pro spero suddenly remembers that he still must stop the plot against his life. He sends the spirits away and asks Ariel about Trinculo, Stephano, and Caliban. Ariel tells his master of the three men s drunken plans. He also tells how he led the men with his music through prickly grass and briars and finally into a filth y pond near Prospero s cell. Ariel and Prospero then set a trap by hanging beautif ul clothing in Prospero s cell. Stephano, Trinculo, and Caliban enter looking for Prospero and, finding the beautiful clothing, decide to steal it. They are immed iately set upon by a pack of spirits in the shape of dogs and hounds, driven on by Prospero and Ariel. Prospero uses Ariel to bring Alonso and the others before him. He then sends Ari el to bring the Boatswain and the mariners from where they sleep on the wrecked ship. Prospero confronts Alonso, Antonio, and Sebastian with their treachery, bu t tells them that he forgives them. Alonso tells him of having lost Ferdinand in the tempest and Prospero says that he recently lost his own daughter. Clarifyin g his meaning, he draws aside a curtain to reveal Ferdinand and Miranda playing chess. Alonso and his companions are amazed by the miracle of Ferdinand s survival , and Miranda is stunned by the sight of people unlike any she has seen before. Ferdinand tells his father about his marriage. Ariel returns with the Boatswain and mariners. The Boatswain tells a story of ha ving been awakened from a sleep that had apparently lasted since the tempest. At Prospero s bidding, Ariel releases Caliban, Trinculo and Stephano, who then enter wearing their stolen clothing. Prospero and Alonso command them to return it an d to clean up Prospero s cell. Prospero invites Alonso and the others to stay for the night so that he can tell them the tale of his life in the past twelve years . After this, the group plans to return to Italy. Prospero, restored to his duke dom, will retire to Milan. Prospero gives Ariel one final task to make sure the se as are calm for the return voyage before setting him free. Finally, Prospero deliv ers an epilogue to the audience, asking them to forgive him for his wrongdoing a nd set him free by applauding.

visul unei nopti de vara

T heseus, duke of Athens, is preparing for his marriage to Hippolyta, queen of t he Amazons, with a four-day festival of pomp and entertainment. He commissions h is Master of the Revels, Philostrate, to find suitable amusements for the occasi on. Egeus, an Athenian nobleman, marches into Theseus s court with his daughter, H ermia, and two young men, Demetrius and Lysander. Egeus wishes Hermia to marry D emetrius (who loves Hermia), but Hermia is in love with Lysander and refuses to comply. Egeus asks for the full penalty of law to fall on Hermia s head if she flo uts her father s will. Theseus gives Hermia until his wedding to consider her opti ons, warning her that disobeying her father s wishes could result in her being sen t to a convent or even executed. Nonetheless, Hermia and Lysander plan to escape Athens the following night and marry in the house of Lysander s aunt, some seven leagues distant from the city. They make their intentions known to Hermia s friend Helena, who was once engaged to Demetrius and still loves him even though he ji lted her after meeting Hermia. Hoping to regain his love, Helena tells Demetrius of the elopement that Hermia and Lysander have planned. At the appointed time, Demetrius stalks into the woods after his intended bride and her lover; Helena f ollows behind him. In these same woods are two very different groups of characters. The first is a band of fairies, including Oberon, the fairy king, and Titania, his queen, who h as recently returned from India to bless the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. The second is a band of Athenian craftsmen rehearsing a play that they hope to p erform for the duke and his bride. Oberon and Titania are at odds over a young I ndian prince given to Titania by the prince s mother; the boy is so beautiful that Oberon wishes to make him a knight, but Titania refuses. Seeking revenge, Obero n sends his merry servant, Puck, to acquire a magical flower, the juice of which can be spread over a sleeping person s eyelids to make that person fall in love w ith the first thing he or she sees upon waking. Puck obtains the flower, and Obe ron tells him of his plan to spread its juice on the sleeping Titania s eyelids. H aving seen Demetrius act cruelly toward Helena, he orders Puck to spread some of the juice on the eyelids of the young Athenian man. Puck encounters Lysander an d Hermia; thinking that Lysander is the Athenian of whom Oberon spoke, Puck affl icts him with the love potion. Lysander happens to see Helena upon awaking and f alls deeply in love with her, abandoning Hermia. As the night progresses and Puc k attempts to undo his mistake, both Lysander and Demetrius end up in love with Helena, who believes that they are mocking her. Hermia becomes so jealous that s he tries to challenge Helena to a fight. Demetrius and Lysander nearly do fight over Helena s love, but Puck confuses them by mimicking their voices, leading them apart until they are lost separately in the forest. When Titania wakes, the first creature she sees is Bottom, the most ridiculous o f the Athenian craftsmen, whose head Puck has mockingly transformed into that of an ass. Titania passes a ludicrous interlude doting on the ass-headed weaver. E ventually, Oberon obtains the Indian boy, Puck spreads the love potion on Lysand er s eyelids, and by morning all is well. Theseus and Hippolyta discover the sleep ing lovers in the forest and take them back to Athens to be married Demetrius now loves Helena, and Lysander now loves Hermia. After the group wedding, the lovers watch Bottom and his fellow craftsmen perform their play, a fumbling, hilarious version of the story of Pyramus and Thisbe. When the play is completed, the lov ers go to bed; the fairies briefly emerge to bless the sleeping couples with a p rotective charm and then disappear. Only Puck remains, to ask the audience for i ts forgiveness and approval and to urge it to remember the play as though it had all been a dream.

