Romeo and Juliet Read online

  when you have found him than he was when you

  sought him. I am the youngest of that name, for

  fault of a worse.deg

  Nurse. You say well.

  Mercutio. Yea, is the worst well? Very well took,deg i'

  faith! Wisely, wisely.

  Nurse. If you be he, sir, I desire some confidencedeg

  with you.

  109 A shirt and a smock i.e., a man and a woman 116 good-den good evening (i.e., afternoon) 119 prick point on the dial of a clock (with bawdy innuendo) 124 quoth 'a indeed (literally, "said he") 128-29 for fault of a worse (mock-modestly parodying "for want of a better") 131 took understood 133 confidence conference (possibly a malapropism)

  Benvolio. She will enditedeg him to some supper.

  Mercutio. A bawd, a bawd, a bawd! So ho!deg

  Romeo. What hast thou found?

  Mercutio. No hare,deg sir; unless a hare, sir, in a lenten

  pie,deg that is something stale and hoardeg ere it be

  spent.

  [He walks by them and sings.]

  An old hare hoar,

  And an old hare hoar,

  Is very good meat in Lent;

  But a hare that is hoar

  Is too much for a score

  When it hoars ere it be spent.

  Romeo, will you come to your father's? We'll to

  dinner thither.

  Romeo. I will follow you.

  Mercutio. Farewell, ancient lady. Farewell, [singing]

  "Lady, lady, lady."deg Exeunt [Mercutio, Benvolio].

  Nurse. I pray you, sir, what saucy merchant was this

  that was so full of his ropery?deg

  Romeo. A gentleman, nurse, that loves to hear himself

  talk and will speak more in a minute than he will

  stand to in a month.

  Nurse. And 'a speak anything against me, I'll take him

  down, and 'a were lustier than he is, and twenty

  such Jacks; and if I cannot, I'll find those that shall.

  Scurvy knave! I am none of his flirt-gills;deg I am 135 endite invite (Benvolio's intentional malapropism?) 136 So ho! (cry on sighting a quarry) 138 hare prostitute 138-39 lenten pie rabbit pie (eaten sparingly and hence stale) 139 hoar gray-haired, moldy (wordplay on "hare" and "whore") 151 Lady, lady, lady (ballad refrain from "Chaste Susanna") 153 ropery rascally talk 160 flirt-gills flirting wenches

  none of his skainsmates.deg And thou must stand

  by too, and suffer every knave to use me at his

  pleasure!

  Peter. I saw no man use you at his pleasure. If I had,

  my weapon should quickly have been out, I warrant

  you. I dare draw as soon as another man, if I see

  occasion in a good quarrel, and the law on my side.

  Nurse. Now, afore God, I am so vexed that every part

  about me quivers. Scurvy knave! Pray you, sir, a

  word; and, as I told you, my young lady bid me

  inquire you out. What she bid me say, I will keep

  to myself; but first let me tell ye, if ye should lead

  her in a fool's paradise,deg as they say, it were a very

  gross kind of behavior, as they say; for the gentle-

  woman is young; and therefore, if you should deal

  double with her, truly it were an ill thing to be

  off'red to any gentlewoman, and very weakdeg dealing.

  Romeo. Nurse, commend me to thy lady and mistress.

  I protest unto thee--

  Nurse. Good heart, and i' faith I will tell her as much.

  Lord, Lord, she will be a joyful woman.

  Romeo. What wilt thou tell her, nurse? Thou dost not

  mark me.

  Nurse. I will tell her, sir, that you do protest, which,

  as I take it, is a gentlemanlike offer.

  Romeo. Bid her devise

  Some means to come to shrift this afternoon;

  And there she shall at Friar Lawrence' cell

  Be shrived and married. Here is for thy pains.

  Nurse. No, truly, sir; not a penny.

  Romeo. Go to! I say you shall.

  Nurse. This afternoon, sir? Well, she shall be there.

  161 skainsmates harlots (?) daggers' mates (i.e., outlaws' mates) 173 fool's paradise seduction 177 weak unmanly, unscrupulous

  Romeo. And stay, good nurse, behind the abbey wall.

  Within this hour my man shall be with thee

  And bring thee cords made like a tackled stair,deg

  Which to the high topgallantdeg of my joy

  Must be my convoydeg in the secret night.

