Romeo and Juliet Timeline

Romeo and Juliet is a popular tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is about two star-crossed lovers whose deaths reconcile their feuding families. The whole play takes place in 5 days. This is a timeline of the play with a summary of what happens each day.

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Day of the week: Sunday (Act 1-Act 2.2)

• Sampson and Gregory, Capulet servants, discuss how much they hate the Montagues.
• Abram and Balthasar, Montague servants, enter the town square, and Abram and Sampson start fighting.
• Capulet and Montague start fighting and the town square erupts into chaos.
• Prince Escalus arrives and breaks up the fighting. He threatens to kill Montague and Capulet if they ever disturb the streets again.
• Montague and Benvolio discuss how Romeo has been looking very sad lately and Benvolio decides to talk to his cousin Romeo.
• Benvolio discovers that Romeo is sad because the girl he loves, Rosaline, rejected him since she has decided to become a nun. Romeo is confused about his feelings of love.
• Benvolio promises to help Romeo forget Rosaline, and help him find a new lady.
• Paris talks to Lord Capulet about arranging his marriage with Juliet.
• Lord Capulet asks Paris to wait 2 years and make Juliet fall in love with him. Capulet invites him to the party that he is hosting tonight.
• Romeo reads aloud the guest list of a Capulet party for an illiterate servant. Romeo and Benvolio learn that Rosaline has been invited to the party at the Capulet house.
• Benvolio suggests crashing the party so that Romeo can see that the other women are more beautiful than Rosaline is.
• The nurse recites a sexual story about Juliet. Lady Capulet asks Juliet to consider Paris as a potential husband and Juliet responds by saying that she will try to like him.
• Benvolio and Mercutio want Romeo to come and crash the Capulet’s masquerade with them.
• Romeo is in a sad mood so says he cannot because he had a dream, but Mercutio makes fun of him by telling him that Queen Mab must have visited him.
• Romeo says that his dream was that if he goes tonight, consequences will come including his untimely death, but that he will go.
• Romeo gets to the party and sees Juliet and immediately falls in love with her and makes a plan to see her.
• Tybalt recognizes Romeo as a Montague and tells Capulet, but Capulet stops Tybalt from fighting Romeo to prevent angering Prince Escalus.
• Romeo and Juliet meet and fall in love at first sight. They kiss and then find out about each other’s families.

Act 2

• Romeo has forgotten about Rosaline and fallen in love with Juliet, but it is going to be very difficult for them to progress their relationship.
• Romeo climbs a wall and hides in the orchard from his friends. His friends try to anger him by making sexual remarks about Rosaline.
• Romeo overhears Juliet’s confession of love for him. Romeo and Juliet confirm their love and decide to get married. Juliet promises to send someone the next day.
• Romeo and Juliet flirt with each other and then say goodbye.

Day of the week: Monday (Act 2.3-Act 3.4)

Act 2.3:

• Friar Lawrence gathers herbs in the garden and Romeo discusses the wedding plans with Friar.
• Friar is concerned about the relationship at first but then he sees the marriage as a possible reconciliation between the 2 families.
• Friar agrees to marry the two lovers.
• Tybalt sends a letter of challenge for Romeo.
• The nurse goes to receive the wedding information from Romeo.
• The nurse goes back to Juliet to tell her the information. The nurse stalls on purpose to get a rise out of Juliet.
• Romeo and Juliet get married.

Act 3

• Tybalt comes to fight Romeo but Romeo refuses because they are related now.
• Mercutio sees that as dishonoring the Montague name so he fights Tybalt.
• Romeo gets in the way of their fight and Tybalt kills Mercutio.
• Romeo stabs and kills Tybalt and runs away.
• Juliet waits for Romeo to join her after their marriage.
• Juliet learns of Tybalt’s death and Romeo’s exile. She weeps with the nurse.
• Juliet is angry with Romeo but forgives him and grieves for him.
• The nurse agrees to get a message to Romeo. Juliet gives a ring to the nurse to give to Romeo.
• Romeo is hiding at Friar’s cell. Friar tells Romeo of his exile. Romeo breaks down from sadness.
• The nurse arrives to tell Romeo that Juliet still loves him.
• The Friar tells Romeo to man up and creates a plan. Romeo will say his goodbyes to Juliet and go to Mantua. Friar will reveal the marriage and beg for pardon.
• Paris visits Capulet. Lord Capulet decides to marry Juliet to Paris on Thursday.

