Index:

• Enter Romeo, Mercutio, Benvolio, with five or six Maskers, Torch-bearers, and others:
Mercutio tries to persuade Romeo to dance at Capulet's feast,
but Romeo insists that he is too sadly love-lorn to do anything
but hold a torch. Then Romeo says it's not wise to go to the
feast at all, because of a dream he had.
• Mercutio's "Queen Mab" speech:
Mercutio mocks Romeo's belief in his dream by going on and
on about "Queen Mab," but Romeo is sure that some terrible
fate awaits him. Nevertheless, he goes into the feast with his
friends.

Enter Romeo, Mercutio, Benvolio, with five or six Maskers, Torch-

bearers, and others:
In the previous scene, a servingman told Lady Capulet and Juliet that
the feast was already beginning. Now, at about the same time of
evening, we see what is happening just outside Capulet's door.
Romeo, Mercutio, Benvolio, and some others are about to make an
appearance at the feast. Mercutio may be an invited guest, but
Romeo and Benvolio, Montague kin, certainly are not. Nevertheless,
they are not malicious party-crashers. They have masks, they are
prepared to dance, and they have an introductory speech written. As
the scene opens we hear Romeo, who may have a copy of the speech
in his hand, saying "What, shall this speech be spoke for excuse? / Or shall we on without
apology?" (1.4.1-2).

Benvolio wants to go right on in, so he declares that "The date is out of such
prolixity" (1.4.3), meaning that such windy introductions are out of date.
Then he mocks what used to be done: "We'll have no Cupid
hoodwink'd [blindfolded] with a scarf, / Bearing a Tartar's painted bow of lath, / Scaring the
ladies like a crow-keeper [scarecrow]" (1.4.4-6). Lath is cheap wood, suitable
only for making a fake bow, and a "Tartar's bow" is short and arched
like Cupid's bow. Benvolio is making fun of maskers who used to
have one of their number dress up as Cupid to make a pretty speech
about love. Besides, such speeches often turned out badly, so they'll
have "no without-book[memorized] prologue, faintly spoke / After the prompter, for our
entrance" (1.4.7-8). Such a prologue was supposed to be memorized, but
the person who delivered the speech usually stumbled through it
with much help from a prompter who had the speech written down.
So, away with all that, says Benvolio. Let the guests at the feast
think what they want to, he says, "We'll measure [give] them a
measure [dance], and be gone" (1.4.10).

Benvolio's speech about what they're going to do makes us

understand what kind of thing they're up to. It's going to be fun.
They're going to make the festivities more festive by being quick,
being gone, and leaving everyone wondering. But Romeo is not in
the mood. He says, "Give me a torch: I am not for this ambling; / Being but heavy, I will bear
the light" (1.4.11-12). As a torch-bearer, he wouldn't wear a mask or do any
dancing. He's being a party-pooper, and why? Because he's "heavy,"
depressed, melancholy. He does make a little pun on the word
"light," but he's still ruining the fun. For the rest of the scene
Mercutio tries to talk Romeo into a better mood, but Romeo
constantly resists, using word-play as his defensive weapon.
Mercutio insists that Romeo must dance, but Romeo replies, "You have
dancing shoes / With nimble soles: I have a soul of lead / So stakes me to the ground I cannot move"
(1.4.14-16).
"Soles . . . soul" is another pun, but more lugubrious than
humorous. Mercutio points out that love and sadness don't have to
go together; he says, "You are a lover; borrow Cupid's wings, / And soar with them above a
common bound" (1.4.17-18). A "common bound" is an ordinary leap in a
dance; Mercutio is telling Romeo that love can give him the power
to make an extraordinary leap. (Dancers were proud of their high
leaps; Queen Elizabeth's were famous.) Romeo replies that he can't
borrow Cupid's wings because he has been so badly wounded by
Cupid's arrow. He says that he is "so bound [tied down], / I cannot
bound [leap] a pitch [height] above dull woe: / Under love's heavy burden do I sink" (1.4.20-
22).

