dissyllable, see Walker, Sliakespeare 's not dainty of applying the promises."
Versification, xxxiv. 24. come near} Schmidt: "touch
21. have a i/ouf} Daniel defends to the quick," as in 1 Henry IV. I.
walk a bout : to tread a measure or to ii. 14.
walk a meastire is common, and here 25. lVel(ome~\ Addressed to the
the bout is a bout of dancing. The masked friends of Romeo (Delius).
ame expression with the same mean-
sc. v.j ROMEO AND JULIET 41
You are welcome, gentlemen ! Come, musicians,
play.
A hall, a hall ! give room, and foot it, girls. 30
[Music plays, and they dance.
More light, you knaves ! and turn the tables up,
And quench the fire, the room is grown too hot.
Ah, sirrah, this unlook'd-for sport comes well.
Nay, sit, nay, sit, good cousin Capulet,
For you and I are past our dancing days ; 3 5
How long is 't now since last yourself and I
Were in a mask ?
Second Cap. By 'r Lady, thirty years.
Cap. What, man ! 'tis not so much, 'tis not so much :
Tis since the nuptial of Lucentio,
Come Pentecost as quickly as it will, 40
Some five-and-twenty years ; and then we mask'd.
Second Cap. 'Tis more, 'tis more : his son is elder, sir ;
His son is thirty.
Cap. Will you tell me that ?
His son was but a ward two years ago.
Rom. What lady is that which doth enrich the hand 45
29. gentlemen! Come,~\ gentlemen come, Q. 30. a hall\ Q, Hall F.
Music . . . ] after line 29 Q, F. 39. Lucentio} Q I, F ; Lucientio (^.
43. Cap.] Q, 3 Cap. F. 44. two] Q, F ; three Q I. 45. lady is} Q i, Qq
3-5, Ff ; Ladies Q ; lady ' s several editors.
30. A hall .'] A cry to make room Italy. In Brooke's poem the time is
in a crowd, as in Middleton, Enter- mid winter.
tainment at Lord Mayors, 1623 (ed. 34. consin~\ kinsman ; see Hamlet
Bullen, vii. 373): "A hall! a hall! (ed. Dowden), I. ii. 64. Uncle
below, stand clear." Capulet, of the list of invitations, is
31. turn the tables ztf] turn up the probably addressed.
leaves of the tables. Singer quotes 44. His . . . ago] After this line
Cavendish, Life of IVolsey (ed. 1825, Q I adds a pleasing line, continued
p. 198): " After that the board's end to Capulet: "Good youths I ( z'')
was taken up." faith. Oh youth 's a jolly thing."
32. fire] The time is mid July in
42 ROMEO AND JULIET [ACTI.
Of yonder knight ?
Serv. I know not, sir.
Rom. O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright !
It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night
Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear ;
Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear ! 5 o
So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows,
As yonder lady o'er her fellows shows.
The measure done, I '11 watch her place of stand,
And, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand.
Did my heart love till now ? forswear it, sight ! 5 5
For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.
Tyb. This, by his voice, should be a Montague.
Fetch me my rapier, boy. What ! dares the
slave
Come hither, cover'd with an antic face,
48. // seems she} Q I, Qq, F ; Her beauty Ff 2-4. 49. Like} O i, Ff 2-4 ;
4s, Q> F. 54- blessed} Q, F; happy Q I. 55. now?} Q I ; now, O, F.
56. For I ne'er} Q, For I never F, / never Q I. 58. What ! dares}
Theobald ; What dares Q, F ; What ? dares Q 5.
46, 47. knight ? . . . torches} Ma- Possibly one may detect faint echoes
lone notes that Painter's novel has a here of 1 Henry VI. v. iii. 45-
lord, Brooke's poem has a knight: 71 (Suffolk with Margaret in his
" With torch in hand a comely knight hand), touching of hands, kissing
did fetch her forth to dance." The fingers, the image of a swan (see note
complete forgetfulness of Rosaline is on line 51), " senses rough,'' and "So
also in Brooke's poem. seems this gorgeous beauty to mine
48. // seems sJie} The reading Ff eyes." Both passages express the
2-4 Her beauty is adopted by many sudden tyranny of beauty.
