Act 5, Scene 1 — Romeo and Juliet

The argument Romeo in Mantua has dreamed of Juliet finding him dead and kissing him back to life. Balthasar arrives with news of Juliet's death. Romeo resolves to die by her side that night and buys poison from a desperate apothecary — overriding his reluctance with money.

Enter Romeo.

ROMEO ≋ verse Rage against fate; ultimate defiance

If I may trust the flattering eye of sleep,

My dreams presage some joyful news at hand.

My bosom’s lord sits lightly in his throne;

And all this day an unaccustom’d spirit

Lifts me above the ground with cheerful thoughts.

I dreamt my lady came and found me dead,—

Strange dream, that gives a dead man leave to think!—

And breath’d such life with kisses in my lips,

That I reviv’d, and was an emperor.

Ah me, how sweet is love itself possess’d,

When but love’s shadows are so rich in joy.

Why it matters Romeo's dream is prophetically accurate in reverse: Juliet will indeed find him dead, and she will kiss him. The difference is that in the dream it works — he revives. In reality, he will be dead for real. Shakespeare plants this dream as an almost unbearable near-miss: the dream told the right story in the wrong direction.

Enter Balthasar.

News from Verona! How now, Balthasar?

Dost thou not bring me letters from the Friar?

How doth my lady? Is my father well?

How fares my Juliet? That I ask again;

For nothing can be ill if she be well.

BALTHASAR ≋ verse Speaking

Then she is well, and nothing can be ill.

Her body sleeps in Capel’s monument,

And her immortal part with angels lives.

I saw her laid low in her kindred’s vault,

And presently took post to tell it you.

O pardon me for bringing these ill news,

Since you did leave it for my office, sir.

Then she is well, and nothing can be ill. Her body sleeps in Capel’s monument, And her immortal pare with angels lives. I saw her laid low in her kindred’s vault, And presently took post to tell it you. O pardon me for bringing these ill news, Since you did leave it for my office, sir.

then she is well, and nothing can be ill. her body...

then she is well, and nothing can be ill. her body sleeps in

Why it matters Balthasar's report is accurate as far as he knows, and his framing is compassionate. 'She is well' carries both the death and the consolation. But Romeo doesn't hear the consolation.

🎭 Dramatic irony The audience watching 5-1 knows that Juliet is not dead — only sleeping. Romeo does not. The speed with which he resolves to die by her side — 'I will hence tonight' — is both heroic and horrible to watch. He is making a permanent decision based on a temporary misunderstanding.

ROMEO ≋ verse Suicide determination; no hesitation

Is it even so? Then I defy you, stars!

Thou know’st my lodging. Get me ink and paper,

And hire post-horses. I will hence tonight.

Why it matters 'Then I defy you, stars!' is one of Shakespeare's great lines — not because it works, but because it doesn't. Romeo's defiance is magnificent and futile. He is going to die by a plan he makes in this moment, on the basis of news that is technically false.

BALTHASAR ≋ verse Speaking

I do beseech you sir, have patience.

Your looks are pale and wild, and do import

Some misadventure.

I do beseech you sir, have patience. Your looks are pale and wild, and do import Some misadventure.

i do beseech you sir, have patience. your looks are pale and wild, and do import some misadventure.

i do beseech you sir, have patience. your looks are pale and

ROMEO ≋ verse Speaking

Tush, thou art deceiv’d.

Leave me, and do the thing I bid thee do.

Hast thou no letters to me from the Friar?

Tush, you are deceiv’d. Leave me, and do the thing I bid you do. Hast you no letters to me from the Friar?

tush, you are deceiv’d. leave me, and do the thing...

tush, thou art deceiv’d. leave me, and do the thing i bid th

BALTHASAR Speaking

No, my good lord.

no, my good lord.

Why it matters The absence of the Friar's letter is the mechanism of the catastrophe. Everything depended on Romeo receiving it. He didn't. The audience won't learn why until 5-2.

ROMEO ≋ verse Speaking

No matter. Get thee gone,

And hire those horses. I’ll be with thee straight.

No matter. Get you gone, And hire those horses. I’ll be with you straight.

no matter. get you gone, and hire those horses. i’ll be with you straight.

no matter. get thee gone, and hire those horses. i’ll be wit

[_Exit Balthasar._]

Well, Juliet, I will lie with thee tonight.

Let’s see for means. O mischief thou art swift

To enter in the thoughts of desperate men.

I do remember an apothecary,—

And hereabouts he dwells,—which late I noted

In tatter’d weeds, with overwhelming brows,

Culling of simples, meagre were his looks,

Sharp misery had worn him to the bones;

And in his needy shop a tortoise hung,

An alligator stuff’d, and other skins

Of ill-shaped fishes; and about his shelves

A beggarly account of empty boxes,

Green earthen pots, bladders, and musty seeds,

Remnants of packthread, and old cakes of roses

Were thinly scatter’d, to make up a show.

Noting this penury, to myself I said,

And if a man did need a poison now,

Whose sale is present death in Mantua,

Here lives a caitiff wretch would sell it him.

O, this same thought did but forerun my need,

And this same needy man must sell it me.

