The play begins with a fight between the Montagues and the Capulets in Verona's main square. The Prince of Verona, Escalus, intervenes and threatens to punish anyone who fights again. The Montagues and the Capulets agree to a truce, but the tension between the two families remains.
Romeo, the son of Montague, and Juliet, the daughter of Capulet, meet at a Capulet ball and fall in love. They are married in secret, but their happiness is short-lived. The Montagues and the Capulets learn of their marriage and are furious. They refuse to accept Romeo and Juliet as husband and wife, and they force them to live apart.
Romeo and Juliet are desperate to be together, and they decide to commit suicide rather than live without each other. Their deaths bring an end to the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets, and the two families are reconciled.
The town of Verona is a setting for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. The feud between the Montagues and the Capulets, the violence in the city, and the forced separation of Romeo and Juliet all contribute to the tragic outcome of the play.