A mourning Paris visits Juliet’s tomb. Romeo arrives, and the two begin a duel outside the vault, which ends in Paris’s death. When Romeo enters the tomb, he sees Juliet in a corpse-like state and launches into a long, sad speech, kisses her, and drinks his poison. Friar Lawrence enters, just a moment too late, and sees Romeo’s corpse lying beside not-dead Juliet. She wakes up, and Friar Lawrence attempts to convince her to flee the scene. But she won’t leave Romeo. She grabs the vial of poison, but there’s none left. Instead, she reaches for her dagger and then stabs herself.

In exile, Romeo wakes up after having a dream in which he dies and is kissed back to life by Juliet. His confidante, Bathalsar, arrives to tell him the sad news: Juliet is dead (Balthasar is not in on Juliet’s plan). Devastated, he decides to head back to Verona immediately. He plans to commit suicide at Juliet’s grave. He’ll procure a deadly poison from an apothecary and drink it in Juliet’s tomb. After buying the potion, Romeo leaves for Verona.

Deciding that it’s now or never, Juliet sends the nurse away and takes the potion, knowing how terrifying it will be to wake up in her family’s tomb. If the mixture doesn’t work, she has a plan B: her dagger. She’s also worried that the potion might actually be poison, but decides to trust Friar Lawrence. She drinks the potion and falls upon her bed.

Paris is busy making plans with Friar Lawrence for his upcoming wedding with Juliet. Juliet enters, and, sensing she’s there for confession, Paris makes his exit. A despairing Juliet begs Friar Lawrence’s help in averting a marriage to Paris. If he can’t help her, she has resolved to commit suicide. Friar Lawrence has a solution: she should go along with her father’s plan, but when it’s time to marry Paris, Juliet will take a potion that mimics death. She’ll be placed in the Capulet tomb, where the Friar will bring Romeo to wait for her to wake up.