Romeo and Juliet Act II, Scene 1 Review

Romeo and Juliet Act II, scene i: *As he leaves the party, Romeo realizes that he has to talk to Juliet: “Can I go forward when my heart is here?” He leaps the orchard wall to go find her. *Benvolio sees Romeo climb the wall and tries to call him back. Mercutio, not taking this seriously, pretends to ‘summon’ Romeo by Rosaline’s various body parts, hoping to get a reaction. *Benvolio realizes Romeo isn’t coming home—“Go, then, for ‘tis in vain/To seek him here that means not to be found.” *Mercutio and Benvolio go home. Romeo and Juliet Act II, scene ii: *On the other side of the wall, Romeo says, “He jests at scars that never felt a wound”—Mercutio was making fun of him for being in love with Rosaline, but Romeo’s not in love with Rosaline anymore. *Romeo sees Juliet at her balcony. *Romeo has a soliloquy: all about Juliet’s beauty, how she outshines the sun and the stars: [R] “But soft, what light from yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!” * Juliet also has a soliloquy: all about Romeo’s name, and how that serves as a barrier between them: [J] “’Tis but thy name that is my enemy. Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.” *Romeo hears Juliet’s soliloquy—[R] “Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?”, and pipes up when Juliet finishes: [J] “And for that name, which is no part of thee, take all myself.” [R] “I take thee at thy word! Call me but ‘love,’ and I’ll be new baptized!” *Romeo is excited that Juliet loves him, but Juliet is afraid that Romeo is in danger: “If they [the Capulet family] see thee, they will murder thee.” *Romeo loudly confesses his love for Juliet and is so excited that she loves him back. *Juliet, however, is not as excited. She can’t be sure if Romeo’s love is genuine, because he overheard her say she loved him, but she did not overhear him. She is not sure how Romeo can prove he sincerely loves her, and is not just saying what she wants to hear so he can kiss her again, or use her for one night before moving on. *Romeo tries to swear on something to prove his love is true: [R] “Lady, by yonder blessed moon I vow, that tips with silver all these fruittree tops—” *Juliet rightly calls him out: [J] “O, swear not by the moon, th’inconstant moon, that monthly changes in her circled orb, lest that thy love prove likewise variable”— i.e. don’t swear by the moon; the moon changes each night. You can’t swear unchanging love on something that is always changing. *Juliet is less than thrilled that this is happening: “It is too rash, too unadvis’d, too sudden,” but she won’t take back what she said. She loves Romeo, and wants to believe him when he says he loves her. *Juliet asks Romeo to prove his love by marrying her: “If that thy bent of love be honorable, thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow, by one that I’ll procure to come to thee, where and what time thou wilt perform the rite…” *Juliet asks Romeo to marry her, or leave her alone—this will prove that their love is something serious, as she feels it is. *Romeo promises to arrange everything. *Juliet and Romeo cannot wait to marry one another. Romeo and Juliet Act II, scene iii: *Friar Laurence is up early in the morning to gather plants. He gives a long soliloquy about how plants can both hurt and heal—a plant that is used for medicine can also be poisonous. This soliloquy shows Friar Laurence’s medical knowledge. *Romeo calls out to Friar Laurence, who quickly figures out that Romeo has been out all night: “Our Romeo hath not been in bed tonight.” *Romeo confesses that he’s been out all night, and Friar Laurence worries that Romeo has either been with Rosaline, or has been crying over her again. *Romeo says he’s forgotten Rosaline, which pleases Friar Laurence, but then Romeo immediately says he’s found someone else—someone that he wants to marry. *Friar Laurence then yells at Romeo for being so fickle [quickly changed] in love: “Young men’s love then lies not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes!”—i.e. You didn’t really love her, you just like the way she looked! *Friar Laurence is angry with Romeo for having spent all that time crying over Rosaline, only to forget her within 12 hours after meeting someone else—someone that he now wants to marry. *Romeo gets defensive, saying that the Friar had often warned Romeo against loving Rosaline, so shouldn’t he be happy now that Romeo’s not in love with Rosaline anymore? [R] “Thou chid’st me oft for loving Rosaline.” [FL] “For doting, not for loving, pupil mine.” *The Friar says he didn’t mean that Romeo should immediately find someone else—he meant that Romeo didn’t really know the true meaning of love: [R] “I pray thee, chide not, she whom I love now doth grace for grace and love for love allow. The other did not so.” [FL] “O she knew well thy love did read by rote and could not spell.” *Still, the Friar agrees to perform the ceremony, even though he thinks it’s a bad idea, because he thinks the marriage might end the feud— “For this alliance may so happy prove To turn your household’s rancor to pure love”—the families would be united, since divorces were not honored by the Catholic church. Romeo and Juliet Act II, scene iv: *Juliet’s nurse arranges the meeting with Romeo and acts as a go-between for the two. *Mercutio and Benvolio catch up with Romeo and tease him about being out all night, but he tells them nothing. *It is revealed that Tybalt left a note at Romeo’s house, challenging him to a duel. This makes Mercutio mad, considering Romeo’s done nothing wrong. Romeo never gets this note. *Juliet’s nurse arrives, and they make a plan to meet at Friar Laurence’s church at noon. The nurse goes home to get Juliet. *Romeo’s friends are happy that he’s not acting so depressed anymore, but Romeo does not tell them about Juliet. Romeo and Juliet Act II, scene v: *The nurse goes back to Juliet, complaining about Romeo’s friends making fun of her. *Juliet asks what time the wedding shall be, and Juliet’s nurse tells her to go to church; Romeo is waiting. Romeo and Juliet Act II, scene vi: *Juliet and Romeo get married by Friar Laurence in a secret ceremony. *The Friar urges them to slow down: “Therefore love moderately; long love doth so/Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow.” However, he still marries them. *It is noon on Monday; the party where they met happened last night. Act II Mentions of Stars: “But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!”—Act II, scene ii: Romeo calls Juliet the sun. “Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven/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/Would through the airy region stream so bright/That birds would sing and think it were not night”— Act II, scene ii: Romeo compares Juliet’s eyes to stars, saying she shines brighter than galaxies. “A thousand times the worse, to want thy light”—Act II, scene ii: Juliet has disappeared into her bedroom, leaving Romeo without her light.