At this point Mercutio switches tactics, and tries some dirty jokes.
Romeo has just said that he is sinking under the burden of love, so
Mercutio replies that Romeo would"sink in it, should you burden love -- / Too great
oppression for a tender thing" (1.4.24). This means that if Romeo is going to
blame ("burden") love for his state of mind, he will only sink further
into love. It also means that if he gets what he wants (sex) he will
sink into the woman and be a burden to her. Mercutio's general point
is that Romeo is taking himself way too seriously, but Romeo is not
convinced. He says that love is not a "tender thing" at all, but rough
and "pricks like thorn" (1.4.26), which gives Mercutio an opening for the best
pun of the scene: "Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down" (1.4.28). In
Mercutio's view, Romeo's love-sickness is caused by a lack of sex; if
he'd just have some, he'd get over thinking that he needs to be in
love.
Having passed his judgment on Romeo's state of mind, Mercutio is
ready to lead the way into Capulet's feast. He puts on his mask,
commenting that it is so ugly that he won't care what anyone says
about him. Benvolio is also eager to go, and he tells everyone to start
dancing as soon as they are in the door. Romeo, however, isn't done
being a party-pooper or playing with words. He says again that he
will only carry a torch; he'll let those who are light-hearted dance,
but as for himself, "I am proverb'd with a grandsire phrase; / I'll be a candle-
holder [onlooker], and look on. / The game was ne'er so fair, and I am done" (1.4.37-39). A
"grandsire phrase" is an old proverb. Romeo actually uses two. The
first is "A good candle-holder proves a good gamester." It was
usually applied to gambling, and means that a person can't lose if he
doesn't play. Romeo doesn't believe he can win at the game of love,
so he doesn't want to play. The second proverb is "He is wise who
gives over when the game is fairest"; the modern version of this one
is "It's best to quit while you're ahead." Romeo twists the proverb to
make the point that he can never get ahead in the game of love.
"Ne'er so fair" means "most beautiful," and Romeo now uses the
word "game" to mean "quarry." He's saying that the quarry he is
chasing (Rosaline) is most beautiful, but he's out of the running,
"done."
Mocking Romeo's attitude, Mercutio takes "done" to mean "dun"
and says, "Tut, dun's the mouse, the constable's own word: / If thou art Dun, we'll draw thee from
the mire / Of this sir-reverence love, wherein thou stick'st / Up to the ears" (1.4.40-43). Dun, the
color, is a kind of nondescript gray-brown, the color of a mouse, and
somehow "dun's the mouse" came to mean "be as quiet as a mouse."
This saying, "dun's the mouse," is -- according to Mercutio -- the
constable's motto ("own word") because constables were famous for
sitting around silently and doing nothing. Mercutio is telling Romeo
to shut up about being "done" and to quit being a do-nothing. He
then adds that if Romeo is "done," he's Dun the horse, which was the
name of a log that people pulled out of mud during a Christmas
game. Only it's not mud that Mercutio and Benvolio will pull Romeo
out of; it's "this sir-reverence love." "Sir-reverence" was short for
"save your reverence," which was something you said when it would
be offensive to use the word you really meant. Mercutio means that
love is bullcrap, and that Romeo is stuck in it up to the ears.
Now Mercutio again urges everyone to go to the party, saying, "Come,
we burn daylight, ho!" (1.4.43), but Romeo doesn't move, and says, "Nay, that's not
so" (1.4.44). "Burn daylight" was a common phrase for "waste time," but
Romeo, taking the phrase literally, is pointing out that it's not really
daylight now. Patiently, Mercutio explains that he only meant that
they are wasting their time and their torches, and then asks Romeo to
please be reasonable. He says, "Take our good meaning, for our judgment sits / Five
times in that ere once in our five wits" (1.4.47). The "five wits" are either the five
senses (sight, hearing, smelling, taste, touch) or the five kinds of
intelligence (common sense, imagination, fantasy, judgment,
reason). Either way, Mercutio is asking Romeo to stop being witty
and just "take our meaning," but Romeo refuses. Instead, he makes
puns on "meaning" and "wit." He says, "And we mean [intend] well in going to
this mask [party] ; / But 'tis no wit [wisdom] to go" (1.4.48-49).