  Farewell. Be trusty, and I'll quitdeg thy pains.

  Farewell. Commend me to thy mistress.

  Nurse. Now God in heaven bless thee! Hark you, sir.

  Romeo. What say'st thou, my dear nurse?

  Nurse. Is your man secret? Did you ne'er hear say,

  Two may keep counsel, putting one away?

  Romeo. Warrant thee my man's as true as steel.

  Nurse. Well, sir, my mistress is the sweetest lady. Lord,

  Lord! When 'twas a little prating thing--O, there is

  a nobleman in town, one Paris, that would fain lay

  knife aboard;deg but she, good soul, had as lievedeg see

  a toad, a very toad, as see him. I anger her some-

  times, and tell her that Paris is the properer man;

  but I'll warrant you, when I say so, she looks as

  pale as any cloutdeg in the versal world.deg Doth not

  rosemary and Romeo begin both with a letter?

  Romeo. Ay, nurse; what of that? Both with an R.

  Nurse. Ah, mocker! That's the dog's name.deg R is for

  the--No; I know it begins with some other letter;

  and she hath the prettiest sententiousdeg of it, of you

  and rosemary, that it would do you good to hear it.

  Romeo. Commend me to thy lady.

  Nurse. Ay, a thousand times. [Exit Romeo.] Peter!

  Peter. Anon.

  Nurse. Before, and apace. Exit [after Peter].

  195 tackled stair rope ladder 196 topgallant summit (mast above the topmast) 197 convoy conveyance 198 quit reward 207-08 lay knife aboard take a slice 208 had as lieve would rather 212 clout cloth 212 versal world universe 215 dog's name (the R sound suggests a dog's growl) 217 sententious sentences, pithy sayings

  [Scene 5. Capulet's orchard.]

  Enter Juliet.

  Juliet. The clock struck nine when I did send the

  nurse;

  In half an hour she promised to return.

  Perchance she cannot meet him. That's not so.

  O, she is lame! Love's heralds should be thoughts,

  Which ten times faster glides than the sun's beams

  Driving back shadows over low'ring hills.

  Therefore do nimble-pinioned dovesdeg draw Love,

  And therefore hath the wind-swift Cupid wings.

  Now is the sun upon the highmost hill

  Of this day's journey, and from nine till twelve

  Is three long hours; yet she is not come.

  Had she affections and warm youthful blood,

  She would be as swift in motion as a ball;

  My words would bandy herdeg to my sweet love,

  And his to me.

  But old folks, many feign as they were deaddeg--

  Unwieldy, slow, heavy and pale as lead.

  Enter Nurse [and Peter].

  O God, she comes! O honey nurse, what news?

  Hast thou met with him? Send thy man away.

  Nurse. Peter, stay at the gate. [Exit Peter.]

  Juliet. Now, good sweet nurse--O Lord, why lookest

  thou sad?

  Though news be sad, yet tell them merrily; 2.5.7 nimble-pinioned doves swift-winged doves (sacred to Venus) 14 bandy her speed her 16 old . . . dead i.e., many old people move about as if they were almost dead

  If good, thou shamest the
music of sweet news

  By playing it to me with so sour a face.

  Nurse. I am aweary, give me leave awhile.

  Fie, how my bones ache! What a jauncedeg have I!

  Juliet. I would thou hadst my bones, and I thy news.

  Nay, come, I pray thee speak. Good, good nurse,

  speak.

  Nurse. Jesu, what haste! Can you not staydeg awhile?

  Do you not see that I am out of breath?

  Juliet. How art thou out of breath when thou hast

  breath

  To say to me that thou art out of breath?

  The excuse that thou dost make in this delay

  Is longer than the tale thou dost excuse.

  Is thy news good or bad? Answer to that.

  Say either, and I'll stay the circumstance.deg

  Let me be satisfied, is't good or bad?

  Nurse. Well, you have made a simpledeg choice; you

  know not how to choose a man. Romeo? No, not

  he. Though his face be better than any man's, yet

  his leg excels all men's; and for a hand and a foot,

  and a body, though they be not to be talked on,

  yet they are past compare. He is not the flower of

  courtesy, but, I'll warrant him, as gentle as a lamb.

