Romeo woke in Mantua that morning oddly light-hearted. He had dreamt that he lay dead and that Juliet came and kissed him back to life. He took the dream for a sign that good news was on its way.
Then Balthasar came riding from Verona. The news he carried was that Juliet was dead. He had seen her laid in the family vault with his own eyes. Of Friar Laurence’s letter he said nothing.
Romeo was silent a long while, then told him to hire horses. He would be in Verona before the night was out. Then he speaks to the sky and says he will defy the stars.