Once again Romeo seems determined to spoil everyone's fun. This

whole conversation began when Romeo said he wouldn't dance, but
now he's saying something more serious -- that it wouldn't be a wise
thing to go to the feast at all. Mercutio asks why, and Romeo says he
had a dream, though he doesn't say anything about what the dream
was. Mercutio, imitating Romeo, says he had a dream, too. Romeo
asks what Mercutio's dream was. Mercutio replies that it was "That
dreamers often lie" (1.4.51), and Romeo wittly finishes Mercutio's sentence
by saying, "In bed asleep, while they do dream things true" (1.4.52).
Mercutio's "Queen Mab" speech:
Mercutio's famous "Queen Mab" speech is movtivated by Romeo's
stubborn refusal to join in the fun that Benvolio and Mercutio have
planned. In Franco Zeferelli's often-shown film version, Mercutio
delivers the speech as though he were afflicted with some sort of
deep personal hysteria. This delivery makes for an interesting effect,
but it obscures the fact that Mercutio has a very clear main point,
which is that Romeo is being silly.
Romeo has just said that his dream has told him it is not wise to go
to Capulet's feast, and Mercutio sets out to show how unreliable
dreams are. When Romeo declares that dreams are truthful, Mercutio
replies, "O, then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you" (1.4.53). It's possible that
"Mab" was a Celtic name for the Queen of Fairies, but Shakespeare's
audience would have heard "Quean" combined with "Mab," both
slang names for a slut or harlot. "Mab" was also used to refer to a
woman who dressed sloppily. Thus the name "Queen Mab"
summons up a picture of a careless, good-time girl who will give
you what you want. Mercutio then goes on to describe Queen Mab
as "the fairies' midwife" (1.4.54). A human midwife is a woman who assists
with the birth of a baby, but "the fairies' midwife" assists with the
birth of people's dreams, and the rest of the description of Queen
Mab is a kind of commentary on how dreams are born.
Mab, says Mercutio, is "no bigger than an agate-stone / On the fore-finger of an alderman"
(1.4.55-56). Agate is not really a gem, so to give cheap rings more class,
jewelers would etch tiny figures on agates. Queen Mab is as tiny as
those figures, and -- it is suggested -- just as trashy and flashy. Going
on, Mercutio says that Mab is "Drawn with a team of little atomies / Athwart men's
noses as they lie asleep" (1.4.57-58). In other words, her carriage, drawn by a
team of creatures so tiny that they are practically invisible, gallops
across sleeping men's noses. This suggests that a dream begins at
random, with something as meaningless as a faint itch in the nose.
Mercutio goes on to describe the rest of Queen Mab's equipment. It's
all nearly illusory, made of material that is there, but on a second
look, not there, like a dream. The materials are spider's legs,
grasshopper wings, spider web, moonbeams, cricket's bone, and "film"
(1.4.66), fragments of spider web that float on the wind and are visible
only when they catch a sunbeam. Finally, Queen Mab's "waggoner"
is described as a "small grey-coated gnat, / Not so big as a round little worm / Prick'd from the
