Discussion Topic
The timing of Romeo and Juliet's deaths in "Romeo and Juliet."
Summary:
Romeo and Juliet's deaths are tragically mistimed. Romeo, believing Juliet is dead, takes his own life with poison. Moments later, Juliet awakens to find Romeo dead and kills herself with his dagger. Their deaths are a result of miscommunication and unfortunate timing, highlighting the play's theme of fate and the consequences of hasty decisions.
When does Juliet die in Romeo and Juliet?
Juliet dies as the result of a tragic misunderstanding, as indeed does her beloved Romeo. She is so desperate to get out of her arranged marriage to Paris that she takes a special potion—given to her by Friar Laurence—to put her to sleep and make her family think she is dead. The plan initially seems to work, and Juliet's grief-stricken parents place their daughter's "body" in the Capulet mausoleum.
Tragically, however, it's not just Juliet's family who thinks that she's dead, but Romeo too. When he sees what he believes to be his late lover's corpse, lying there still and silent in the mausoleum, he is so overcome with sorrow that he kills himself by taking poison. When Juliet wakes from her slumbers, she sees Romeo lying dead. Now it's her turn to be overcome with grief, and she stabs herself to death with Romeo's knife:
Yea, noise?...
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Then I’ll be brief. O happy dagger,
This is thy sheath. There rust and let me die. (act V, scene iii)
When is Juliet's birthday in Romeo and Juliet?
Juliet's birthday is on July 31st. That date is known as Lammas Eve. August 1st is Lammas Day, which is the festival of the wheat harvest. It is the first of all the festivals of the year. The story takes place in the middle of summer, which is known as a time of new love.
Romeo first sees Juliet at the Capulet's Ball. Romeo is a Montague and their is bad blood between the Montague's and the Capulet's. He has gone into the ball in hopes of getting over the girl he thinks he loves. It is a masquerade ball, which makes it a perfect time for him to get in the ball, since he won't "seen".
Juliet has been told by her mother that Paris wants to marry her. Juliet has never thought about marriage, but her mother tells her that she was close to the age she is going to be, when she had Juliet. Juliet does not love Paris, but does start to think about marriage. At the ball she and Romeo come face to face. She doesn't know that he is a Montague, but the two fall instantly in love with each other.
Juliet's age is a cause for concern for her father. He wants her to marry Paris, but he asks Paris if he could wait at least two years before marrying her. During this time period, however, young girls married young. The life span is nothing like it is now. They didn't live to be very old, so being almost 14 is considered a proper age to get married. Although Juliet is so young, she knows what she wants. She is determined to marry Romeo and be with him, no matter what the cost may be.
Shakespeare uses the Nurse in Act 1, Scene 3 to establish Juliet's present age and her birthday. According to the Nurse:
Come Lammas Eve at night shall she be fourteen.
Lammastide, or Lammas Day, is August 1st, so Juliet will be fourteen the night before, on July 31st. According to Lady Capulet, Lammastide will arrive in
A fortnight and odd days.
So Juliet is currently thirteen years, eleven months, and approximately sixteen days old. Many people have argued whether or not she is too young to be married. Nowadays, we would certainly think that fourteen was too young, but evidently people thought differently in Shakespeare's time. They apparently didn't have the concept of "adolescence." People were either children or adults, and puberty must have been the dividing line.
In addition to establishing Juliet's age, the nurse's and Lady Capulet's information also establishes the time of year as midsummer, an excellent time for young people to fall in love and to stay up all hours of the night, seeking romance and adventure, while their elders are sound asleep and snoring.
During Act I, the Nurse reminiscences about her daughter Susan who would have been that same age as Juliet. During a conversation amongst Juliet and Lady Capulet, the Nurse says, “Come Lammas-eve at night shall she [Juliet] be fourteen”(1.3.19). So technically, this is August 1st, the Roman Harvest: primarily a focus upon the first wheat harvest. In regards to the above-mentioned quote, the Nurse is having this conversation on July 18th, a Sunday. After all, Juliet plays dead on Tuesday night and kills herself on Thursday late at night after Romeo takes his poison.
Yes, as above, Juliet was born on July 31. This makes her a Leo (Shakespeare's audience would have been aware of Zodiac signs). The interesting thing here is that Leo is a 'Sun' sign and Juliet, when we first meet her, is characterised by imagery of brightness. Romeo's first words when he sees Juliet are:
O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!
It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night
Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear;
Again, in the famous Balcony Scene, Romeo makes the following comments about Juliet:
The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars,
As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven
Would through the airy region stream so bright
That birds would sing and think it were not night.
Thus her birthday is quite significant in terms of Juliet's characterisation.
I hope that helps!
When does Romeo die in "Romeo and Juliet"?
Romeo dies in Act V, Scene 3 of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. His death and Juliet's is actually announced by Shakespeare in the sixth line of the Prologue:
A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life
Death, that hath sucked the honey of thy breath,
Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty.
Thou art not conquered. Beauty’s ensign yet
Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks,
And death’s pale flag is not advancèd there.
In some stage directions it then says "He falls" and yet others say "He dies." No matter, he is dead before Juliet awakens.Here’s to my love. [Drinking.] O true apothecary,
Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.