Act 2: Romeo finds himself so in love with Juliet he can't leave her. He scales a wall and enters Capulet's garden. Meanwhile Benvolio and Mercutio look for him in vain. Scene i Benvolio thinks Romeo has gone home. Mercutio continues to poke fun at Romeo's lovesick nature: > "Romeo! Humors! Madman! Passion! Lover!" He tries out different names hoping to "conjure" Romeo > "I conjure thee by Rosaline's bright eyes..." > Play on words: "Now he will sit under a medlar tree and wish his mistress were that kind of fruit" Medlar a fruit; also called open arse 1
Act 2, scene ii: From Capulet's garden Romeo overhears Juliet express her love for him. When he answers her, they acknowledge their love and their desire to be married. Romeo is completely smitten: > "It is the East, and Juliet is the sun" > "It is my lady. O, it is my love!" > "Two of the fairest stars in all heaven,/ Having some business, do entreat her eyes/ To twinkle in their spheres till they return." > "See how she leans her cheek upon that hand./ O, that I were a glove upon that hand,/ That I might touch that cheek!" Aside: Who hears what Romeo is saying? Juliet's Response: Does she know Romeo is listening? > "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?/ Deny thy father and refuse thy name" One of the most misinterpreted lines in the play. What is Juliet asking? 2
Original Text (2.ii.41 52) Analysis 'Tis but thy name that is my enemy. Thou art myself, though not a Montague. What's Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot, Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part Belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other word would still smell as sweet. So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called, Retain that dear perfection which he owes, Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name, And, for thy name, which is no part of thee, Take all myself. 3
Reading Check #1 1. Who says the following line? "That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet" 2. What is an aside? 3. Name one thing to which Romeo compares Juliet. 4
2.ii Continued: Romeo tries to woo Juliet: > Juliet: How did you get here? And why? > Romeo: "With love's light wings did I o'erperch these walls" > Juliet: I hope my family doesn't find you. They will kill you if they do. > Romeo: "Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye/ Than twenty of their swords. Look thou but sweet,/ and I am proof against their enemy... My life were better ended by their hate,/ Than death prorogued, wanting of thy love..." > Juliet: How did you even find my balcony? > Romeo: "By love, that first did prompt me to inquire. He lent me counsel, and I lent him eyes. I am no pilot. Yet, wert thou as far as that vast shore...i should adventure" 5
How is Juliet feeling? "Thou knowest the mask of nigh tis on my face, else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek" "Or, if thou thinkest I am too quickly won, I'll frown and be perverse and say thee nay, so thou wilt woo, but else not for the world" "In truth...i am too fond, and therefore thou mayest think my havior light...but I'll prove more true than those that have more coying to be strange. I should have been more strange..." "Therefore, pardon me, and not impute* this yielding to light love" What are Juliet's concerns? 6
Reading Check #2 12/1 OPEN NOTE 1 & 2. In this scene, list one word that characterizes Romeo, and one that characterizes Juliet. Romeo = Juliet = 3. What is one of Juliet's concerns? Write one quote from the text that shows it. 7
Mini Lesson Th Pronouns Shakespeare often uses Th pronouns that can sometimes make his writing confusing to modern English readers. In Shakespeare s time, one s social status was extremely important and language reflected that. Like in Spanish and French, there is a differe interactions. You is considered formal and would be used when a character is speaking to someone from a higher social class; it was considered the m Good Pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much - Juliet, 1.iv.108 > Good sir, you apologize too much for your hand > When R first meets J, they address each other using you since it is formal and polite. Thou --> you informal address used when a character is speaking to someone of a lower social class also used between close friends or loved ones used when the character being spoken to is the subject of the sentence > "That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she - Romeo, 2.ii.6 That you, her maid, are far more beautiful than she > "Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love - Juliet, 2.ii.46 Or, if you will not, be but sworn my love Thee --> you used when the character being addressed is the object of a sentence > "I conjure thee by Rosaline s bright eyes - Mercutio, 2.i.20 I call you by Rosaline s bright eyes Thy --> your possessive usually before a word that starts with a consonant > "That in thy likeness thou appear to us - Mercutio, 2.i.24 That in your likeness you appear to us Thine --> your also possessive usually before a word that starts with a vowel Practice: > "Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye -Romeo, 2.ii.76 Alas, there lies more danger in your eye 1. I would thou wert so happy by thy stay to hear true shrift a. Would = wish b. Happy = fortunate c. Shrift = confession 2. Ben. Part fools! You know not what you do - Polite, formal Tybalt: What, art thou among these heartless hinds? Turn thee, Benvolio; look upon thy Death What else can we understand from the pronoun use in this exchange 8
What does Romeo first swear his love by? How does Juliet respond? Juliet: > "I have no joy of this contract tonight. It is too rash, too sudden, too like the lightning, which doth cease to be ere one can say 'It lightens.'" What does Juliet propose as she says good night? (149 155) What concern does she have? (lines 171 172) Who is Romeo going to enlist for help? (204 205) 9
Scene 3: Determined to marry Juliet, Romeo hurries to Friar Lawrence. The Friar agrees to marry them, expressing the hope that the marriage may end the feud between the families. Paradox: a statement or proposition that, despite sound (or apparently sound) reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self contradictory > Ex: What a pity that youth must be wasted on the young. G. Shaw Nobody goes to that restaurant because it is too crowded. > Friar speaks in paradox: "The earth that's nature's mother is her tomb; What is her burying grave, that is her womb" "Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied, and vice sometime by action dignified" "Within the infant rind of this weak flower poison hath residence and medicine power" 10
Scene iii Continued: Romeo: "I have been feasting with mine enemy, where on a sudden one hath wounded me that's by me wounded" "...I pray, that thou consent to marry us today" Friar: Original Text (II.iii.69 85) Analysis Holy Saint Francis, what a change is here! Is Rosaline, that thou didst love so dear, So soon forsaken? Young men's love then lies Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes. Jesu Maria, what a deal of brine Hath wasted thy sallow cheeks for Rosaline!... The sun not yet thy sighs from heaven clears, Thy old groans yet ringing in mine ancient ears. If e'er thou wast thyself, and these woes thine, Thou and these woes were all for Rosaline. And art thou changed? Pronounce this sentence then: Women may fall when there's no strength in men How does this speech help us to characterize Romeo? What is the Friar's motivation to help Romeo? Friar: "Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast." > Foreshadowing: a warning or indication of (a future event). 11
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