DOCTOR FAUSTUS D octor Faustus, a well-respected German scholar, grows dissatisfied with the li mits of traditional forms of knowledge logic, medicine, law, and religion and decide s that he wants to learn to practice magic. His friends Valdes and Cornelius ins truct him in the black arts, and he begins his new career as a magician by summo ning up Mephastophilis, a devil. Despite Mephastophilis s warnings about the horro rs of hell, Faustus tells the devil to return to his master, Lucifer, with an of fer of Faustus s soul in exchange for twenty-four years of service from Mephastoph ilis. Meanwhile, Wagner, Faustus s servant, has picked up some magical ability and uses it to press a clown named Robin into his service. Mephastophilis returns to Faustus with word that Lucifer has accepted Faustus s of fer. Faustus experiences some misgivings and wonders if he should repent and sav e his soul; in the end, though, he agrees to the deal, signing it with his blood . As soon as he does so, the words Homo fuge, Latin for O man, fly, appear branded o n his arm. Faustus again has second thoughts, but Mephastophilis bestows rich gi fts on him and gives him a book of spells to learn. Later, Mephastophilis answer s all of his questions about the nature of the world, refusing to answer only wh en Faustus asks him who made the universe. This refusal prompts yet another bout of misgivings in Faustus, but Mephastophilis and Lucifer bring in personificati ons of the Seven Deadly Sins to prance about in front of Faustus, and he is impr essed enough to quiet his doubts. Armed with his new powers and attended by Mephastophilis, Faustus begins to trav el. He goes to the pope s court in Rome, makes himself invisible, and plays a seri es of tricks. He disrupts the pope s banquet by stealing food and boxing the pope s ears. Following this incident, he travels through the courts of Europe, with his fame spreading as he goes. Eventually, he is invited to the court of the German emperor, Charles V (the enemy of the pope), who asks Faustus to allow him to se e Alexander the Great, the famed fourth-century b.c. Macedonian king and conquer or. Faustus conjures up an image of Alexander, and Charles is suitably impressed . A knight scoffs at Faustus s powers, and Faustus chastises him by making antlers sprout from his head. Furious, the knight vows revenge. Meanwhile, Robin, Wagner s clown, has picked up some magic on his own, and with hi s fellow stablehand, Rafe, he undergoes a number of comic misadventures. At one point, he manages to summon Mephastophilis, who threatens to turn Robin and Rafe into animals (or perhaps even does transform them; the text isn t clear) to punis h them for their foolishness. Faustus then goes on with his travels, playing a trick on a horse-courser along the way. Faustus sells him a horse that turns into a heap of straw when ridden i nto a river. Eventually, Faustus is invited to the court of the Duke of Vanholt, where he performs various feats. The horse-courser shows up there, along with R obin, a man named Dick (Rafe in the A text), and various others who have fallen victim to Faustus s trickery. But Faustus casts spells on them and sends them on t heir way, to the amusement of the duke and duchess. As the twenty-four years of his deal with Lucifer come to a close, Faustus begin s to dread his impending death. He has Mephastophilis call up Helen of Troy, the famous beauty from the ancient world, and uses her presence to impress a group of scholars. An old man urges Faustus to repent, but Faustus drives him away. Fa ustus summons Helen again and exclaims rapturously about her beauty. But time is growing short. Faustus tells the scholars about his pact, and they are horror-s tricken and resolve to pray for him. On the final night before the expiration of the twenty-four years, Faustus is overcome by fear and remorse. He begs for mer cy, but it is too late. At midnight, a host of devils appears and carries his so

ul off to hell. In the morning, the scholars find Faustus s limbs and decide to ho ld a funeral for him.

