romeo and juliet act 2 scene 2 assignment

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Romeo and Juliet

By william shakespeare, romeo and juliet summary and analysis of act 2, act two, introduction.

The Chorus explains that Romeo has traded his old desire for a new affection, and that Juliet has also fallen in love. Though their secret romance puts Romeo and Juliet at risk, their passion drives them to meet, regardless of the danger.

Act Two, Scene One

Out in the street, Romeo escapes from Mercutio and Benvolio . Mercutio calls to him, using lots of obscene wordplay. Benvolio finally gets tired of searching for Romeo, and they leave.

(Please note that some editions of Romeo and Juliet end Scene One here to begin a new one. Others, including the Norton Shakespeare, which this note is based on, continue the scene as follows.)

Meanwhile, Romeo has succeeded in leaping over the Capulets' garden wall and is hiding beneath Juliet's balcony. He wants to determine whether her attraction is equal to his own. She soon appears and delivers her famous soliloquy, asking "Oh Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" (2.1.75). She wishes that Romeo’s name were different, so that they would not be enemies. Romeo overhears her speech, which confirms his own feelings. He interrupts Juliet to confess his own love.

Juliet warns Romeo to speak truthfully, since she has fallen in love with him and does not want to be hurt. Romeo swears his feelings are genuine, and Juliet laments the fact that she cannot fall in love with him again. The Nurse calls to Juliet, who disappears momentarily. She comes back out and insists that if Romeo truly loves her, he should propose marriage and plan a meeting place for them. The Nurse calls Juliet a second time, and she exits. Romeo is about to leave when his love emerges yet a third time, and calls him back for some final words of parting.

Act Two, Scene Two

At the chapel, Friar Laurence is collecting herbs. Romeo arrives and confesses his new love for Juliet. He asks the Friar to marry them. Though the Friar is surprised that Romeo has forgotten Rosaline so quickly, he is nonetheless delighted, because Romeo and Juliet's union presents an opportunity to quell the raging feud between the Montagues and Capulets.

Act Two, Scene Three

Out in the street the next day, Benvolio tells Mercutio that Romeo has not yet returned home. He also reveals that Tybalt has sent Romeo a threatening message. When Romeo joins them, Mercutio mocks him, but Romeo matches his wit. Impressed, Mercutio notes,"Now art thou sociable, now art thou Romeo" (2.3.77).

Juliet’s Nurse and Peter arrive and ask to speak with Romeo. Mercutio makes sexual jokes about the Nurse, but eventually exits with Benvolio. The Nurse explains that Juliet will meet Romeo and marry him. Romeo proposes they meet that afternoon at Friar Laurence’s chapel.

Act Two, Scene Four

Back in the Capulet orchard, Juliet eagerly awaits news from the Nurse. When the Nurse eventually arrives, she comically refuses to give Juliet any information about Romeo until she has received a back rub. Finally, the Nurse tells Juliet about the plan for her to meet Romeo at Friar Laurence’s chapel.

Act Two, Scene Five

At the chapel, Romeo and Friar Laurence await Juliet’s arrival. The Friar cautions Romeo to "love moderately" (2.5.9). Juliet soon appears, and Friar Laurence brings them into the church to be married.

Act 2 is more focused than Act 1, in that it mostly serves to establish the marriage which will become the root of the play's dramatic conflict. However, within the the streamlined plot, Shakespeare explores the complications of love. The theme of love is central to Act 2 of Romeo and Juliet . Romeo and Juliet fall in love instantly, and marry one day later, sealing their future. The balcony scene is crucial to understanding their relationship because it allows Romeo and Juliet to test their initial passion and gain the courage to move forward with a marriage plan.

The love that Romeo and Juliet share is the opposite of the selfish love that Shakespeare references in the opening acts of the play. Shakespeare compares Juliet to the sun, and she is one of the most generous characters in the play. She reveals her selflessness when she declares, "My bounty is as boundless as the sea, / My love as deep. The more I give thee / The more I have, for both are infinite" (2.1.175-177). 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" (2.1.46).