editors; Daniel thinks that Beauty in 49. Fthiop's ear} Holt White
line 50 requires beatify here. But quotes Lyly, Euphues : " A fair pearl
how came all the early editions, in- in a Morian's ear." Scoloker, in
eluding Q i. to read It seems^ If Da$7ianties(l6O4),"p, II, ed. Grosart,
Her beauty be an improvement, it echoes this passage: "Or a faire
may be the improvement of a stage Jewell by an Fthiope worne. "
Romeo, and not Shakespeare's. 51. So . . . crows} Q I has "So
Steevens quotes Sonnets, xxvii. : shines a snow-white Swan trouping
" Which [thy shadow], like a jewel with Crowes."
hung in ghastly night, 59. antic face} Romeo's fantastic
Makes black night beauteous." mask,
sc. v.J ROMEO AND JULIET 43
To fleer and scorn at our solemnity ? 60
Now, by the stock and honour of my kin,
To strike him dead I hold it not a sin.
Cap. Why, how now, kinsman ! wherefore storm you so ?
Tyb. Uncle, this is a Montague, our foe ;
A villain that is hither come in spite, 65
To scorn at our solemnity this night.
Cap. Young Romeo is it ?
Tyb. 'Tis he, that villain Romeo.
Cap. Content thee, gentle coz, let him alone,
He bears him like a portly gentleman ;
And, to say truth, Verona brags of him 70
To be a virtuous and well-govern'd youth :
I would not for the wealth of all this town
Here in my house do him disparagement ;
Therefore be patient, take no note of him :
It is my will, the which if thou respect, / 5
Show a fair presence and put off these frowns,
An ill-beseeming semblance for a feast.
Tyb. It fits, when such a villain is a guest :
I '11 not endure him.
Cap. lie shall be endured:
What, goodman boy ! I say he shall : go to ; So
Am I the master here, or you ? go to.
You '11 not endure him ! God shall mend my soul,
67. it?] F, //. Q. 69. H<] i ; .-/ Q, F. 72. this] Q, the F.
60. fleer'} laugh mockingly, as in (used specially of marriage festivities),
Much Ado, \ . i. 58. Primarily to frequent in Shakespeare. Compare
make a wry face; Palsgrave, Les- solemn, as in Macbeth, in. i. 15:
flarcissement \ "I fleere, I make an '' To-night we hold a solemn supper.' 1
evil countenance with the mouthe by 6q. portly'} of dignity, as in Spenser,
uncoveryng of the tethe. " Sonnet v. : ''portly pride" and
60. solemnity'} dignified festivity " such portlinesse is honour.''
44 ROMEO AND JULIET [ACTI.
You '11 make a mutiny among my guests !
You will set cock-a-hoop ! you '11 be the man !
Tyb. Why, uncle, 'tis a shame.
Cap. Go to, go to ; 85
You are a saucy boy : is 't so indeed ?
This trick may chance to scathe you, I know what :
You must contrary me ! marry, 'tis time.
Well said, my hearts ! You are a princox ; go :
Be quiet, or More light, more light ! For
shame ! 90
I '11 make you quiet. What ! cheerly, my hearts !
Tyb. Patience perforce with wilful choler meeting
Makes my flesh tremble in their different greeting.
I will withdraw : but this intrusion shall, 94
Now seeming sweet, convert to bitter gall. \Exit.
83. my} Q, the F. 90. or . . . shame !] or more , . . light for shame,
Q, F. 95. bitter} bittrest Q (alone).
84. cock-a-hoop}New Eng. Diet, says on second syllable. J. Hooker, Girald.
"of doubtful origin," and its history Ireland in Holinshed : "The more
further obscured by attempts to an- noble were his good and worthie
alyse it ; various conjectures are given, attempts, the more he was crossed
" To set (the) cock on (the) hoop, ap- and contraried" (New Eng. Diet.).
parently to turn on the tap, let the 89. princox} a forward youth,
liquor flow ; hence drink without Steevens quotes The Return from
stint," and, by extension, give a loose Parnassus, 1606: "Your proud
to all disorder. New Eng. Diet. University princox." Archbishop
cites, among other examples, Daus. tr. Bancroft, angry with young Tobie
Sleidan 's Comm., 1560: " There be Matthew, addresses him as a " Prin-
found divers . . . which setting cox " in Matthew's unpublished ac-
cocke on hoope beleve nothinge at count of his conversion.