As I remember, this should be the house.

Being holiday, the beggar’s shop is shut.

What, ho! Apothecary!

Enter Apothecary.

APOTHECARY Speaking

Who calls so loud?

who calls so loud?

ROMEO ≋ verse Speaking

Come hither, man. I see that thou art poor.

Hold, there is forty ducats. Let me have

A dram of poison, such soon-speeding gear

As will disperse itself through all the veins,

That the life-weary taker may fall dead,

And that the trunk may be discharg’d of breath

As violently as hasty powder fir’d

Doth hurry from the fatal cannon’s womb.

Come hither, man. I see that you are poor. Hold, thbefore is forty ducats. Let me have A dram of poison, such soon-speeding gear As will disperse itself through all the veins, That the life-weary taker may fall dead, And that the trunk may be discharg’d of breath As violently as hasty powder fir’d Doth hurry from the fatal cannon’s womb.

come hither, man. i see that you are poor. hold, t...

come hither, man. i see that thou art poor. hold, there is f

APOTHECARY ≋ verse Despair; resignation

Such mortal drugs I have, but Mantua’s law

Is death to any he that utters them.

Such mortal drugs I have, but Mantua’s law Is death to any he that utters them.

such mortal drugs i have, but mantua’s law is death to any he that utters them.

such mortal drugs i have, but mantua’s law is death to any h

ROMEO ≋ verse Despair; resignation

Art thou so bare and full of wretchedness,

And fear’st to die? Famine is in thy cheeks,

Need and oppression starveth in thine eyes,

Contempt and beggary hangs upon thy back.

The world is not thy friend, nor the world’s law;

The world affords no law to make thee rich;

Then be not poor, but break it and take this.

Art you so bare and full of wretchedness, And fear’st to die? Famine is in your cheeks, Need and oppression starveth in thine eyes, Contempt and beggary hangs upon your back. The world is not your friend, nor the world’s law; The world affords no law to make you rich; Then be not poor, but break it and take this.

art you so bare and full of wretchedness, and fear...

art thou so bare and full of wretchedness, and fear’st to di

Why it matters Romeo's speech to the Apothecary is one of his most morally complex. He is simultaneously compassionate (he sees the man's poverty clearly) and manipulative (he uses that poverty as leverage). He isn't wrong about the Apothecary's situation. He is using a true description of injustice to get what he wants.

APOTHECARY Speaking

My poverty, but not my will consents.

my poverty, but not my will consents.

Why it matters The Apothecary's line is one of the play's most quietly devastating. 'My poverty, but not my will, consents' — he is not a willing participant. He is a victim of the same world that Romeo is raging against. His consent is coerced by need.

ROMEO Speaking

I pay thy poverty, and not thy will.

I pay your poverty, and not your will.

i pay your poverty, and not your will.

i pay thy poverty, and not thy will.

APOTHECARY ≋ verse Speaking

Put this in any liquid thing you will

And drink it off; and, if you had the strength

Of twenty men, it would despatch you straight.

Put this in any liquid thing you will And drink it off; and, if you had the strength Of twenty men, it would despatch you straight.

put this in any liquid thing you will and drink it...

put this in any liquid thing you will and drink it off; and,

ROMEO ≋ verse Speaking

There is thy gold, worse poison to men’s souls,

Doing more murder in this loathsome world

Than these poor compounds that thou mayst not sell.

I sell thee poison, thou hast sold me none.

Farewell, buy food, and get thyself in flesh.

Come, cordial and not poison, go with me

To Juliet’s grave, for there must I use thee.

Thbefore is your gold, worse poison to men’s souls, Doing more murder in this loathsome world Than these poor compounds that you mayst not sell. I sell you poison, you hast sold me none. Farewell, buy food, and get yourself in flesh. Come, cordial and not poison, go with me To Juliet’s grave, for thbefore must I use you.

thbefore is your gold, worse poison to men’s souls...

there is thy gold, worse poison to men’s souls, doing more m

Why it matters Romeo's final speech in this scene turns the poison purchase into a philosophical statement about gold and corruption. He argues that the Apothecary isn't the poisoner — the world that made him desperate is. The speech is brilliant and self-serving: it lets Romeo buy what he needs while positioning himself as seeing the deeper injustice. Both things are true.

[_Exeunt._]

The Reckoning

The scene of perfect, terrible timing. Romeo is happy — the only time in the entire play we see him at peace without Juliet physically present. His dream is almost prophetic, almost redemptive (Juliet kissed him back to life). Then Balthasar arrives. The twenty-one words that follow — 'Is it even so? Then I defy you, stars!' — are among the most decisive in Shakespeare. No deliberation. No hesitation. He will go to her. What he doesn't know is that she isn't dead.

If this happened today…

A young man who's been in exile is waking up in a good mood for the first time in months. He had a vivid dream about his wife — she found him dead but brought him back. He thinks it means good news is coming. His phone rings. Someone he trusts tells him she died. He doesn't ask for details. He doesn't wait for confirmation. He hangs up, finds the one person he knows who'll sell him something lethal, buys it, and drives.

Continue to 5.2 →