Romeo and Juliet as Booker's Seven Basic Plots Analysis: Tragedy Plot

Plot Type :

Anticipation Stage

Act 1 – the first half

Both Romeo and Juliet have potential romantic partners, but neither one is really satisfied.

Dream Stage

Act 1 – the second half

Romeo and Juliet meet each other, and they have instant and mutual butterflies. They both believe they have found true love.

Frustration Stage

Act 2

Romeo and Juliet realize that the person they just fell in love with is one of their greatest enemies. They want to be together, but everything they've ever known tells them not to trust each other. Their families are constantly fighting: how can their relationship ever work?

Nightmare Stage

Acts 3 & 4

Romeo and Juliet decide to get married despite the conflict between their families. But less than an hour after they say their vows, the feud between their families also rips them apart. Tybalt, a Capulet, kills Romeo's best friend, Mercutio. As revenge, Romeo kills Tybalt – who is Juliet's cousin. This violent betrayal challenges both Romeo and Juliet's love for each other. They manage to forgive each other, but as punishment for killing Tybalt, Romeo is banished from Verona. Then things get even worse – Juliet's parents decide they want her to get married to Paris that very week.

Destruction Stage

Acts 4 & 5

Being forced to marry Paris is a fate worse than death, as far as Juliet is concerned. In order to avoid this marriage, Juliet (with the Friar's help) fakes her own death. But this pretend death becomes reality when Romeo hears the news of Juliet's death and believes that she is really gone. Minutes before Juliet is due to wake from her drugged sleep, Romeo comes to her tomb, kisses her good-bye, and kills himself. Juliet regains consciousness to find her husband lying dead beside her. When she kisses him, she discovers his lips are warm. She has missed him by a matter of minutes. In despair, she takes his dagger and stabs herself.