Monday, February 23, 2015

What four accounts does the Prince hear in Romeo and Juliet?Act 5 scene 3

The first account is given by the First Watchman who
reveals to the Prince that Romeo and Paris are dead and Juliet, who was already thought
to be dead, had apparently come back to life and died again.  He also brings him Friar
Lawrence who is in possession of a crow bar capable of opening a
tomb.


The second account is the most in depth and was given
by Friar Lawrence, who knew more than anyone else about the events that led up to the
evening.  He explained how Romeo and Juliet fell in love and he married them secretly in
hopes it would end the feud between the Capulets and Montegues.  He said he was planning
on revealing the truth, but then Romeo killed Tybalt and the Prince banned Romeo from
Verona complicating the situation.  He said the problems only magnified when Lord
Capulet forced Juliet to marry Paris, a request she couldn't follow through with under
God.  The Friar then confesses to offering Juliet a potion that would make her appear
dead, knowing she would be taken to the Capulet vault.  Romeo would then sneak back into
the Verona, meet up with her at the vault, and they would live together happily ever
after.  This plan fell through, though, when the Friar’s assistant could not send the
message due to the quarantine enacted at the border.  Knowing the plan would fail, the
Friar said he rushed to the vault to reach Juliet just as she was waking up.  He said he
feared she would harm herself, so he offered to take her to a convent, but she declined
so he left.


The third account is by Balthazar who explains
how Romeo learned of Juliet’s death when he traveled to Mantua to tell him of the
tragedy.  The two then traveled to the tomb, where Romeo gave him a letter to give to
his father.  Balthazar then said he left the scene because Romeo threatened him if he
did otherwise.


The fourth account is given by the Page who
testifies Paris came to the vault to bring flowers to Juliet, but a man with a torch
opened the tomb and the two began to fight.  The Page said he ran to get the Watchman as
soon as the fighting started.

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