lazy finger of a maid" (1.4.67-69). Old wives' tales had it that worms grew in
the fingers of lazy girls; when such a girl pricked her finger with a
needle, the worms floated out in the blood. But the worms were so
tiny that they couldn't be seen. So Queen Mab's coachman is smaller
than an invisible worm.
After having described Queen Mab and her carriage, Mercutio
proceeds to tell about her effect on dreamers. She "gallops night by night /
Through lovers' brains, and then they dream of love" (1.4.70-71). She gallops over a
courtier's knee and he dreams of bending that knee in a graceful
bow; she gallops over the fingers of a lawyer and he dreams of
collecting a fee. And so on, through five more examples of the
general idea that dreams are wish-fulfillment in action, which
contradicts Romeo's idea that his dream was some sort of prophetic
wisdom.
Queen Mab is also a mischief-maker. She tangles the manes of
horses and the hair of people. She introduces virgins (presumably
through their dreams) to sex: "This is the hag, when maids lie on their backs, / That
presses them and learns them first to bear, / Making them women of good carriage" (1.4.92-94).
"Good carriage" is good deportment, but as Mercutio uses it, it's the
ability to carry the weight of a man.
Mercutio is about to say more about Mab's mischief when Romeo
asks him to please, please shut up, crying out, "Peace, peace, Mercutio, peace! /
Thou talk'st of nothing" (1.4.95-96). Well, yes, the idea that he's talking of
nothing is exactly Mercutio's point, and he hammers it in: "True, I talk of
dreams, / Which are the children of an idle brain, / Begot of nothing but vain fantasy" (1.4.96-98).
Mercutio goes on to say that fantasy is as changeable as the wind,
and Benvolio (who really wants to go to the party) remarks that this
"wind" (that is, Mercutio's windiness) is getting to be a real problem.
Supper is over, and if they don't go into Capulet's soon, they will be
too late. To this, Romeo replies:
I fear, too early: for my mind misgives
Some consequence yet hanging in the stars
Shall bitterly begin his fearful date
With this night's revels and expire the term
Of a despised life closed in my breast
By some vile forfeit of untimely death.
But He, that hath the steerage of my course,
Direct my sail! On, lusty gentlemen. (1.4.104-113)
This is a foreshadowing of what actually happens in the rest of the
play. A fateful chain of events ("consequence") does begin its
appointed time ("date") that night, and that chain of events does
terminate the duration ("expire the term") of Romeo's life with
premature ("untimely") death. But, despite his premonitions, Romeo
does go into Capulet's house. He says that he is doing so because he
is entrusting his fate to "He, that hath the steerage of my course."
"He" is presumably God, but Romeo seems more melodramatic than
religious. Mercutio has lightheartedly urged him to be lighthearted,
but Romeo has steadfastly held onto his image of himself as a victim
of hopeless love and implacable fate.
Benvolio calls on the drum to strike, and they all march around the
stage once to indicate that they have entered Capulet's house. Then
servants appear, carrying away the remains of the supper, and the
next scene begins.