all, neither regard they what reason. 92. Patience perforce} compulsory
what honesty, or what thing con- patience, a proverbial expression,
science doth prescribe." Steevens quotes the adage, "Patience
86. ts't so] I understand this to perforce is a medicine for a mad dog, "
refer to Tybalt's 'tis a shame. Fur- or, as Nares has it, "a mad horse."
ness seems to approve Ulrici's sup- 95. Now . . . gall} Hudson, fol-
position that it is an answer to a lowing Lettsom, regards con-vert as
remark of some guest. transitive, governing sweet (substan-
87. scathe} injure ; used by Shake- tive), and reads, Now-seeming sweet
speare as a verb only here. convert. " Convert " (intrans.) occurs
88. contrary} oppose, cross ; accent several times in Shakespeare.
sc.v.] ROMEO AND JULIET 45
Rom. [To Juliet.] If I profane with my unworthiest
hand
This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this,
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.
Jid, Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too
much, 100
Which mannerly devotion shows in this ;
For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch,
And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss.
Rom. Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too ?
Jul. Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer. 105
Rom. O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do ;
They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.
Jul. Saints do not move, though grant for prayers'
sake.
Rom. Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take.
96. itnworthicst} Q, F ; unworthie, Q i. 97. sift] Q, Q 3, Ff ; sinne Q I ,
Ql 4> 5- 98- ready} Q i, (^ 5, Ff 2-4; did readie (,), F. 102. hands
that] Q 5 ; hands, t)tat Q, F. 109. prayer's effect I take} Capell ; prayers
effect I take Q I, Q, F ; prayers effect doe lake Ff 2-4.
97. sin} I retain this word, which possible reading which occurs to me
has the authority of all the early is, " the gentle sin in this, " the gentle
texts. Many editors follow Theobald and courteous take your hand, but if
in adopting Warburton's proposal_/?c, it is profanation, I will atone for it.
and it would have been easy to mis- The sin is referred to, lines 111-113.
take fine for sinne (with a long s). " Tho' gentle" has been suggested to
Fine, i. right, would mean mulct, me by Professor Littledale.
and would refer to the kiss. The 100. pilgrim} Halliwell gives a
clash in sound of shrine and fine is sketch by Inigo Jones which shows a
not pleasing. I take the whole speech pilgrim's costume, such as was worn,
to be a request for permission to kiss ; it is believed on the evidence of this
to touch Tulict at all is sin ; but the line and probably of stage tradition,
profanation with Romeo's hand is a by Romeo ; the loose large-sleeved
rough sin ; to touch with his lips is gown with cape, broad-leafed hat, a
"the gentle sin." A very slight pilgrim's staff in the left hand,
emendation, which, I think, has not 109. / take} This line completes
been proposed, "the gentler sin is what is virtually a Shakesperian
this," would make it clearer. Another sonnet in dialogue.
46 ROMEO AND JULIET [ACTI.
Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged, i i o
{Kissing her.
Jul. Then have my lips the sin that they have took.
Rom. Sin from my lips ? O trespass sweetly urged !
Give me my sin again.
Jul. You kiss by the book.
Nurse. Madam, your mother craves a word with you.
Rom. What is her mother?
Nurse. Marry, bachelor, i 1 5
Her mother is the lady of the house,
And a good lady, and a wise, and virtuous :
I nursed her daughter that you talk'd withal ;
I tell you he that can lay hold of her
Shall have the chinks.
Rom. Is she a Capulet ? 120
O dear account ! my life is my foe's debt.
Ben. Away, be gone ; the sport is at the best.
Rom. Ay, so I fear ; the more is my unrest.
Cap. Nay, gentlemen, prepare not to be gone ;
We have a trifling foolish banquet towards. 125
no. thine} Q, F ; yours O i.
no. Kissing her] Shakespeare, says O I has //trail for debt. Cambridge
Mulune, copied from the mode of his editors conjecture that the rhyming
own time. Compare Henry VIII. I.
iv. 29.
113. by tli
way; there is here probably no refer-
ence to any Book of Manners.
115. IVliat} Who, as frequently in over when the game is at the fairest.
Shakespeare. Compare line 131. See I. iv. 39.
