Ad-free experience
Study Guides for 1,000+ titles
Full Text content for 250+ titles
No Fear Translations of Shakespeare’s plays (along with audio!) and other classic works
Flashcards
Mastery Quizzes
Infographics
Graphic Novels
AP® Practice & Lessons
Note-taking
Bookmarking
Dashboard
What happens in Act 3, Scene 5 of Romeo and Juliet?
Romeo leaves Juliet after their wedding night. The Capulets order Juliet to marry Paris, and Juliet heads to Friar Lawrence to see if he can help.
Read our Summary & Analysis of Act 3, Scene 5. (4-minute read)
What hidden fact about Act 3, Scene 5 of Romeo and Juliet adds to its poignancy?
The first 60 or so lines of the scene are a tender conversation between Romeo and Juliet as he prepares to flee to Mantua at dawn after they have spent their wedding night together. The fact that makes scene even moving is that this encounter is the last time the lovers will be together (at least while they are both alive and conscious). A first-time audience may not be aware of this, but it is a fact that Shakespeare certainly would have known when he wrote it. Their brief conversation gives us a poignant glimpse of what their married life together might have been like, had fate not stepped in and denied them that future.
Read explanations of three quotes from Romeo and Juliet’s last conversation. (3-minute read)
How are Romeo and Juliet different and how are they the same?
While Romeo and Juliet have nearly identical family backgrounds, as individuals they are two very different kinds of people in terms of temperament and worldliness. What unites them is their total attraction and devotion to each other, which is so powerful that neither of them ever questions it.
Read Mini Essay #2 comparing and contrasting Romeo and Juliet. (2-mintue read)
How does Juliet’s relationship with the Nurse change in Act 3, Scene 5?
I think it best you married with the County.
O, he’s a lovely gentleman!
Romeo’s a dishclout to him.
With these words, the Nurse, who has been a better mother figure to Juliet than her biological mother, and who has been supportive of Juliet’s desire to be with Romeo, abruptly switches sides and aligns herself with Juliet’s parents and their demand that she marry Paris (“the Country”). This shift occurs at a moment when Juliet could very much use the Nurse’s support, since Romeo has just gone into exile.
One consequence of the break between the two women is that Juliet will not let in the Nurse on Friar Lawrence’s plan to fake her death. The tragic backfiring of that plan might have been averted if Juliet and the Nurse were still allied.
Read an in-depth Character Analysis of the Nurse. (3-minute read)