Romeo and Juliet Summary How It All Goes Down We meet our hero, Romeo, after a duel between the servants of two enemy families of Verona: the Montagues and the Capulets. Romeo Montague is pining away for Ro saline, a girl we never see. Juliet Capulet, age thirteen, has just heard that P aris, Verona's attractive young bachelor, would like to marry her. The two will meet that night at a masquerade ball at the Capulets' house. Romeo and his frien ds have decided to crash the Capulet ball in costume because Rosaline is on the guest list. Romeo meets Juliet there instead, and they fall madly in love. After wards, they discover they are members of rival families, but they are still in l ove. Romeo stays after the party under Juliet's balcony, and the two use this ro mantic meeting to plan their marriage. Hasty, but genuine. This is where things get sticky. Romeo meets with Friar Laurence to arrange the marriage, and Juliet confides in her nurse, who has basically raised her, to act on her behalf and meet Romeo. The Nurse meets Romeo and his friend Mercutio (wh o thinks the whole situation is hilarious). Romeo tells her to get Juliet to Fri ar Laurence's, where the two will be married. Meanwhile, Benvolio, another member of the Montague posse, runs into Tybalt Capu let, who is angry about the Montagues crashing his family party the other night. Romeo, freshly married, strolls into the middle of a tense situation, and as th ings escalate, Tybalt kills Mercutio. Stricken by grief, Romeo promptly challeng es Tybalt to a duel and kills him. Romeo runs away before all of Verona shows up . The Prince of Verona rules that Romeo won't be killed, but banished from Veron a. This all puts a damper on the new marriage. Juliet hears from the Nurse that her new husband has murdered her cousin. She is doubly sad about the death and murder. Mostly Juliet just wants to see her bani shed husband. The Nurse finds Romeo hiding at Friar Laurence's, and the Friar ha tches a plan. Romeo can spend his wedding night with Juliet, but then he must ru n away, while the Friar finds some way to get the Prince of Verona to pardon Rom eo. The marriage will be made public upon his return. Meanwhile, back at the Capulet house, Paris is working even harder to wed Juliet , who is stricken by grief. Lord Capulet decides a wedding (to Paris) is just th e thing to distract her, as he does not know she's already a bride. Juliet spend s her wedding night with Romeo, and as he leaves in the morning, she finds out s he is to be married to Paris in two days. She refuses and has a violent fight wi th her parents. Even her nurse thinks she should marry Paris, since Romeo is "as good as dead" to her. Juliet, trying to figure out what to do, runs over to Friar Laurence's, where sh e has a weird kiss with Paris. After Paris leaves, she threatens to kill herself . The Friar adds another bit to his plan, and gives her an herbal concoction tha t will make her appear to be dead for 42 hours. Yes, exactly 42. She goes home, agrees to marry Paris, and takes the poison with the intention of looking dead o n the morning of her wedding and being taken to the Capulet tomb where Romeo can find her and everyone can live happily ever after. Sadly, Romeo is hiding in Mantua, out of the loop, and the news of Juliet's "dea th" makes it to Romeo before word of the Friar's plan. He buys some poison so he

can go to Juliet's grave and kill himself. At her grave, he finds Paris, whom h e murders, and then breaks into Juliet's tomb, where he spends some time with Ju liet's "dead" body. He drinks the poison and dies just in time for Juliet to wake up and find him de ad. The Friar, who apparently shows up at some point, also finds Romeo dead, and tries to convince Juliet to run away. She refuses (she's been doing a lot of th at lately) and kisses Romeo (a lot of that, too) to find that his lips are still warm she just missed him. He doesn't have enough poison on his lips to kill her , too, so she takes her own life with a dagger. Capulets, Montagues, and the Pri nce of Verona show up to the tomb and find the dead lovers. Friar Laurence is dr agged in to confess everything. The two lords of the rival houses are moved by t heir dead children's love story and agree to end the feud.