Romeo and Juliet Summary of Act III, Scene 2
by William Shakespeare

Summary

Juliet is on her balcony, urging night to come quickly, and with it Romeo. She pontificates on the nature of her love for Romeo, but also for the first time mentions his death. The Nurse interrupts her thoughts with loud laments; at first, Juliet thinks Romeo has died, and she is distraught. When she learns that Romeo is not dead but banished and that her cousin Tybalt has died, her anguish increases.

Analysis

In the previous scene, the play took a considerably darker turn, including its first two deaths and Romeo’s banishment from Verona. In this scene, we see the effect these events have on Juliet. Her lines “give me my Romeo; and, when he shall die….” are foreboding, delivered just before she learns that Romeo has suffered a fate perhaps worse than his death: his banishment.