1 20. chinks} cash; Cotgravc, 125. ban/juet towards} Towards,
" Quinquaille, chinkes, coyne.'' ready, at hand, as toward in Hamlet,
121. debt} Slaunton explains: Be- I. i. 77. Banquet, a course of sweet-
reft of Juliet he should die, therefore meats, fruit, and wine. New Eng.
his life is at Capulct's mercy; so in Diet, quotes Cogan, Haven of Health,
Brooke's poem : "Thus hath his foe 1588: "Yea, and after supper for
in choyse to give him life or death." fear lest they be not full gorged, to
sc.v.] ROMEO AND JULIET 17
Is it e'en so? Why then, I thank you all ;
I thank you, honest gentlemen ; good night
More torches here ! Come on, then let 's to bed.
Ah, sirrah, by my fay, it waxes late; i 29
I '11 to my rest. \Exeunt all but Juliet and Nurse,
Jnl. Come hither, nurse. What is yond gentleman ?
Nurse. The son and heir of old Tibcrio.
ful. What 's he that now is going out of door ?
Nurse. Marry, that, I think, be young Petruchio.
Jul. What 's he that follows there, that would not
dance ? 135
Nurse. I know not.
Jul. Go, ask his name. If he be married,
My grave is like to be my wedding bed.
Nurse. His name is Romeo, and a Montague ;
The only son of your great enemy. 140
Jul. My only love sprung from my only hate !
Too early seen unknown, and known too late !
Prodigious birth of love it is to me,
That I must love a loathed enemy.
Nurse. What 's this ? what 's this ?
Jul. A rhyme I learn'd even now. 145
Of one I danced withal. \_Onc calls within, "Juliet."
have a delicate banqucf, with almnd- dialogue between Juliet and Xur.^e
ance ol wine."' See Taming oj tlic was suggested by Brooke's poem.
Skreu', v. ii. 9. 137, 138. //' . . . bcd\ Uttered to
126. ecu .w .'] O I has stage-direc- herself, while the Nurse makes
tion, " They whisper in his care," i.e. inquiry,
their reasons for going. 143. Prodigious} Portentous, as in
131. Conic hither, nurse] The Midsummer Night's Dream, v. i. 419.
48 ROMEO AND JULIET [ACTII.
Nurse. Anon, anon !
Come, let 's away ; the strangers all are gone.
[Exeunt.
ACT II
Enter CHORUS.
Chor. Now old Desire doth in his death-bed lie.
And young Affection gapes to be his heir :
That fair for which love groarid for and would die,
With tender Juliet match d, is now not fair.
Now Romeo is beloved and loves again^ 5
Alike bewitched by the charm of looks,
But to his foe supposed he must complain,
And she steal loves sweet bait from fearful
hooks :
Being held a foe, he may not have access
To breathe such vows as lovers use to swear ; I o
And she as much in love, Jier means mucli less
To meet Jier new-beloved any where :
But passion lends them power, time means, to meet,
Tempering extremities with extreme sweet.
[Exit.
4. match'd] F, match Q.
Chorui\ There being no division of examples from Swinburn's Briefe
Acts or Scenes in the early texts, Treatise of Testaments, 1590: "such
editors may place the Chorus at end as do gape for greater bequests," and
of Act I., or, as here, by way of pro- " to gape and crie upon the testator."
logue to Act n. As it refers more 3. fair] Frequent in Shakespeare
to the future than the past, I follow for a beautiful person, and also in the
the Cambridge editors in placing it sense of beauty ; I think the former
here. Some critics doubt that it is is the meaning here. As to the re-
by Shakespeare. peated/i?r in this line, compare AlVs
2. gapes] Rushton (Shakespeare's Well, I. ii. 29: "But on us both did
Testamentary Language, p. 29) quotes haggish age steal on."
sc. i.] ROMEO AND JULIET 49
SCENE I. Verona. A lane by the wall of
Capulefs orcJtanl.
Enter RoMKO.
Rom. Can I go forward when my heart is here ?
Turn back, dull earth, and find thy centre out.
\_I Ic climbs tlic wall, and leaps down within it.
Enter BF.NVOLIO and MFRCUTIO.
Ben. Romeo ! my cousin Romeo ! Romeo !
Mer. He is wise ;
And, on my life, hath stol'n him home to bed.
Ben. He ran this way, and leap'd this orchard wall : 5
Call, good Mercutio.
Mcr. Nay, I '11 conjure too.
Romeo ! humours ! madman ! passion ! lover !
Appear thou in the likeness of a sigh :
Speak but one rhyme and I am satisfied ;
Cry but " Ay me ! " pronounce but " love " and
"dove"; 10
A lane . . .] Camb. editors. 2. lie climbs . . .] Steevens. 3.
