Final answer:
In the play Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," just before Juliet awakens, Romeo drinks poison believing Juliet is dead. Upon awakening, Juliet finds Romeo dead and takes her own life with his dagger. This tragic misunderstanding leads to the fatal climax of the play.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the tragic conclusion of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, minutes before Juliet awakens, Romeo mistakenly believes Juliet to be dead and consumes poison to end his own life. As Juliet awakes from the effects of a sleeping potion she had taken to avoid marrying Paris, she discovers Romeo's lifeless body beside her. Overcome with grief and unable to live without her beloved Romeo, Juliet then takes her own life using Romeo's dagger. These poignant final moments epitomize the tragic end of the play, marking the climax which leads to the death of both protagonists. The Friar's arrival with the two families occurs shortly after, but it is much too late, and he's left with delivering the moral of the story, which is that hate only causes tragedy.