ART 1 SCENE 5
Index:
• And Servingmen come forth with napkins. Musicians waiting:
At Capulet's house, Romeo and his friends enter as preparations
are being made for the dancing. The musicians are tuning up,
and the servants are hurrying to clear away the remains of the
feast.
• Enter Capulet, all the Guests and Gentlewomen to the Maskers:
Capulet enters, greets the masked strangers, and invites them to
dance. Romeo sees Juliet and says to himself that this is the first
time he's seen true beauty. Tybalt recognizes Romeo as a
Montague and sends for his sword, but Capulet orders Tybalt to
do nothing. Saying that he'll make Romeo pay, Tybalt leaves.
• Exit Tybalt:
Romeo holds Juliet's hand, and begs a kiss, which she gives
him. They kiss again, and then both are called away. As
everyone is leaving, they each learn the name of the other, and
they each exclaim upon the fate that has made each fall in love
with his/her enemy.
And Servingmen come forth with napkins. Musicians waiting:
The transition between the previous scene and this one demonstrates
the advantages of not having scenery. At the end of the previous
scene Benvolio led his friends around the stage; at the same time two
of Capulet's servants came in, and now we hear them complaining
about another one: "Where's Potpan, that he helps not to take away?" (1.5.1). They are
hurriedly taking away the supper things while the Musicians come in
and tune up. Thus we move effortlessly from the outside of Capulet's
house to the inside, and we know that Benvolio, Romeo, Mercutio,
and their friends have entered just after the supper is over and the
dancing is about to begin.
The servant's bustle also picks up the pace of the play. They are in a
hurry, and there's a sense that everything is speeding up. The First
Servant reminds the second that the stools, the sideboard, and the
dishes all need to be removed, then adds, "Good thou, save me a piece of
marchpane [almond candy]; and, as thou lovest me, let the porter let in Susan Grindstone and
Nell" (1.5.7-9). He wants to be done quickly, because he has a little party
of his own planned. He again calls for help, and Antony and Potpan
appear. Then they all leave to finish up their work. Potpan has the
exit line: "Cheerly, boys; be brisk awhile, and the longer liver take all" (1.5.14-15). "The
longer liver takes all" is a proverb meaning that you ought to enjoy
life while it lasts. Potpan is reminding the rest that there's not much
more cleaning-up to do; if they're brisk they'll have it done and then
they'll have a good time.
Enter Capulet, all the Guests and Gentlewomen to the Maskers:
While the servants are still bustling about, the man of the house
appears, followed by his kin and guests. The stage direction says that
they come "to the Maskers," which lets us know that Capulet is
speaking to Romeo's company when he says, "Welcome, gentlemen! ladies that
have their toes / Unplagued with corns will walk a bout with you" (1.5.16-17). To "walk a
bout" is to dance a turn, and Capulet is making sure that these
strangers in masks feel welcome. He urges the ladies on by joking
that if any of them hang back he will swear that they have corns.
Apparently the sight of the maskers summons up fond memories for
Capulet. He says, "I have seen the day / That I have worn a visor and could tell / A whispering
tale in a fair lady's ear, / Such as would please: 'tis gone, 'tis gone, 'tis gone" (1.5.21-24). Capulet,
when he was young, also put on a mask, crashed a party, danced a
turn, and flirted. Now that time is gone, but he's happy to see these
young men doing as he did in his youth. He orders the musicians to
play, and the dancing begins.
As his friends dance, Romeo watches, and we watch for the moment
when he and Juliet will meet. Meanwhile, Capulet gives some orders
to the servants and talks with Second Capulet, a cousin of his,
saying, "Ah, sirrah, this unlook'd-for sport comes well" (1.5.29). The "unlook'd-for
sport" is the arrival of Romeo and his companions. The two old men
then sit and talk about how old they are. Capulet asks his cousin how
long it's been since the two of them were maskers. The cousin says
it's thirty years, but Capulet says he can't believe it because they
wore masks at a wedding twenty-five years ago, but the cousin
answers that the son of that man who got married is now thirty years
old. Capulet says no, that's not possible, because the son was a minor
just two years ago. This is the sort of conversation that can go on for
a long time, but luckily we don't have to hear any more of it. Instead,
we now hear Romeo ask a servant about Juliet.
(By the way . . . Where's Rosaline? And where's Paris? Not
at the feast. Benvolio challenged Romeo to go to the feast
and compare Rosaline with the other beautiful ladies. And
Lady Capulet told Juliet to go to the feast, look at Paris, and
see what a wonderful husband he would be for her. So both
Romeo and Juliet go to the feast looking for someone to love
and find each other. It's love at first sight for both of them,
and Shakespeare doesn't confuse the issue by giving them a
chance to make comparisons.)
"What lady is that, which doth enrich the hand / Of yonder knight?" (1.5.41-42), Romeo asks,
and the servant says he doesn't know. (It may seem a little odd that a
Capulet servant couldn't identify Juliet, but perhaps the servant has
his mind on other things, such as Susan Grindstone.) It doesn't really
matter who she is, because Romeo is already in love. "O, she doth teach the
torches to burn bright!" (1.5.44), he says, meaning both that her beauty is
brighter than the blaze of any torch and that her presence makes the
whole room light up. He says a few more things about how beautiful
she is, then makes his plan. When the dance is over, he will note
where she is, then make his way to her and touch her hand. This plan
is very bold, and he has put aside all of his melancholy ideas about
always being a loser in the game of love. He says, "Did my heart love till
now? forswear it, sight! / For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night" (1.5.52-53).