Romeo! Romeo /] (), F ; Romeo (^ I. 6. Nay . . . too} given to Mercutio
Q r > Ql 4> 5 ; continued to Benvolio Q, O 3, Ff. 7. Romeo} Qq 4, 5 ;
Mer. Romeo (), Q 3, Ff; passion! lover'.} passion loner Q (commas in F).
10. Cry] Q, Cry me F ; pronounce} O i, Qq 4, 5 ; provaunt Q ; provant F ;
dove] Q i ; day Q, F ; die Qq 4, 5.
A lane . . .] Perhaps some stage 7'] Singer (ed. 2) reads Humour s-
furniture representing a wall was madman ! fassion - lover ; Daniel
introduced, which, as Daniel suggests, humorous -madman! passionate
may have been withdrawn, when lover!
Mercutio and Benvolio depart. 10. Ay me] as in Spenser, Virgil's
2. earth] body. So Sonnefs, cxlvi.. Gnat, 353, "Ay me, that thankes so
"Poor soul, the centre of my sinful much should faile of meed." Cor-
earlh." Ff 2-4 read my centre. rupted in F 2 to ay me. Theobald and
6. conjure} Accented on first others Ah me!
syllable as here in Midsummer- 10. pronounce} F 2 alters the
Night's Dream, ill. ii. 158. f reran' of F" to coup'.y, whence
50
ROMEO AND JULIET
[ACT ii.
Speak to my gossip Venus one fair word,
One nickname for her purblind son and heir,
Young Adam Cupid, he that shot so trim
When King Cophetua loved the beggar-maid.
He heareth not, he stirreth not, he moveth not ; I 5
The ape is dead, and I must conjure him.
I conjure thee by Rosaline's bright eyes,
By her high forehead, and her scarlet lip,
By her fine foot, straight leg, and quivering thigh,
12. heir] Q i, Qq 4, 5 ; her Q, F. 13. Adam Cupid] Sleevens (Upton
conj.); Abraham: Cupid Q I, Qq 2, 3 ; Abraham Cupid Qq 4, 5 Ff; trim'}
Q i ; true Q, F. 16. ami] Q, omitted F.
Rowc's couple, adopted by many
editors.
13. Adam Cupid] Upton's con-
jecture Adam (easily misread Abram}
is generally accepted, the allusion
being to the great archer, Adam Bell,
famous in ballad poetry. Compare
Much Ado, I. i. 260: "shoot at
me ; and he that hits me let him be
clapped on the shoulder, and called
Adam.'''' The Abraham of Q I, Qq, Ff
may be right. If the source of the
Cophetua ballad were found, which
may lurk in some old book on Africa,
a bowman named Abraham might be
discovered. An Ethiopian king (448-
470) was so named. If "young
Abraham " is named after the patri-
arch, the nickname must mean
"father of many nations"' (Genesis
xvii. 5), not wholly inappropriate to
Cupid. Knight supposed that cheat
was meant, the allusion being to the
Abraham-men of Elizabethan days
vagabonds, bare - armed and bare -
legged, pretending madness. In S.
Rowlands' Martin Mark-all (about
1609), he gives Abram as a slang
word meaning mad. In Street
Kobberies consider' a (about 1700)
Abram is given as a cant word for
naked, which would suit Cupid well,
but, though clearly a relic of the
Abraham-men, I have found no earlier
example in this sense. Again, as
Theobald observed, abraham and
abram are old spellings of auburn
(e.g. Coriolanus, II. iii. 21, F text);
many examples might be cited.
Italian poets name Cupid "II biondo
Dio," and \V. Thomas, Principal
Rules of the Italian Grammer, 1567,
explains biondo, as "the aberne
(auburn) colour, that is betwene white
and yelow." "White reads " auburn 1 '
here. Finally, the nickname may be
an allusion to some forgotten Eliza-
bethan contemporary, whose name
(such, for example, as S[ir] Abra\]iani\
/^Krnnan, who wrote verses in the
British Museum copy of Nash's Jack
ll'i/.'oit) or whose fame in archery
invited a jest.
13. /rim] The trim of Q i pre-
serves a word of the ballad "King
Cophetua and the Beggar Maid,"
given in Percy's Keliques : "The
blinded boy that shoots so trim." In
Love's Lahour's Lost, I. ii. 117. the
ballad is spoken of as written "some
three ages since."
