Act One

I woke up today just like any other day in the cruel city of Verona. It is about 30 degrees out side but I still feel cold. Life has never been the same for me ever since I met Rosaline. Everyday I wake up feeling the same way: cold and bitter. Why can’t she love me as I love her? Are her feelings not strong enough for me? Does she have any feelings for me at all? All I know that is that I loved and lost because she wants to be a nun, which means no luck for me.

I was walking at the beach yesterday, trying to collect my thoughts (or what was left of them) when I saw my father walk off rather quickly and before I knew it I was pouring out my soul to Benvolio. He is always there to help in a time of need. He can understand my complex feelings and helps me through the rough patches. We walked a little before I saw enough. There was another fight in the streets of Verona. By our family name we always seem to fight. I was going to ask Benvolio what happened, but I know it all too well.

As we walk, we encounter a servant. He was obviously illiterate because he was asking around for people to read him a piece of paper. He approaches Benvoilio and I and asks us to read it. Me being the kind person I am, I read it for him. It was obviously a party list because it had many names on it. As I read through, another wound is opened in the name of love. Rosaline would be attending this party. They servant thanks us and invites us to the party but makes it quite clear that the Montagues were not welcome. Well me being in the state that I was and Benvolio being the type to lift my spirit, says that we should attend the party, even though we were indirectly told not to come. At first I did not like this idea. We could be caught and Tybalt would not take kindly to this. We could be killed!

I awoke in the middle of the night with a terrible dream. Something was going to happen. Something bad.

On our way to the party, Mercutio, Benvoilio and I chatted. Eventually the topic of my dream came up. Mercutio being the way his is, started to explain to me the story of Queen Mab. After Mercutio gets all worked up about it, I tell him that the story is not true and I agree to go to the party against my better judgment.

The party seemed pointless to me. I knew no one except Mercutio and Benvolio. I got scared a couple times when I saw Tybalt or Capulet because i knew going the the party was a bad idea. The food there was not too great either but what made the party so great was a young woman I saw. After I looked at her, Rosaline seemed far in the past. At first I did not want to take any action upon seeing her, but soon enough we were dancing. Some people do not believe in love at first sight but I do and I knew it was true after we started to speak a sonnet together; her finishing my lines and me finishing hers. Nothing lasts for ever though becasue soon after we kissed, the Capulet nurse told her that her mother would like to talk to her. This left me in pure shock! My love was enemy?

Act One Quote

"Too early seen unknown, and known too late!" - Juliet (1.5.139)

This line was spoken after Juliet too found out that Romeo and her were enemies. She spoke it aloud and so the nurse could hear. When Juliet was asked where she heard it, she said she had learned it somewhere. I believe that the line means that she had seen Romeo too soon without knowing who he was and now it is too late becasue she is already in love with him. This is a problem becasue were supposed to be foes. This line is also very important to the story becasue it starts the taboo love between Romeo and Juliet and then later leads to bigger things...

Act Two

Mercutio must think he is really smart but he hurts me not with his words of Rosaline. She is in the past now and Juliet is my future. No matter, tonight I saw my fair lady. I climbed the wall surrounding the Capulet property just too see her. As I walked the property, I saw a light come from a balcony. I knew instantly it was Juliet. I went close to where she was to talk to her, but she began to speak aloud. "O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?" (2.2.33) I remember her say it like the angels sing from Heaven. At that moment I had a decision to make: do I speak or continue listening? I chose to listen in some more, see if she really meant me, but after about a minute or two I could not take it any longer. I had to speak! "I take thee at thy word..." (2.2.49) I remember saying. She was startled a first that someone had heard all that she had said, but we soon began talking of love. Ah that word is so sweet! But soon after Juliet began speaking of marriage. I love this girl but are we ready for marriage? It seems too soon! But then again, love knows no time. I told her that we will indeed get married and that I would talk to friar Lawrence. Unfortunately, the nurse called upon Juliet and so I had to be gone. If anyone found me on that land I would no doubt be killed.

Friar Lawrence just does not understand! I no longer have feeling for that other woman... whats her name again? See? I only love Juliet! "What a change is here?" is all he could say to me. I talked him out of his stubborn mind set though and convinced him to marry us. He said that by doing so, he could end the fight my family is having with the Capulets. I hope so.

I walked the streets of Verona later that day when I came across Benvolio and Mercutio. They were fairly mad that I had left them in such a way the night before, but after some talking they were fine again and they noticed that I was back the my normal self. We had some jokes before the "hoar" came along. Ah, Mercutio you make me laugh. She came on behalf of my fair Juliet. Before she gave me the news, she lectured me on what she would do to me if I broke my Juliet's heart. I laugh at such a thought. Me leaving Juliet is just absurd. She seemed not convinced with anything I told her so I pulled out my trump card. "... at Friar Laurence' cell, (she) be shrived and married..." (2.4.174-175). I closed the conversation and told her to tell Juliet everything I had told her. I hope everything goes according to plan...

Sitting and waiting with Friar Laurence for my Juliet to arrive because when she does we can be married. Ah, something had broken the horizon. It is her. My love.

