Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is divided into five acts.
The five-act structure was standard for many English plays of the period and helps organize the tragedy’s progression. Act 1 introduces the feud and the lovers’ first meeting; Act 2 develops their secret relationship; Act 3 turns the story toward disaster; Act 4 presents Juliet’s desperate plan; and Act 5 brings the deaths and reconciliation.
The acts are further divided into scenes, although scene numbering can vary slightly between editions because early printed texts did not always mark scenes consistently. Modern editions generally use familiar act-and-scene divisions to help readers, performers, and teachers navigate the play.
The five-act structure is not the same as the five-day span sometimes proposed for the plot. The action moves extremely quickly, but the number of acts refers to the play’s dramatic organization, not to the number of days represented onstage.