  Go thy ways, wench; serve God. What, have you

  dined at home?

  Juliet. No, no. But all this did I know before.

  What says he of our marriage? What of that?

  Nurse. Lord, how my head aches! What a head have I!

  It beats as it would fall in twenty pieces.

  My back adeg t' other side--ah, my back, my back!

  Beshrewdeg your heart for sending me about

  To catch my death with jauncing up and down!

  26 jaunce jaunt, fatiguing walk 29 stay wait 36 stay the circumstance wait for the details 38 simple foolish 51 a on 52 Beshrew curse (in the sense of "shame on")

  Juliet. I' faith, I am sorry that thou art not well.

  Sweet, sweet, sweet nurse, tell me, what says my

  love?

  Nurse. Your love says, like an honest gentleman, and

  a courteous, and a kind, and a handsome, and, I

  warrant, a virtuous--Where is your mother?

  Juliet. Where is my mother? Why, she is within.

  Where should she be? How oddly thou repliest!

  "Your love says, like an honest gentleman,

  'Where is your mother?' "

  Nurse. O God's Lady dear!

  Are you so hot?deg Marry come up, I trow.deg

  Is this the poultice for my aching bones?

  Henceforward do your messages yourself.

  Juliet. Here's such a coil!deg Come, what says Romeo?

  Nurse. Have you got leave to go to shrift today?

  Juliet. I have.

  Nurse. Then hie you hence to Friar Lawrence' cell;

  There stays a husband to make you a wife.

  Now comes the wanton blood up in your cheeks:

  They'll be in scarlet straightdeg at any news.

  Hie you to church; I must another way,

  To fetch a ladder, by the which your love

  Must climb a bird's nest soon when it is dark.

  I am the drudge, and toil in your delight;

  But you shall bear the burden soon at night.

  Go; I'll to dinner; hie you to the cell.

  Juliet. Hie to high fortune! Honest nurse, farewell.

  Exeunt.

  63 hot angry 63 Marry . . . trow indeed, come now, by the Virgin 66 coil disturbance 72 straight straightway

  [Scene 6. Friar Lawrence's cell.]

  Enter Friar [Lawrence] and Romeo.

  Friar. So smile the heavens upon this holy act

  That afterhours with sorrow chide us not!

  Romeo. Amen, amen! But come what sorrow can,

  It cannot countervaildeg the exchange of joy

  That one short minute gives me in her sight.

  Do thou but close our hands with holy words,

  Then love-devouring death do what he dare--

  It is enough I may but call her mine.

  Friar. These violent delights have violent ends

  And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,

  Which, as they kiss, consume. The sweetest honey

  Is loathsome in his own deliciousness

  And in the taste confoundsdeg the appetite.

  Therefore love moderately: long love doth so;

  Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow.

  Enter Juliet.

  Here comes the lady. O, so light a foot

  Will ne'er wear out the everlasting flint.deg

  A lover may bestride the gossamersdeg

  That idles in the wantondeg summer air,

  And yet not fall; so light is vanity.deg

  Juliet. Good even to my ghostly confessor.

  Friar. Romeo shall thank thee, daughter, for us both.

  2.6.4 countervail equal 13 confounds destroys 17 Will . . . flint i.e., Juliet's feet are lighter than waterdrops, which are proverbially said to wear away stones 18 gossamers spiders' webs 19 wanton capricious 20 vanity a transitory thing (an earthly lover and his love)

  Juliet. As much to him,deg else is his thanks too much.

  Romeo. Ah, Juliet, if the measure of thy joy

  Be heaped like mine, and that thy skill be more

  To blazon it,deg then sweeten with thy breath

  This neighbor air, and let rich music's tongue

  Unfold the imagined happiness that both

  Receive in either by this dear encounter.

  Juliet. Conceit, more rich in matter than in words,

  Brags of his substance, not of ornament.deg

  They are but beggars that can count their worth;

  But my true love is grown to such excess

  I cannot sum up sum of half my wealth.

  Friar. Come, come with me, and we will make short

  work;

  For, by your leaves, you shall not stay alone

  Till Holy Church incorporate two in one. [Exeunt.]

