Act 4 Scene 5

The Nurse enters Juliet’s chambers and attempts to wake her, believing that she is sleeping soundly. However, when she draws the curtains aside and sees Juliet stretched out on the bed fully clothed, the Nurse panics and screams wildly immediately thinking that Juliet has died. The death of Juliet comes as a great shock to Nurse and affects her deeply, even though they have recently had a falling out over the Nurse’s advice to marry Paris instead of Romeo. In the following moments, both of Juliet’s parents enter the scene and are so stunned and shocked to see Juliet laying on her bed motionless that they are powerless to do anything. Next the Friar, Paris and the musicians enter the room. Amid all the laments that follow, Friar Lawrence points out that Juliet, through her death at a young age, is going straight to heaven and that the family must keep that positive thought in mind while they grieve. Capulet sadly remarks that all of the wedding preparations have been turned into funeral preparations instead. Friar Lawrence preaches acceptance of this fact, stating that heaven has punished them for some reason, but they must accept what has happened. When the principle acts move off stage, Peter and the musicians exchange lively banter and the musicians decide to stay for dinner anyway, even though the wedding has become a funeral.