Juliet sends the nurse and Lady Capulet from her bedroom on the pretext of getting rest. What if the Friar actually intends to kill her to preserve the sanctity of her first marriage? What if she wakes up too early and suffocates? What if waking in the tomb will drive her insane? She rebuts most of these fears and drinks the poison, falling into a death-like trance. Where bloody Tybalt, yet but green in earth, [19]. And shrieks like mandrakes torn out of the earth, [20].
She drinks and falls upon her bed within the curtains. The Capulets work through the night in preparation. Come, stir, stir, stir! The second cock hath crowed; [23]. Go, you cotquean, [25] go,. A merry whoreson, [27] ha! Thou shalt be loggerhead. Play music. The Friar reassures the family that Juliet is surely well in heaven and urges them to bring her to church to begin the funeral rites. What, mistress? Why, lamb! Why, lady! What, not a word? The County Paris hath set up his rest [29].
In lasting labor of his pilgrimage. Heaven and yourself. Shakespeare compares Juliet to the sun, and she is one of the most generous characters in the play.
Rosaline, on the other hand, prefers to keep her beauty to herself. Shakespeare heightens this contrast when Romeo describes Rosaline as a Diana the goddess of the moon and tells Juliet, "Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon" 2.
In the balcony scene, Romeo and Juliet recognize this selfish brand of love and then transcend it. The garden setting is more than just a secretive meeting place — it invokes images of a pastoral Eden, which symbolizes both purity and virginity. Romeo and Juliet's connection is simultaneously rooted in pure love and unbridled passion. At the beginning of the balcony scene, Romeo invades Juliet's privacy without her invitation, which becomes doubly apparent when he overhears her soliloquy.
Here, Shakespeare breaks the convention of the soliloquy, which is traditionally a speech where a character shares his or her inner thoughts only with the audience. That Romeo overhears Juliet's soliloquy is an invasion, on one hand, but also serves as a reminder of the cost of intimacy.
That Juliet both allows and cherishes Romeo's interruption reminds the audience that true love requires two people to open their hearts to one another. Shakespeare underscores the idea that lovers must abandon their selfishness by having Romeo and Juliet swear to themselves, rather than to other bodies.
For instance, when Romeo tries to swear by the moon, Juliet remarks that the moon waxes and wanes, and is too variable. Instead, she says, "Or if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self" 2. Shakespeare often has characters encourage one another to be true to themselves first, and only then can they be true to others.
In the case of Romeo and Juliet, the characters must accept their unique identities and transcend their family names in order to experience the purest kind of love. Shakespeare also implies that when people fall in love, they can grow. Juliet's behavior changes after she meets Romeo. She is used to obeying the Nurse's authority, and during the balcony scene, she disappears twice.
However, she also defies authority twice in order to reappear and continue her conversation with Romeo. This is a sure sign of her emerging independence, which explains her quick decision to marry Romeo and defy her parents. Juliet also reveals her practical intelligence by understanding the need for a plan for them to meet and by insisting on marriage, which is a reversal of Elizabethan gender roles. Romeo, while less active than Juliet, also becomes more confident after their meeting, eschewing his juvenile melancholy for a more gregarious personality that impresses Mercutio.
Shakespeare introduces the theme of identity in Act 2. In her soliloquy, Juliet wishes that Romeo could transcend his name. Her famous declaration — "What's in a name? Juliet understands that if she and Romeo are to be together, they must defy the limitations of society and follow their individual passions. In this act, Shakespeare also introduces Friar Laurence a multifaceted character who understands the need for personal autonomy. Because of his underlying motivations, however, the Friar is an imperfect religious figure.
He is willing to compromise the religious sanctity of marriage for the sake of a political goal. Friar Laurence's actions represent the dichotomy between societal convention and individual desire. Finally, Shakespeare continues to explore the contrasts that he introduced in Act I, particularly the disparity between night and day or darkness and light.
Benvolio states, "Blind is his love, and best befits the dark," in reference to Romeo's newfound passion 2. When Romeo finally sees Juliet at her balcony, he wonders, "But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? Romeo then invokes the darkness as a form of protection from harm: "I have night's cloak to hide me from their eyes" 2. Romeo enters and Friar Lawrence intuits that Romeo has not slept the night before.
The friar fears that Romeo may have slept in sin with Rosaline. Romeo assures him that did not happen, and describes his new love for Juliet , his intent to marry her, and his desire that the friar consent to marry them that very day. Friar Lawrence is shocked at this sudden shift from Rosaline to Juliet.
Romeo defends himself, noting that Juliet returns his love while Rosaline did not. He expresses the hope that the marriage of Romeo and Juliet might end the feud ravaging the Montagues and Capulets. Later that morning, just before nine, Mercutio and Benvolio wonder what happened to Romeo the previous night. Benvolio has learned from a Montague servant that Romeo did not return home; Mercutio spouts some unkind words about Rosaline.
Benvolio also relates that Tybalt has sent a letter to Romeo challenging him to a duel. He describes Tybalt as a master swordsman, perfectly proper and composed in style.
Mercutio disdains all that Tybalt stands for. Romeo arrives. Mercutio immediately begins to ridicule him, claiming that Romeo has been made weak by love. Then Mercutio accuses Romeo of abandoning his friends the previous night.
Romeo does not deny the charge, but claims his need was great, and so the offense is forgivable. From this proceeds intricate, witty, and wildly sexual verbal jousting. The Nurse enters, trailed by the servant, Peter. The Nurse asks if any of the three young men know Romeo, and Romeo identifies himself. Mercutio teases the Nurse, insinuating that she is a harlot, thus infuriating her.
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