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In the play's final scene, Romeo finds Juliet's "dead" body and, rather than face life without her, swallows a vial of poison moments before Juliet wakes up. When Juliet realizes her husband is dead, she tries to kill herself by kissing Romeo. Since there's not enough poison left on his lips, she stabs herself with Romeo's "happy dagger" (5.3.174). (Sexual allusion intended.)
Full Circle
No spoilers to worry about here: as tragic as it is, the ending of Romeo and Juliet shouldn't surprise anyone. We're told from the get-go that our "star-crossed lovers [will] take their life" (Prologue). We also know that Romeo and Juliet belongs to the genre of "tragedy," and Shakespeare's tragedies always, always, always end in death. (You can read more about this by going to "Genre.) The point of reading or watching Romeo and Juliet isn't to find out what happens, but to watch it happen—and to feel some strong emotions along the way.
Too Little, Too Late
In the Prologue, the Chorus also tells us that "their death [will] bury their parents' strife," and it does. In one of the most ironic moments of the play, the couple's parents are so devastated by the deaths of their children that they kiss and make up, each father promising to erect an elaborate statue to commemorate the other's child (5.3).
Hmm. Do we detect a bit of competition here? When Montague announces his plans to "raise [Juliet's] statue in pure gold," he basically tells Capulet he's going to outdo him. "But I can give thee more," he brags (5.3.309). How long do you think this peace is going to last?
Death as Sexual Fulfillment
If you want to get all metaphorical, there's also a way of seeing the end as the ultimate sexual fulfillment. Shakespeare scholar Marjorie Garber points out that the "cup" Romeo drinks poison from is a traditional symbol of female sexuality. Juliet, in contrast, stabs herself with Romeo's dagger—a traditional image of male sexuality. (Do we have to explain these symbols? Think genitalia.) Garber argues that, symbolically, Romeo and Juliet combine physical death and sexual climax (source).
This reading makes sense. Death and sex are linked throughout the entire play (which you can read more about in "Symbols") and Juliet does say that ingesting poison by kissing Romeo's lips would "make [her] die with a restorative" (5.3.171). In other words, she's suggesting that the kiss and the poison would heal or "restore" her by reuniting her with her husband. But, since poison isn't a viable option for her, she chooses to unsheathe Romeo's sword and then thrusts it into her own body.
(We didn't even try to put sexual innuendo in that sentence.)
The Ending on Film
After you read the ending of Shakespeare's play, check out the ending of Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film version of the play. If you can snag a copy, check out the ending of Baz Luhrmann's, too—we can't find a clip online, but it's definitely worth Netflixing.
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In this activity, students will capture the concept of the Five Act Structure by creating a six cell storyboard that illustrates key events in each act. For each cell, have students create a scene that follows the acts in order: Prologue, Conflict, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Denouement.
Romeo and Juliet Five Act Structure Example
Prologue (Exposition)
Like a modern day movie trailer, the prologue for The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet gives the audience a preview of events to come, and give us insight into the characters, setting, and background.
Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; Whose misadventured piteous overthrows Do with their death bury their parents' strife. The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love, And the continuance of their parents' rage, Which, but their children's end, nought could remove, Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage; The which if you with patient ears attend, What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.
Act 2: Rising Action
The two lovers meet but cannot be together because of their families' long feud.
Act 3: Climax
After crashing the Capulet party, Tybalt goes after the Montague crew and kills Mercutio. To avenge his friend, Romeo duels with and kills Tybalt - Juliet's cousin. Romeo is banished, but before he goes he gives Juliet a proper wedding night!
Act 4: Falling Action
Juliet's father requests that she marries Count Paris. However, to escape a second wedding she and Friar Lawrence concoct a plan to make it appear as if she dies. By taking a sleeping potion!
Denouement
The conclusion of The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet culminates with the Friar's version of the lovers' story. Friar Lawrence and the Nurse expound the truth to the Prince, the Capulets, and to the Montagues. In the resolution, the sad tone and moral of the story is evident as the two families agree to reconcile and erect monuments in the lovers' honor.