Romeo and Juliet (death scene - last scene)

Act 5, 
Scene 3
A mourning Paris visits Juliet’s tomb. Romeo arrives, and the two begin a duel outside the vault,
which ends in Paris’s death. When Romeo enters the tomb, he sees Juliet in a corpse-like state
and launches into a long, sad speech, kisses her, and drinks his poison. Friar Lawrence enters,
just a moment too late, and sees Romeo’s corpse lying beside not-dead Juliet. She wakes up, and
Friar Lawrence attempts to convince her to flee the scene. But she won’t leave Romeo. She grabs
the vial of poison, but there’s none left. Instead, she reaches for her dagger and then stabs
herself. She dies by Romeo’s side. Not long after, the Prince, the Montagues, the Capulets, and
several others arrive, horrified to see what has become of Romeo and Juliet. The Friar tells them
the whole story. The Prince points out to the Montagues and the Capulets that this tragedy
stemmed from their feud, and the two families agree to end their ancient grudge.

Modern English

Romeo (Trang)

Oh how can I call my own a lightning? Oh my love! My wife! Death, which has taken away your

sweet breath, has not yet taken away your beauty. You haven’t yet been truly conquered, and

Beauty still carries its red coat-of arms in your cheeks and lips like a proud army that has not yet

submitted to Death and its pale flags.

Ah dear Juliet, why are you still so beautiful? Is invisible death in love with you? Is that hated

monster keeping you in this tomb to be his lover? I’m afraid he might be, so I’ll stay here with

you, and I’ll never leave this palace of dim night again. Here, right here, I’ll remain with the

worms that are your chambermaids now. Oh, here I’ll set up my everlasting rest, and I’ll shake

off the burden of my unlucky fate from my weary body. Eyes, look for the last time!

Arms, take your last embrace! And lips, with this virtuous kiss seal a contract with death that has

no end or limit! Let’s go, bitter action. Let’s go, guiding hand! Rush on like a pilot driven mad
with sea-sickness, crashing a ship on the rocks. Here’s to my love! [Drinks poison] Oh you were

a true apothecary! Your drugs work quickly. Farewell, my love Juliet.

[Friar enters the room]

Friar Laurence (V.Anh)

Romeo! Oh no, oh no, who’s blood is this that’s all over the entrance to the crypt? Why are there

bloody swords without owners lying here in this place of peace?

Romeo! Oh, you are pale! Who else? What, Paris too? And Paris is all bloodied? Ah, what an

evil time made this tragic accident occur! Juliet is waking up.

Juliet (Châu)

Oh my comforting friar! Where is my husband? I remembered where I was going to wake up,

and here I am. Where is my Romeo?

Friar Laurence (V.Anh)

I hear a noise. Lady, come out of this place of death, disease, and unnatural sleep.

Some greater power than we can know has thwarted our plans. Come on, come away. Your

husband next to you lies dead, and Paris is lying here as well. Come on, I’ll hide you in a

convent of holy nuns. Don’t stay here to question me, for the night’s watch is coming. Come on,

good Juliet, let’s go. I don’t dare stay here any longer.

Juliet (Châu)

Go, get away from here, I won’t move. What’s this? A cup my in my true love’s hand?

I see that poison has been his untimely end. Oh you’re so selfish! You drank it all, and didn’t

leave any to help me follow you? I’ll kiss your lips. Perhaps there’s still some poison that

remains on them which will cure me by killing me. Your lips are warm.
Juliet (Châu)

Someone’s coming? Then I’ll be quick. Oh, how lucky to have this dagger!

Let my body be your sheath. Rust there forever, and let me die.    

[Prince and others arrive]

Prince (Thơm)

What calamity happened so early that we were forced to get up so soon in the morning?

Capulet (an)

What’s going on that’s making everyone so distraught?    

Lady Capulet (châu)

Some people in the street cried Romeo’s name, some cried Juliet’s, some cried Paris’, and all of

them were running in the direction of our mausoleum.

Prince (Thơm)

What’s this fearful thing we’ve been hearing?

