Romeo and Juliet summary for kids

Act One: Two families and a party

A speaker called the Chorus opens the play by telling the audience about two noble families in Verona, the Montagues and the Capulets. They have been enemies for so long that even their servants start brawls in the street. The city’s ruler, Prince Escalus, is furious and warns that anyone who fights again will pay with their life.

Young Romeo Montague is moping, sad because the girl he thinks he loves, Rosaline, does not love him back. His cousin Benvolio and his witty friend Mercutio try to cheer him up. Meanwhile Lord Capulet is planning a grand feast. He wants his daughter Juliet, who is not yet fourteen, to meet a wealthy young nobleman named Paris, who hopes to marry her. Juliet’s nurse, who has looked after her since she was a baby, chatters happily about it.

Romeo and his friends sneak into the Capulet feast wearing masks. There Romeo sees Juliet, and both of them fall in love at once. Only afterwards do they learn who the other is. Tybalt, Juliet’s hot-tempered cousin, recognizes Romeo’s voice and wants to fight him, but Lord Capulet orders him to behave.

Act Two: The balcony and the secret wedding

After the party Romeo climbs the wall into the Capulet garden. He sees Juliet at her balcony window, speaking aloud about how much she loves him, and he answers. They promise to marry. The next day Romeo goes to his friend and teacher Friar Lawrence, a kind churchman who is good with herbs. The Friar agrees to help, hoping a wedding might finally bring the two families together.

Juliet sends her Nurse to learn Romeo’s plans, and that same afternoon the Friar marries the pair in secret in his small chapel. Nobody else knows, not their parents and not their friends.

The Friar gently warns Romeo not to rush, saying that those who run too fast often stumble. But Romeo and Juliet are too happy to slow down. In the middle of all this, Romeo’s friends tease him about his love, and Benvolio and Mercutio have no idea he has just become a husband.

Act Three: A fight, a banishment and a goodbye

On a hot day in the street, Tybalt looks for Romeo to fight him. Romeo, who is now Tybalt’s cousin by marriage, refuses and tries to keep the peace. Mercutio does not understand why Romeo will not fight, and he draws his sword instead. Tybalt wounds Mercutio, who dies. Heartbroken and furious, Romeo fights Tybalt and Tybalt is killed.

Prince Escalus punishes Romeo by banishing him from Verona forever. If Romeo is ever found in the city, he will be put to death. Juliet is torn between grief for her cousin and love for her husband, and the Nurse brings Romeo to her room. They spend one last night together before he slips away at dawn to hide in the city of Mantua.

Juliet’s parents know nothing of the marriage. Lord Capulet decides that Juliet will marry Paris in just a few days, and he is angry when she says no. Even the Nurse tells her to forget Romeo and marry Paris. Juliet feels completely alone. She says goodbye to her mother and father with her secret still hidden, and no one in her house understands how much trouble she is in.

Act Four: Friar Lawrence’s plan

Juliet runs to Friar Lawrence for help. He gives her a small bottle of liquid. If she drinks it the night before the wedding, she will fall into such a deep sleep that everyone will believe she has died. She will lie in the family tomb for about two days, then wake up. Meanwhile the Friar will send a letter to Romeo explaining everything, and Romeo will come and take her away to Mantua.

Back at home, Juliet worries that the potion might not work, or that she might wake up too soon in the dark tomb. Still, she is brave. She pretends to agree to marry Paris, then drinks the potion. In the morning her family finds her lifeless and weeps. The wedding turns into a funeral, and Juliet is laid in the Capulet tomb.

Act Five: A message that arrives too late

The Friar’s letter never reaches Romeo. The messenger, Friar John, is shut up in a house because of a feared sickness spreading in the town, and cannot leave. Romeo only hears the news that Juliet has died, from his servant Balthasar. Not knowing it is a trick, he is overcome with sorrow, buys a dangerous poison, and rides to Verona to see her one last time.

At the tomb, Romeo meets Paris, who has come to lay flowers. They fight, and Paris is killed. Romeo lays him inside, gazes at Juliet, and takes the poison. Soon after, Friar Lawrence arrives, just as Juliet wakes up. She finds Romeo beside her and understands what has happened. Friar Lawrence begs her to come away with him, but he hears people coming and runs away. Juliet, unable to bear living without Romeo, takes her own life with his dagger.

The ending: the families make peace

The watchmen, the Prince and both families gather at the tomb. Friar Lawrence tells them the whole story of the secret wedding and the plan that went wrong. The Capulets and Montagues realize that their feud has cost them what they loved most.

Lord Capulet and Lord Montague at last shake hands. They call each other brother for the first time. Each promises to build a golden statue of the other’s child. The Prince says that never was there a story of more sorrow than this one of Juliet and her Romeo. The play ends with the hope that the old hatred is finally over.