"If all else fail, myself have the power to die." At Friar Laurence's cell, Paris arranges for the wedding with Juliet. Juliet enters and Paris calls her his wife and then departs. Now alone, Juliet and the Friar talk about the obstacles that stand in the way of her reunion with Romeo. When she threatens to kill herself, the Friar sees hope. He will give Juliet a potion that will make her seem to be dead for forty-two hours. After her family finds her in this death-like state, they will inter her in the family tomb. Friar Laurence will send word of this ruse to Romeo in Mantua and when she awakes from "a pleasant sleep," she will find Romeo there and the two can then return to Mantua together. In scene ii the settings returns to the Capulet house, where Juliet's parents and the household staff prepare for the wedding celebration. Juliet appears and says that she has changed her mind; she now wishes to tie the knot with Paris. Old Capulet is glad about his daughter's apparent change of heart. At the same location, after the Nurse and her mother exit, Juliet considers the dangers of taking the potion that Friar Laurence has given to her. But she overcomes all of her apprehensions and drinks the vial, toasting to Romeo. Lady Capulet sends the Nurse to awaken Juliet. Scene v continues from the previous scene in Juliet's bedroom, the Nurse tries to awaken a slumbering Juliet, but when she draws back the curtain, she finds what appears to be a corpse. The Nurse tells Juliet's mother and father that their daughter is dead. Friar Laurence and a group of musicians arrive, expecting to take part in the wedding of Julie and Paris. Old Capulet tells them: "All things that we ordained festival, /Turn from their office to black funeral" On a street in the city of Mantua, Romeo speaks of a dream about joyous news. But then one of the Montague's servants arrives with word from Verona that Juliet lies dead in the Capulet family's mausoleum. On the basi...