Act Two Quote

"He jests at scars that never felt a wound." - Romeo (2.2.1)
This line was said right after Mercutio started to make cracks at Romeo and Rosaline so that Mercutio and Benvolio can find Romeo. What this line says is that Mercutio's insults do not hurt him becasue he no longer loves Rosaline and furthermore does not care about her at all. The scars would be the memories of Rosaline and the wound would be the pain, but since he no longer loves Rosaline, those scars no longer hurt. Mercutio can not hear this line and gives up on trying to look for Romeo and leave, while Romeo climbs the Capulet wall to see his new love.

Act Three

Something that I hate to see, but I see it all the time. My family fighting with the Capulets. But this time is was different. It was not Benvolio, or any of the servants, it was Mercutio! And who was it that he was fighting with? Of course! No other man but Tybalt! I ran to them as fast as I could. I tried to break up their quarrel but it was no use, Mercutio started the fight and Tybalt fought back. I finally kept them at peace for a moment until that vile, monster Tybalt took his last blow on the unsuspecting Mercutio. "A plague o’ both your houses!" (3.1.90) is all he would say to me. Why, oh why did this happen? My good friend Mercutio had to die for my family. Well, I knew what I had to do. I would not leave Tybalt unpunished. "Either thou, or I, or both, must go with him..." (3.1.128) I said. I demanded he draw his sword and we fought. With all the power in my body I slew Tybalt; I sent him to his dark grave. My new cousin, his blood on my hands. I fled as fast as I could.

BANISH'D! BANISH'D! The word knows no mercy! Friar says this is mercy! How can this be mercy? I wish more to be dead then have to live outside of my fair city of Verona. The only comfort I get is when the Nurse comes with news. She says that she will tell Juliet I will come to her and see her to comfort her loss of me and her vicious cousin- I will not speak his name. She also gave me Juliet's ring. Oh, what joy that brought me. And with that I left the Friar's cell to got see my Juliet and finish our marriage.

Act Three Quote

"A plague o’ both your houses!" - Mercutio (3.1.90)
Mercutio's pain both physical and emotional, was expressed in these lines after being stabbed by Tybalt. He curses both the Montague and Capulet houses for causing his death becasue if the two families were to never have been enemies, then there would have been no brawl and Mercutio would have lived. Because of this, Mercutio is so overwhelmed in anger that he wishes a plague on the two houses. Romeo then avenges the death of his friend by killing Tybalt. Could this be the start of the plague brought on by Mercutio?

Act Four

Mantua is nothing like Verona. Nothing is like Verona. The sweet air. The cool water. My Juliet. Ah my wonderful Juliet. How I miss her so. At least in Verona I could talk to her occasionally, but in Mantua there is nothing. All I can do is walk around all day, eat and sleep. There are a lot of interesting people on Mantua though. Just the other day, I saw a very poor looking apothecary. I remember saying:
"An if a man did need a poison now,
Whose sale is present death in Mantua,
Here lives a caitiff wretch would sell it him.”

Act Four Quote

"Death lies on her like an untimely frost
Upon the sweetest flower of all the field." - Capulet (4.5.28-29)

After his daughter's death, Capulet was in utter shock. He uses a metaphor of frost on a flower, death being the frost and Juliet as the flower. Obviously the frost would either ruin or kill the flower and that is exactly what happened to Juliet. He goes on to say what a shame for his daughter to die on what was in his opinion to be one of the happiest days of her life, but the reader knows otherwise. The reader also knows that Juliet is not actually dead and so there is dramatic irony there.

Act Five

No news would have been better news. Juliet is dead. My only joy. My only love. My only life. How could this have happened? Was it me? Did she kill her self becasue of my banishment. No matter, she is gone and so is my point ins living. There is nothing left for me to do now but go and see my love for the last time and then join her in Heaven. I had to find the apothecary I saw earlier. I called out to him and eventually found him. I offered him all the money I had for his fastest working poison. It was not easy to convince him to break the law but I finally got it. I found Balthasar, my servant and friend, and got him to where my love lay.

"Farewell..." My last words to my long time friend Balthasar. I had to do what I had to do. I entered the place where Juliet laid to see my lady once more. I opened the tomb with all my might. It seemed so empty, but I would fill it by the end of the night. Ah her lips. Her hands, her face. Why does she stay so beautiful even when she is dead? There was a crack behind me. The County Paris has his sword drawn on me and accuses me of such villainous deeds. "...tempt not a desperate man..." (5.3.59) I say to him, but he swung at me anyways. I merely fought back and ended up, in my rage, killing the poor man. I thought one murder in my hands was bad enough, but having two is enough to drive an sane man crazy. At last, the deed had to be done. I kissed my Juliet for the last time, and drank the vile poison. It worked faster than I thought it wou-

Romeo Montague (1117-1133)

Act Five Quote

"Eyes, look your last!
Arms, take your last embrace!" - Romeo (5.3.112-113)
The suicidal Romeo is with his "dead" Juliet for the last time. What is meant in this line is that he is saying that this will be he last with Juliet and is telling his arms and eyes to embrace her once more. Almost directly after saying this line, Romeo drinks the poison he got from the Apothecary and dies. This line leads into more dramatic irony becasue Romeo kills himself becasue Juliet is "dead" but she is not so its ironic.

Links

www.allposters.com
blog.chosun.com
etc.usf.edu
www.jamesweggreview.org
commons.wikimedia.org