ROMEO AND JULIET

(Without Tragedy)

By Glen Zhou and Tim Bai

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived two families in a constant dispute, the Capulets and the Montagues. The land was fair Verona, and the two families hated each other with such terrifying evil. As a result, street brawls occurred daily.

The source of the fighting began hundreds of years ago, when a rich master was dying. He called in his two most loyal servants and with his last breath, told them of the ancient treasure buried in Verona. These two servants turned against one another in an attempt to discover the treasure, thus creating the conflict that existed. The treasure was never found, but both families blamed it on the other.

One day, Capulet, lord of the house, decided to have a royal ball in honor of his daughter Juliet, who was turning fourteen. He wanted to find a suitable young man for her, and thought a dance would be the perfect opportunity for her to choose a husband. Capulet already had a man in mind, a certain Prince Paris.

He planned for Juliet to meet Paris at the ball and fall in love. Alas, his plan backfired. Along came young Romeo, heir to Montague, to crash the party. As soon as he set his eyes on Juliet, the two fell in love. No power could overcome it, not even Prince Paris.

Romeo and Juliet got to know one another briefly during the dance, except for the fact that they came from rival families. Halfway through the party, Paris insisted on Juliet dancing with him, in a futile attempt to win her hand and love from Romeo. Paris was persistent, and eventually asked for Juliet to be his wife. Juliet said that she would think about it and give her answer by the end of the week. Paris was delighted and ran off to make plans, but Juliet was already forming marriage plans with Romeo.

Not until after the party does Juliet realize that Romeo is a Montague and vice-versa. The two lovers knew that if they continued to meet, it would have to be in secret, for their lives depended on it.

Romeo, hastily wishing to be married, went to the good Friar Laurence for help. The Friar agreed to secretly marry the two of them, wanting Romeo to be as happy as possible. Moreover, he thought the marriage might end the conflict between old Capulet and Montague. The following day, the two of them would become husband and wife.

The Prince was informed of this secret ceremony and was infuriated. He wanted Romeo out of the picture, so that he could marry Juliet. So Paris formed a plan. He would frame Romeo and imprison him, and make Juliet his bride. The next day, wedding day, he took out a crown emblazed with sapphires, and gave it to Romeo, telling him a husband to Juliet should look as rich as possible.

Just as Romeo and Juliet were about to be married in the church by Friar Laurence, Paris rushed in with a group of soldiers. He claimed Romeo guilty for the theft of the royal crown, which sat on Romeo’s head, and locked him up in the dungeon with the spiders and worms. Paris sentenced Romeo to death the next day, and moved on to the next step of his plan.

Paris asked for Juliet’s hand in marriage in front of Lord Capulet. Juliet, pressured by her father, agreed to the marriage. Juliet wanted to keep Romeo alive as long as possible, so she really had no choice.

Desperate, Juliet sought the good Friar for help. After explaining what had happened, Friar Laurence asked Juliet if the crown was blue with gold and sapphires. Juliet said that was just the crown, and the Friar knew that Paris would stop at nothing to get what he wanted, so he devised a plan to counteract the Prince’s. The Friar just happened to know that particular crown. He asked Juliet to slap Paris, refuse him, and leave.

Juliet went to Paris in his palace and followed the Friar’s instructions. Paris, red with anger (and red because he had been slapped so hard), immediately went to hang Romeo in public. As Romeo waited to be put in the gallows, the Friar entered and said that Juliet had been Romeo’s partner-in-crime.

The Prince was instructed to hang Juliet as well. Paris’ plan had backfired, but since Juliet had already refused him, he decided to hang her too. Juliet is brought to the gallows next to her love, Romeo.

Paris announced the death of Romeo and Juliet would serve as an example for the consequence of stealing royal possessions. Just as Romeo and Juliet had their necks put through the nooses, Friar Laurence stepped up, saying that the crown did not belong to the Prince. He asked to see the crown, and Paris gave it to him, knowing it had been his for years. The Friar found the mark on the side and showed the Montague and Capulet spectators that it was the lost treasure of the rich master who lived long ago. After verifying the crown as the lost treasure, Capulet and Montague turned on the Prince, who was trying to escape. The two were angry at Paris for hiding the family treasure and framing their son and daughter for stealing it.

Romeo and Juliet were cleared of their sentence, and the Prince was hanged instead. After the incident was settled, Romeo and Juliet announced their marriage to their families. First, however, both families decided it was best if the Friar took the crown, for he had known and devised the plan that saved their children’s lives. Romeo and Juliet were married, and Verona’s citizens lived in peace. The two families learned the art of sharing and trading. As for the two lovers, Romeo and Juliet, they lived happily ever after.