Search around, seek out the culprits, and find out how these foul murders happened.

Capulet (an)

Oh heavens! Oh, wife, look how our daughter is bleeding! This dagger has the Montague crest

on it, and yet it rests in our daughter’s heart!

Lady Capulet (châu)

Oh no!  This terrible sight of death is like a bell summoning me to my own grave.

Prince (Thơm)

Come forward, Montague, you’ve woken up to see your son brought down.

Montague (Trang)
Alas, my lord, my wife died tonight. She was overcome with grief after his exile. What further

sorrow threatens me in my old age?

Prince (Thơm)

Look, and you will see.

Montague (Trang)

Oh you boy! What kind of thanks is this, to go to your grave before your father?

Prince (Thơm)

Quiet your outrage for awhile, until we can clear up the confusion and figure out how all this

started and how it occurred. Then I will be understanding of your grief and lead you to death if

you wish.  In the meantime, hold on, and let patience rule over this misfortune.  Bring forth the

suspects.

[Friar tells everyone the truth]

Friar Laurence (V.Anh)

I am the most suspected, although I was able to do the least. The timing and the place where I

was found make it seem like I was responsible for this terrible murder. And here I stand ready

for your accusations and punishments, as I have already accused and punished myself.

Prince (Thơm)

Then tell us immediately what you know about this.

Friar Laurence (V.Anh)

I will be brief. I fear I may not have long to live, so I won’t tell a tedious story. Romeo, who lies

dead there, was Juliet’s husband, and she was his faithful wife. I married them. You tried to

alleviate her grief by forcing her to marry Count Paris. She came to me totally desperate, asking

me for some way to get her out of this second marriage or else she would try to kill herself right
there in my cell. I gave her a sleeping potion, which had the intended effect of making her seem

like she had died. In the meantime, I wrote to Romeo, and told him he should return on this night

to help take her from her borrowed grave, as by that time, the potion would no longer be in

effect.

But the person who carried my letter was held up accidentally and gave that letter back to me

tonight. I came all alone to take her out of her family’s crypt. I was going to watch over her at

my cell until I could get Romeo to come back. But when I got here barely a minute before Juliet

was to wake up, I saw that the noble Paris and the true Romeo were dead. Juliet woke up, and I
begged her to come out of the tomb and handle her grief with patience.

But then a noise startled me out of the tomb, and she, who was in despair, wouldn’t come with

me. It seems she killed herself. That’s all I know, and her nurse knows about their marriage, too.

If any of this turned out so badly because of me, let my old life be sacrificed within this hour

according to the law.

Prince (Thơm)

We have always known you to be a holy man. Where’s Romeo’s servant? What can he add to

this?

Balthasar (An)

I brought Romeo news of Juliet’s death. And then he came right away from Mantua to this exact

place and this exact mausoleum. He told me to give this letter to his father, and he threatened to

kill me if I followed him into the crypt. I didn’t follow him, but I didn’t leave, either.

Prince (Thơm)

Give me the letter. I will look at it. This letter reinforces the friar’s story, and tells of the course

of their love and that he had received the news of her death. And here he writes that he bought

poison from an impoverished apothecary, and brought it with him to this crypt to die and lie
beside Juliet. Where are those enemies? Lord Capulet! Lord Montague! Look what a terrible

punishment has come from your shared hate, that Heaven found a way to kill your children with

love. And for not dealing with your feud I, too, have lost two family members. Everyone has

been punished.

Capulet (an)

Oh brother Montague, give me your hand. This gesture of reconciliation all I can ask of you.

Montague (Trang)

But I can give you more. I’ll erect a statue for her from pure gold, and as long as Verona exists

there will be no figure more admired than true and faithful Juliet.

Capulet (an)

I’ll make one of equal richness for Romeo, to place beside his lady’s. Oh these poor children

sacrificed to our hatred!

Prince (Thơm)

This is a sad peace that the morning has brought. Indeed, even the sun won’t show his face

today. Let’s go from here to talk more about these tragic events. Some people will be pardoned,

others punished. For their was never a sadder story than this one of Juliet and Romeo.