In scenes two and three of act five, when Friar John and Friar Lawrence are talking in the beginning, Friar Lawrence asks Friar John about the letter he was supposed to give Romeo involving the plan for Juliet’s staged death. Friar John claims he could not send it because the town heath officials quarantined the house he was in after suspecting him of having the plague. Then, the scene changes and Paris is going to where Juliet is sleeping in her coffin, but he hides when he hears a noise. To Paris’ surprise, it is Romeo and while Paris stays hidden, Romeo opens Juliet’s coffin and he is completely distraught because he believes that Juliet, his true love, has died. After, Paris reveals himself, and Romeo tries to explain to Paris why he is there. Sadly, Paris disregards what Romeo has to say and they begin to duel. Romeo ends up killing Paris, and after he commits suicide by drinking poison. Meanwhile, Friar Lawrence gets news that Romeo did not know about Juliet’s staged death, so he enters the tomb just as Juliet is waking. After seeing the bloody scene and hearing a noise from outside, the friar urges Juliet to flee the tomb, but she refuses and proceeds to stab herself with a dagger after seeing Romeo dead.
Act five, scenes two and three are significant to the book because it ties everything up from the previous chapters of foreshadowing a tragic ending. In addition, both main characters die, drawing a conclusion to the play. Also, because of the heart breaking end of the two main characters’ deaths, it allows the play to be put under the category of tragedy.
Both scenes in the play convey all of the major themes including love, fate, and hate. Love is shown