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" (2.1.155). 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? that which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet" – expresses the idea that people can be more than their societal roles. 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. He clearly finds Romeo’s new passion suspect, but agrees to perform the marriage ceremony so that he can end the feud between the Montagues and Capulets. 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 (2.1.32). When Romeo finally sees Juliet at her balcony, he wonders, "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" (2.1.44-46). Romeo then invokes the darkness as a form of protection from harm: "I have night's cloak to hide me from their eyes" (2.1.117). Unfortunately, the disorder of the day eventually overcomes the passionate and protective night - destroying both lovers in the process.

Shakespeare also underlines the contrast between youth and old age. Friar Laurence acts as Romeo's confidante, and the Nurse advises Juliet. However, both these adults offer advice that seems strangely out of place given the circumstances of the play. For instance, Friar Laurence says to Romeo, "Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast" (2.2.94). He also advises Romeo to "Therefore love moderately" (2.5.9). The Friar's advice for Romeo to love "moderately", however, comes too late. In fact, by the end of the play we even see Friar Laurence rejecting his own advice and stumbling to reach Juliet's grave before Romeo can find her. "How oft tonight have my old feet stumbled at graves?" (5.3.123).

Finally, Shakespeare introduces the contrast between silver and gold in this act through his use of imagery. Romeo says, "How silver-sweet sound lovers' tongues by night" and "Lady, by yonder blessed moon I vow, / That tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops" (2.1.210, 149-50). Shakespeare often employs silver as a symbol of love and beauty. On the other hand, he uses gold as a sign of greed or desire. Rosaline is immune to showers of gold, an image that evokes the selfishness of bribery. Later, when Romeo is banished, he comments that banishment is a "golden axe," meaning that his punishment is merely a glossed- over equivalent of death. And finally, the erection of the golden statues at the end a sign of the fact that neither Capulet nor Montague has really learned anything from Romeo and Juliet's deaths.

Romeo and Juliet Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Romeo and Juliet is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Can you find verbal irony in the play? Where?

One example of verbal irony would be Romeo's reference to the poison he has purchased as a "sweet medicine". A cordial is a sweet liquor or medicine.

Come, cordial and not poison, go with me To Juliet's grave; for there must I use thee.

What do we learn about Mercutio in queen man speech?

The whole speech is based on pagan Celtic mythology. Mercutio’s speech is laced with sexual innuendo. The words “queen” and “mab” refer to whores in Elizabethan England. As his speech goes on we notice the subtext get increasingly sexual...

What does Romeo fear as he approaches Capulet house? What literary device would this be an example of?

Romeo feels something bad is going to happen.

I fear too early, for my mind misgives Some consequence yet hanging in the stars

Looks like foreshadowing to me!

Study Guide for Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet study guide contains a biography of William Shakespeare, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Romeo and Juliet
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Essays for Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.

• Unity in Shakespeare's Tragedies
• Fate in Romeo and Juliet
• Romeo and Juliet: Under the Guise of Love
• The Apothecary's Greater Significance in Romeo and Juliet
• Romeo and Juliet: Two Worlds

Lesson Plan for Romeo and Juliet

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Romeo and Juliet
• Relationship to Other Books
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E-Text of Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet e-text contains the full text of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.

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Wikipedia Entries for Romeo and Juliet

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Romeo & Juliet Original Text: Act 2, Scene 2

This page contains the original text of Act 2, Scene 2 of Romeo & Juliet . Shakespeare’s original  Romeo & Juliet text is extremely long, so we’ve split the text into one Act & Scene per page. All acts & scenes are listed on the Romeo & Juliet original text page, or linked to from the bottom of this page.

ACT 2, SCENE 2. Capulet’s orchard.

Enter ROMEO ROMEO 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, 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! 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, 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. See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand! O, that I were a glove upon that hand, That I might touch that cheek!

JULIET Ay me!

