ACT V SCENE III Churchyard; in it a tombbelonging to Capulets.][Enter <strong>ROMEO</strong> and BENVOLIO, with a flashlight]<strong>ROMEO</strong>: Hold, take this letter; early in the morningSee thou deliver it to my lord and father.Upon thy life, I charge thee,Whate'er thou hear'st or seest, stand all alo<strong>of</strong>,And do not interrupt me in my course.Why I descend into this bed <strong>of</strong> death,Is partly to behold my lady's face;But chiefly to take thence from her dead fingerA precious ring, a ring that I must useIn dear employment: therefore hence, be gone:But if thou, jealous, dost return to pryIn what I further shall intend to do,By heaven, I will tear thee joint by jointAnd strew this hungry churchyard with thy limbs:The time and my intents are savage-wild,More fierce and more inexorable farThan empty tigers or the roaring sea.BENVOLIO [Knows what Romeo intends, and itgrieves him, but doesn’t try to argue him out <strong>of</strong> it. Alast gift, for friendship’s sake.] I will be gone, coz, andnot trouble you.ROM So shalt thou show me friendship. [Hands him aring] Take thou that: Live, and be prosperous: andfarewell, good fellow. [BENVOLIO embraces himtearfully and exits]<strong>ROMEO</strong>Thou detestable maw, thou womb <strong>of</strong> death,Gorged with the dearest morsel <strong>of</strong> the earth,[Draws back the curtain]O my love, my wife,Death, that hath suck'd the honey <strong>of</strong> thy breath,Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty:Thou art not conquer'd; beauty's ensign yetIs crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks,And death's pale flag is not advanced there.Tybalt, liest thou there in thy bloody sheet?O, what more favour can I do to thee,Than with that hand that cut thy youth in twainTo sunder his that was thine enemy?Forgive me, cousin! Ah, dear Juliet,Why art thou yet so fair? shall I believeThat unsubstantial death is amorous,And that the lean abhorred monster keepsThee here in dark to be his paramour?For fear <strong>of</strong> that, I still will stay with thee;With worms that are thy chamber-maids; O, hereWill I set up my everlasting rest,And shake the yoke <strong>of</strong> inauspicious starsFrom this world-wearied flesh. Eyes, look your last!Arms, take your last embrace! and, lips, O youThe doors <strong>of</strong> breath, seal with a righteous kissA dateless bargain to engrossing death!Thou desperate pilot, now at once run onThe dashing rocks thy sea-sick weary bark!Here's to my love! [Drinks] Thus with a kiss I die. [Dies]<strong>JULIET</strong> [Waking, dreamily] Where is my Romeo? [Comesto and finds his body on the bier with her. She smiles, andthen reacts with horror when she realizes he isn’t breathing.Take the time to make it real. After the initial hysteriapasses, she searches the body tenderly, almost blinded bytears, using her hands to see for her. She wants to knowexactly how he did it, so she can follow him.]What's here? a cup, closed in my true love's hand?Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end:O churl! drunk all, and left no friendly dropTo help me after? I will kiss thy lips;Haply some poison yet doth hang on them,To make me die with a restorative. [Kisses him]Thy lips are warm. [She’s about to dissolve into tears againat that when she hears a voice, is startled, and suddenlyfilled with a terrible resolve.]FRIAR [Within] Lead, Benvolio: which way?<strong>JULIET</strong> Yea, noise? then I'll be brief. O happy dagger![Snatches <strong>ROMEO</strong>'s dagger] This is thy sheath;[Stabs herself] there rust, and let me die.[Falls on <strong>ROMEO</strong>'s body, and dies. The Friar and Benvolioenter from 7. Benvolio, already knowing what he’s going t<strong>of</strong>ind there, collapses on the steps and can’t make himselfmove another inch. The Friar finds the bodies and reacts.]BLACKOUTFUNERAL SCENE: the bodies <strong>of</strong> Romeo and Juliet,decked out in flowers on an open bier. The survivingCapulets and Montagues surround the bier, grieving.LADY CAPULET: O me! this sight <strong>of</strong> death is as a bell,that warns my old age to a sepulchre.PRINCE: Where be these enemies? Capulet! Montague!See, what a scourge is laid upon your hate,That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love.And I for winking at your discords tooHave lost a brace <strong>of</strong> kinsmen: all are punish'd.CAPULET: O brother Montague, give me thy hand:This is my daughter's jointure, for no moreCan I demand.MONTAGUE: But I can give thee more:For I will raise her statue in pure gold;That while Verona by that name is known,There shall no figure at such rate be setAs that <strong>of</strong> true and faithful Juliet.CAPULET: As rich shall Romeo's by his lady's lie;Poor sacrifices <strong>of</strong> our enmity![They shake hands and embrace, and then move to the head<strong>of</strong> the bier to say their farewells to their children. The Friargives the bodies <strong>of</strong> Romeo and Juliet a final, silent blessingand looks around at the assembly. The Prince glares at him;it’s clear to him that this is at least partially the Friar’s fault.Laurence breaks down and sobs, but the Prince has n<strong>of</strong>orgiveness left to give him. Not now. He leads the24
procession out, downstage center, through theaudience. Capulet and Montague walk side by side,not talking, but oddly comforted by each other’scompany. The mourners file out, leaving Laurence,Benvolio and the Nurse. Laurence is shattered, badlyin need <strong>of</strong> the comfort he’s always <strong>of</strong>fered freely toanyone who needed it. The Nurse embraces him, andwith a last look at the bodies <strong>of</strong> their charges, theyfollow the rest <strong>of</strong> the funeral procession out. Benvoliois left alone on the stage.]BENVOLIO: A glooming peace this morning with itbrings; The sun, for sorrow, will not show his head:Go hence, to have more talk <strong>of</strong> these sad things;Some shall be pardon'd, and some punished:For never was a story <strong>of</strong> more woeThan this <strong>of</strong> Juliet and her Romeo.BLACKOUTCURTAIN CALL25
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