  23 As much to him i.e., the same greeting to Romeo 25-26 thy skill . . . blazon it you are better able to set it forth 30-31 Conceit . . . ornament i.e., true understanding is its own proud manifestation and does not need words

  [ACT 3

  Scene 1. A public place.]

  Enter Mercutio, Benvolio, and Men.

  Benvolio. I pray thee, good Mercutio, let's retire.

  The day is hot, the Capels are abroad,

  And, if we meet, we shall not 'scape a brawl,

  For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring.

  Mercutio. Thou art like one of these fellows that,

  when he enters the confines of a tavern, claps me

  his sword upon the table and says, "God send me

  no need of thee!" and by the operation of the

  second cup draws him on the drawer,deg when indeed

  there is no need.

  Benvolio. Am I like such a fellow?

  Mercutio. Come, come, thou art as hot a Jack in thy

  mood as any in Italy; and as soon moved to be

  moody,deg and as soon moody to be moved.deg

  Benvolio. And what to?

  Mercutio. Nay, and there were two such, we should

  have none shortly, for one would kill the other.

  Thou! Why, thou wilt quarrel with a man that hath 3.1.9 draws him on the drawer draws his sword on the waiter 14 moody angry 14 moody to be moved quick-tempered

  a hair more or a hair less in his beard than thou

  hast. Thou wilt quarrel with a man for cracking

  nuts, having no other reason but because thou hast

  hazel eyes. What eye but such an eye would spy

  out such a quarrel? Thy head is as full of quarrels

  as an egg is full of meat; and yet thy head hath

  been beaten as addle as an egg for quarreling. Thou
<
br />   has quarreled with a man for coughing in the street,

  because he hath wakened thy dog that hath lain

  asleep in the sun. Didst thou not fall out with a

  tailor for wearing his new doubletdeg before Easter?

  With another for tying his new shoes with old

  riband?deg And yet thou wilt tutor me from quarreling!

  Benvolio. And I were so apt to quarrel as thou art, any

  man should buy the fee simpledeg of my life for an

  hour and a quarter.deg

  Mercutio. The fee simple? O simple!deg

  Enter Tybalt, Petruchio,deg and others.

  Benvolio. By my head, here comes the Capulets.

  Mercutio. By my heel, I care not.

  Tybalt. Follow me close, for I will speak to them.

  Gentlemen, good-den.deg A word with one of you.

  Mercutio. And but one word with one of us? Couple

  it with something; make it a word and a blow.

  Tybalt. You shall find me apt enough to that, sir, and

  you will give me occasion.

  Mercutio. Could you not take some occasion without

  giving?

  Tybalt. Mercutio, thou consortest with Romeo.

  29 doublet jacket 31 riband ribbon 33 fee simple absolute possession 33-34 for an hour and a quarter i.e., the life expectancy of one with Mercutio's penchant for quarreling 35 O simple O stupid 35 Petruchio (in 1.5 he was one of Capulet's guests, but he has no lines) 39 good-den good evening (i.e., afternoon)

  Mercutio. Consort?deg What, dost thou make us min-

  strels? And thou make minstrels of us, look to hear

  nothing but discords. Here's my fiddlestick;deg here's

  that shall make you dance. Zounds,deg consort!

  Benvolio. We talk here in the public haunt of men.

  Either withdraw unto some private place,

  Or reason coldly of your grievances,

  Or else depart. Here all eyes gaze on us.

  Mercutio. Men's eyes were made to look, and let them

  gaze.

  I will not budge for no man's pleasure, I.

  Enter Romeo.

  Tybalt. Well, peace be with you, sir. Here comes my

  man.deg

  Mercutio. But I'll be hanged, sir, if he wear your

  livery.deg

  Marry, go before the field,deg he'll be your follower!

  Your worship in that sense may call him man.

  Tybalt. Romeo, the love I bear thee can afford

  No better term than this: thou art a villain.deg

  Romeo. Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee

  Doth much excuse the appertainingdeg rage

  To such a greeting. Villain am I none.

  Therefore farewell. I see thou knowest me not.

  Tybalt. Boy, this shall not excuse the injuries

  That thou hast done me; therefore turn and draw.

  Romeo. I do protest I never injured thee,

  But love thee better than thou canst devisedeg

  Till thou shalt know the reason of my love;

  And so, good Capulet, which name I tenderdeg