In William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the main characters by these very same names intend to run away together because their parents forbid their love. They seek the help of Friar Laurence, who gives Juliet a sleeping potion which will make her appear to be dead. The plan is that once she is "dead" from the potion, she will be laid out in the family tomb, where Romeo can visit her and take her away. However, Romeo doesn't know the whole plan! Friar Laurence sends a letter explaining what should happen, but Romeo never receives it. Instead, he hears that Juliet is dead, and goes to her tomb to die alongside her. He drinks some poison he has brought, and moments after his death, Juliet awakens-- according to plan. She is so overcome by Romeo's dead body that she takes his dagger and kills herself with it.
Sometimes Juliet's sleeping potion is referred to as a poison, but as we see by the fact that she wakes, it was not a fatal one.
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