ROMEO She speaks: 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 When he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds And sails upon the bosom of the air.

JULIET O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.

ROMEO [Aside]  Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?

JULIET ‘Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, 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 name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d, Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name, And for that name which is no part of thee Take all myself.

ROMEO I take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I’ll be new baptized; Henceforth I never will be Romeo.

JULIET What man art thou that thus bescreen’d in night So stumblest on my counsel?

ROMEO By a name I know not how to tell thee who I am: My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself, Because it is an enemy to thee; Had I it written, I would tear the word.

JULIET My ears have not yet drunk a hundred words Of that tongue’s utterance, yet I know the sound: Art thou not Romeo and a Montague?

ROMEO Neither, fair saint, if either thee dislike.

JULIET How camest thou hither, tell me, and wherefore? The orchard walls are high and hard to climb, And the place death, considering who thou art, If any of my kinsmen find thee here.

ROMEO With love’s light wings did I o’er-perch these walls; For stony limits cannot hold love out, And what love can do that dares love attempt; Therefore thy kinsmen are no let to me.

JULIET If they do see thee, they will murder thee.

ROMEO Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye Than twenty of their swords: look thou but sweet, And I am proof against their enmity.

JULIET I would not for the world they saw thee here.

ROMEO I have night’s cloak to hide me from their sight; And but thou love me, let them find me here: My life were better ended by their hate, Than death prorogued, wanting of thy love.

JULIET By whose direction found’st thou out this place?

ROMEO By love, who 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 wash’d with the farthest sea, I would adventure for such merchandise.

JULIET Thou know’st the mask of night is on my face, Else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek For that which thou hast heard me speak to-night Fain would I dwell on form, fain, fain deny What I have spoke: but farewell compliment! Dost thou love me? I know thou wilt say ‘Ay,’ And I will take thy word: yet if thou swear’st, Thou mayst prove false; at lovers’ perjuries Then say, Jove laughs. O gentle Romeo, If thou dost love, pronounce it faithfully: Or if thou think’st I am too quickly won, I’ll frown and be perverse an say thee nay, So thou wilt woo; but else, not for the world. In truth, fair Montague, I am too fond, And therefore thou mayst think my ‘havior light: But trust me, gentleman, I’ll prove more true Than those that have more cunning to be strange. I should have been more strange, I must confess, But that thou overheard’st, ere I was ware, My true love’s passion: therefore pardon me, And not impute this yielding to light love, Which the dark night hath so discovered.

ROMEO Lady, by yonder blessed moon I swear That tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops–

JULIET O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon, That monthly changes in her circled orb, Lest that thy love prove likewise variable.

ROMEO What shall I swear by?

JULIET Do not swear at all; Or, if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self, Which is the god of my idolatry, And I’ll believe thee.

ROMEO If my heart’s dear love–

JULIET Well, do not swear: although I joy in thee, I have no joy of this contract to-night: It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden; Too like the lightning, which doth cease to be Ere one can say ‘It lightens.’ Sweet, good night! This bud of love, by summer’s ripening breath, May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet. Good night, good night! as sweet repose and rest Come to thy heart as that within my breast!

ROMEO O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?

JULIET What satisfaction canst thou have to-night?

ROMEO The exchange of thy love’s faithful vow for mine.

JULIET I gave thee mine before thou didst request it: And yet I would it were to give again.

ROMEO Wouldst thou withdraw it? for what purpose, love?

JULIET But to be frank, and give it thee again. And yet I wish but for the thing I have: My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep; the more I give to thee, The more I have, for both are infinite.

Nurse calls within

I hear some noise within; dear love, adieu! Anon, good nurse! Sweet Montague, be true. Stay but a little, I will come again.

Exit, above

ROMEO O blessed, blessed night! I am afeard. Being in night, all this is but a dream, Too flattering-sweet to be substantial.

