Romeo's Wedding Plans: A Secretive Affair

In Act 4, Scene 2 of Romeo and Juliet, Capulet is making arrangements for the wedding feast. He hands the guest list to a servant, saying So many guests invite as here are writ, and orders another servant to go hire me twenty cunning cooks. Capulet is in a good mood, and the servant makes a joke, saying, You shall have none ill, sir; for I'll try [i.e., test them by seeing] if they can lick their fingers. The wedding is moved up to the very next day, Wednesday. In Act 4, Scene 4, the Capulets and the Nurse stay up all night to get ready for the wedding. Capulet, hearing Paris approach with musicians, orders the Nurse to wake Juliet.

Capulet makes arrangements for the wedding feast

In Act 4, Scene 2 of *Romeo and Juliet*, Capulet makes arrangements for the wedding feast. He hands the guest list to a servant, saying, "So many guests invite as here are writ" (4.2.1). He then gives an order to another servant: "Sirrah, go hire me twenty cunning cooks" (4.2.2). Capulet seems to be in a good mood, so the servant starts a little joke, saying, "You shall have none ill, sir; for I'll try [i.e., test them by seeing] if they can lick their fingers" (4.2.3-4).

Capulet is used to having his way, and since he has decided that there will be a wedding, he proceeds to make all the necessary arrangements. He is trailed by his wife and the Nurse as he bustles about, giving orders. The Capulets and the Nurse stay up all night to get ready for the wedding.

In Act 4, Scene 4, Capulet, hearing Paris approach with musicians, orders the Nurse to wake Juliet. The Nurse finds Juliet in a deathlike trance caused by the Friar's potion and announces her death.

Capulet moves the wedding to the next day

In Act 4, Scene 2 of *Romeo and Juliet*, Capulet is making arrangements for the wedding feast. Juliet appears and tells her father that she will marry Paris, which makes him so happy that he moves the wedding to the next day. He hands the guest list to a servant, saying, "So many guests invite as here are writ", and then orders another servant to "go hire me twenty cunning cooks". Capulet is in a good mood, and the servant makes a joke, saying, "You shall have none ill, sir; for I'll try [i.e., test them by seeing] if they can lick their fingers". The Capulets and the Nurse stay up all night to get ready for the wedding.

The Capulets stay up all night to get ready for the wedding

The wedding is moved up to the very next day, a Wednesday, and Capulet is determined to have his way. He is trailed by his wife and the Nurse as he gives orders and makes arrangements.

The Nurse is also involved in the wedding preparations, and has made plans with Romeo and Juliet for their marriage. She is to tell Juliet to go to Friar Laurence, who will marry the two of them in secret in the afternoon. The friar has also told the Nurse to receive a rope ladder from one of his friends, so that Romeo can come to Juliet's room.

The Nurse finds Juliet in a deathlike trance

In Act 4, Scene 2, Capulet is making arrangements for the wedding feast. He hands the guest list to a servant, saying "So many guests invite as here are writ" and then orders another servant to "go hire me twenty cunning cooks". Capulet is in a good mood, and the servant makes a joke, saying, "You shall have none ill, sir; for I'll try [i.e., test them by seeing] if they can lick their fingers".

In Act 4, Scene 5, Romeo's man, Balthasar, arrives in Mantua with news of Juliet's death. Romeo and Juliet's nurse had previously made plans for the marriage of the two lovers. The Friar had agreed to marry the two of them in secret in the afternoon. The nurse was to receive a rope ladder from one of the Friar's friends so that Romeo could come to Juliet's room. The nurse compares Romeo to rosemary, which is an herb associated with weddings, but also with remembrance, especially of things one has lost. This foreshadows the fact that the heads of the families will remember that their feud cost them the lives of their children.

Friar Lawrence arranges Juliet's funeral

In Act 4, Scene 4, the Capulets and the Nurse stay up all night to get ready for the wedding. Capulet, hearing Paris approach with musicians, orders the Nurse to wake Juliet. In Act 4, Scene 5, the Nurse finds Juliet in a deathlike trance caused by the Friar's potion and announces Juliet's death. Juliet's parents and Paris join the Nurse in lamentation. Friar Lawrence interrupts them and begins to arrange Juliet's funeral.

Friar Lawrence had already agreed with Romeo to marry the two lovers in secret. He also tells the nurse to receive a rope ladder from one of his friends so that Romeo can come to Juliet's room. The nurse compares Romeo to rosemary, which is an herb associated with weddings, but also foreshadows that something will be lost. In this case, the heads of the families will remember that their feud cost them the lives of their children.

Friar Lawrence proposes a plan to Juliet: she must consent to marry Paris, then, on the night before the wedding, she must drink a sleeping potion that will make her appear dead. Juliet will be laid to rest in the Capulet tomb, and the friar will send word to Romeo in Mantua to help him retrieve her when she wakes up.

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