15. stirreth] Q 3 (alone) reads
sf rivet h.
sc.i.l ROMEO AND JULIET 51
And the demesnes that there adjacent lie, 20
That in thy likeness thou appear to us !
Ben. An if he hear thee, thou wilt anger him.
Mcr. This cannot anger him : 'twould anger him
To raise a spirit in his mistress' circle
Of some strange nature, letting it there stand 25
Till she had laid it, and conjured it down ;
That were some spite : my invocation
Is fair and honest, and in his mistress' name
I conjure only but to raise up him.
Ben. Come, he hath hid himself among these trees, 30
To be consorted with the humorous night :
Blind is his love and best befits the dark.
Mcr. If love be blind, love cannot hit the mark.
Now will he sit under a medlar-tree,
And wish his mistress were that kind of fruit 35
As maids call medlars when they laugh alone.
O, Romeo, that she were, O, that she were
An open et cetera, thou a poperin pear !
Romeo, good night : I '11 to my truckle-bed ;
This field-bed is too cold for me to sleep : 40
22. An] Theobald ; An. I O. F. 2=5. th<.yc\ Q, omitted F. 28. anJ
in} V, in O. 30. these] n, F ; those n I. 38. open et cetera, ///^/J n I,
Malone ; open, or thou O, F.
36. medlars] See Halliwell
suppressed name.
t cetera} Used, a
substitute for a suppressed unbecom-
ing word), in Cotgrave. under Ber^a-
Ovid frequently uses cetera
52 ROMEO AND JULIET [ACTH.
Come, shall we go?
Ben. Go, then ; for 'tis in vain
To seek him here that means not to be found.
\Exeunt.
SCENE II. The Same. Capulefs Orchard.
ROMEO advances.
Rom. He jests at scars that never felt a wound.
\_Juliet appears above at a window.
But, soft ! what light through yonder window
breaks ?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun !
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief, 5
That thou her maid art far more fair than she :
Be not her maid, since she is envious ;
Her vestal livery is but sick and green,
And none but fools do wear it ; cast it off.
It is my lady ; O, it is my love ! I o
Capulet's Orchard] Globe. S. sick] O, T; pak O I.
the sense camp-bed : line 897, " Loe argues that Scene i. is in the orchard,
here a fielde (she shewd a fielabed and he here continues the scene,
ready dight), etc." This is an example i. He jests] Referring to Mercutio.
earlier than any recorded in New 6. her inaid\ A votary of the virgin
Eng. Diet. Certain coarse words Diana.
are called "field-bed words" by 8. sick and green~\ Collier pleads for
Massinger, Old Law, iv. ii. (meaning his " old corrector's " white and green
speech of the camp ?). on the ground that these were the
colours of the fool's livery under
S cenc // Henry vin. Probably the word
green-sickness suggested the epithets.
Romeo advances] I indicate by See in. v. 156.
these words that Romeo has not left 10. // is} Grant White supposes
the stage. He overhears Mercutio's that at this point Juliet steps out upon
words, and his opening line rhymes the balcony ; previously only the light
with Benvolio's last. Grant White from her window was visible.
ROMEO AND JULIET 53
O, that she knew she were !
She speaks, yet she says nothing : what of that ?
Her eye discourses; I will answer it.
I am too bold, 'tis not to me she speaks :
Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, i 5
Having some business, do entreat her eyes
To twinkle in their spheres till they return.
What if her eyes were there, they in her head ?
The brightness of her cheek would shame those
stars
As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven 20
Would through the airy region stream so bright
That birds would sing and think it were not night.
See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand !
O, that I were a glove upon that hand,
That I might touch that cheek !
Jul. Ay me !
Rom. She speaks : 2 5
O, speak again, bright angel ! for thou art
As glorious to this night, being o'er my head,
As is a winged messenger of heaven
Unto the white-upturned wondering eyes
Of mortals, that fall back to gaze on him 30
When he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds
And sails upon the bosom of the air.
Jnl. O Romeo, Romeo ! wherefore art thou Romeo ?
21. region^ strictly a division of
the sky; see note on Haw let, II. ii.
518 (ed. Dowden).
27. nigAf] Theobald, followed l>y
54 ROMEO AND JULIET [ACT n.
Deny thy father and refuse thy name ;
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, 3 5
And I '11 no longer be a Capulet.