Re-enter JULIET, above

JULIET Three words, dear Romeo, and good night indeed. If that thy bent of love be honourable, Thy purpose marriage, send me word to-morrow, By one that I’ll procure to come to thee, Where and what time thou wilt perform the rite; And all my fortunes at thy foot I’ll lay And follow thee my lord throughout the world.

Nurse [Within]  Madam!

JULIET I come, anon.–But if thou mean’st not well, I do beseech thee–

JULIET By and by, I come:– To cease thy suit, and leave me to my grief: To-morrow will I send.

ROMEO So thrive my soul–

JULIET A thousand times good night!

ROMEO A thousand times the worse, to want thy light. Love goes toward love, as schoolboys from their books, But love from love, toward school with heavy looks.

JULIET Hist! Romeo, hist! O, for a falconer’s voice, To lure this tassel-gentle back again! Bondage is hoarse, and may not speak aloud; Else would I tear the cave where Echo lies, And make her airy tongue more hoarse than mine, With repetition of my Romeo’s name.

ROMEO It is my soul that calls upon my name: How silver-sweet sound lovers’ tongues by night, Like softest music to attending ears!

JULIET Romeo!

ROMEO My dear?

JULIET At what o’clock to-morrow Shall I send to thee?

ROMEO At the hour of nine.

JULIET I will not fail: ’tis twenty years till then. I have forgot why I did call thee back.

ROMEO Let me stand here till thou remember it.

JULIET I shall forget, to have thee still stand there, Remembering how I love thy company.

ROMEO And I’ll still stay, to have thee still forget, Forgetting any other home but this.

JULIET ‘Tis almost morning; I would have thee gone: And yet no further than a wanton’s bird; Who lets it hop a little from her hand, Like a poor prisoner in his twisted gyves, And with a silk thread plucks it back again, So loving-jealous of his liberty.

ROMEO I would I were thy bird.

JULIET Sweet, so would I: Yet I should kill thee with much cherishing. Good night, good night! parting is such sweet sorrow, That I shall say good night till it be morrow.

ROMEO Sleep dwell upon thine eyes, peace in thy breast! Would I were sleep and peace, so sweet to rest! Hence will I to my ghostly father’s cell, His help to crave, and my dear hap to tell.

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Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare)

Romeo and Juliet , a drama by William Shakespeare, written sometime between 1591 and 1596, first published in 1597. The legend upon which it is founded first appeared in Naples in 1476. It appeared in English in 1562 in The Tragicall Historye of Romeo and Juliet by Arthur Brooke , which furnished the main foundation for this drama. The legend has often been chosen for operatic purposes. The best opera based upon it is that by Gounod , which first appeared in 1867. — " Romeo and Juliet ," in The New Student's Reference Work , Chicago: F.E. Compton and Co. (1914)

• 1 Scholarly editions
• 4 Other editions

Scholarly editions

• Romeo and Juliet , from The Plays of William Shakespeare, in eight volumes , vol. VIII, with notes by Samuel Johnson (1765) IA
• " Romeo and Juliet " in Shakespeare's Plays : With His Life , The Illustrated Shakespeare edition, Vol. III: Tragedies, edited by Gulian C. Verplanck (1847)
• Romeo and Juliet , edited by Francis Bernard Dicksee (1884) ( transcription project )
• The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet , edited by Edward Dowden , The Works of Shakespeare , The Arden Shakespeare , 1st ser. (1900)
• Romeo and Juliet , published by the University Society (1901) ( transcription project )
• Romeo and Juliet , in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare , Vol. VII, Oxford edition (1911)
• The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet , edited by Robert Adger Law (1913) IA
• The most excellent and lamentable tragedy of Romeo and Juliet , edited by Willard Higley Durham , The Yale Shakespeare (1917)
• The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet , from a facsimile copy of the First Folio (1623)
• Q4 (1623) The Most Excellent And Lamentable Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet ( transcription project )

Other editions

Abridgements and retellings include:

• " Romeo and Juliet " in Tales from Shakspeare (1809), by Charles Lamb and Mary Lamb

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