| exposition | Act 1 reveals the feud, the lovers’ feeling for each other, the tendency of the characters to act impulsively based on their passions, and the theme of fate |
| inciting incident | Romeo and Juliet meet and fall in love |
| central conflict | Romeo and Juliet’s love for each other goes against the feud between their families |
| complication/rising action | Friar Lawrence marries Romeo and Juliet in secret and Tybalt challenges Romeo to a duel |
| crisis | Romeo kills Tybalt |
| climax | Juliet drinks Friar Lawrence’s potion and appears to die |
| falling action | Romeo and Paris fight; Romeo kills himself, and Juliet awakens to kill herself |
| resolution | Montague and Capulet end their feud because of the deaths of their children |
| dénouement | Capulet and Montague vow to raise monuments to honor each other’s child |
Romeo and Juliet Plot
August 4, 2019