Day of the week: Tuesday (Act 3.5-Act 4.3)

Act 3.5:

• Romeo and Juliet say their goodbyes
• Lady Capulet tells Juliet that she will marry Paris.
• Juliet doesn’t agree to the marriage and disobeys. Her parents get very angry at her and threaten to disown her.
• The nurse also sides with the parents and tells Juliet to marry Paris instead.
• Juliet feels very alone and decides to go to Friar Lawrence’s cell.

Act 4

• Juliet goes to Friar Laurence’s cell and Paris is there trying to make wedding arrangements
• Juliet threatens to kill herself if she has to marry Paris.
• Friar Lawrence tells her a plan to fake her death.
• Friar gives Juliet a potion that will make her seem dead for 42 hours.
• Friar will send a letter to Romeo telling him of the plan. After Juliet’s funeral, he will come and take her to Mantua.
• Juliet agrees with Friar’s plan.
• Juliet apologizes to her father and says she will marry Paris.
• Capulet is relieved and moves up the wedding day to Wednesday
• Juliet asks to be left alone for the night.
• Juliet drinks the poison of Friar Lawrence’s plan.

Day of the week: Wednesday (Act 4.4-Act 4.5)

Act 4.4:

• Capulet helps with the preparations for the wedding. (Lighthearted scene)
• Capulet sends a nurse to wake Juliet. Nurse tries to wake up Juliet.
• Nurse finds Juliet “dead” and everyone mourns for her.
• Paris and Juliet’s wedding day turns into Juliet’s funeral.
• Peter argues with the musicians.

Day of the week: Thursday (Act 5.1–3)

Act 5:

• Romeo has a dream about Juliet.
• Balthasar arrives and tells Romeo that Juliet has died. Romeo asks for a pen, paper, and horses to go to Verona.
• Romeo sets out to find a poor apothecary who can give him some poison. Romeo will use that poison to kill himself next to Juliet.
• Romeo goes to Verona.
• Friar Lawrence’s messenger tells him that he couldn’t deliver the message because no one could go to Mantua due to the spread of a disease.
• Paris visits Juliet’s tomb to pay his respects. He tells his Page to keep a watch for anyone coming.
• Romeo arrives at the tomb and asks Balthasar to leave. Paris thinks he is there to mess with the bodies.
• Romeo asks Paris to leave him alone but Paris refuses. Romeo and Paris fights. Romeo kills Paris.
• Romeo kills Paris and places him in the tomb with Juliet as his last dying wish.
• Romeo finds Juliet in the tomb, still beautiful.
• Romeo apologizes to Tybalt, drinks the poison and dies next to Juliet after giving her one last kiss.
• Friar encounters Balthasar and comes into the tomb to find a dead Paris and Romeo. He sees Juliet wake up and tries to convince her to come with him.
• Juliet sees Romeo’s dead body and refuses to go with Friar so Friar runs away.
• Juliet stabs herself with a dagger and dies next to Romeo.
• The watchmen arrive and find the friar and Balthasar.
• The prince arrives and capulets arrive to their daughter freshly bleeding and dead.
• Montague arrives and announces that his wife has died of grief over Romeo’s exile.
• Friar Laurence tells the story of what has happened. He says that he will take the blame for what has happened.
• The prince listens to Balthasar’s story and reads Romeo’s letter. He decides that the stories match up.
• The Prince scolds Capulet and Montague, and reminds them that he has also lost two kinsmen.
• Capulet and Montague clasp hands and decide to put their feud behind them.
• Montague says that he will build a gold statue of Juliet, and Capulet will build one of Romeo.
• The families reconcile