Now Shakespeare's camera angle shifts, and we see Tybalt as he

overhears Romeo. Tybalt says,
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,
To fleer and scorn at our solemnity?
Now, by the stock and honor of my kin,
To strike him dead, I hold it not a sin. (1.5.54-59)
This speech raises a question that probably can't be answered: How
can Tybalt tell that Romeo is a Montague "by his voice"? Do the
Montagues all talk funny? Maybe Shakespeare just threw that in
because at this moment Romeo is wearing a mask, which is what
"cover'd with an antic face" must refer to. As for the rest of the
speech, it shows us Tybalt's arrogance. As soon as he identifies a
Montague he sends his "boy" for his sword and justifies his intended
murder by the "honor of my kin."
Tybalt's arrogance quickly meets its match. Capulet sees the anger
on Tybalt's face and sees (but probably does not hear) him talking.
He asks Tybalt, "Why, how now, kinsman! wherefore storm you so?" (1.5.60). Tybalt
points to Romeo and tells Capulet that he is a Montague who
has "come in spite, / To scorn at our solemnity this night" (1.5.62-63). Capulet looks
where Tybalt is pointing and calmly asks if it's Romeo. Tybalt says it
is, and that he's a villain. (Apparently Romeo has now removed his
mask.) Capulet then politely tries to talk some sense into Tybalt,
saying, "Content thee, gentle coz, let him alone; / He bears him like a portly gentleman" (1.5.65-
66). "Portly" does not mean "fat," but well-mannered, deserving of
respect. And when Capulet calls Tybalt "gentle coz" he's asking
Tybalt to be well-mannered, too. "Gentle" has the meaning that it
retains in the word "gentleman," and "coz" is short and friendly for
"cousin." ("Cousin" was a word that covered a lot of ground,
including "nephew," which is what Tybalt is to Lady Capulet.)
Despite Capulet's friendly words of wisdom, Tybalt is still angry, so
Capulet makes a personal appeal, saying that Romeo has a good
reputation throughout Verona, so that "I would not for the wealth of all the town /
Here in my house do him disparagement" (1.5.70). What happens "Here in my house"
is very important to Capulet; he doesn't want Tybalt to make any
embarrassing trouble.
However, Tybalt doesn't seem to be responding, so Capulet turns up
the heat. He tells Tybalt that even if he can't stand Romeo, he needs
to wipe the frown off his face, out of respect for Capulet: "It is my will,
the which if thou respect, / Show a fair presence and put off these frowns, / An ill-beseeming
semblance for a feast" (1.5.72-74).
Tybalt responds, "It fits, when such a villain is a guest: I'll
not endure him" (1.5.75-76). Tybalt's "It fits" is his response to Capulet's
statement that Tybalt's frowns make "An ill-beseeming semblance
for a feast." Tybalt means that his frowns fit the occasion because
Romeo is a villain.
Tybalt is so arrogant and self-centered that he's forgotten whom he's
dealing with and where he is. He's contradicting the master of the
house and saying "I'll not endure him" just as though he owned the
place. This earns him a humiliating tongue-lashing from Capulet,
starting with "He shall be endured: / What, goodman boy! I say, he shall: go to; / Am I the master
here, or you? go to" (1.5.76-78). "Go to" is a phrase that was as common as "go
on" is now, and, like "go on," it could mean everything from "I don't
believe it" to "get out of my face." Capulet has given up on giving
friendly advice and is now sputtering with anger. He calls Tybalt
"boy" and mocks him and sneers"you'll be the man!" (1.5.81). Tybalt is
apparently surprised by Capulet's anger, and says, "Why, uncle, 'tis a shame"
(1.5.82), but now it's too late to say anything to the old man, who
makes threats and takes the whole thing very personally,
growling, "This trick may chance to scathe you. I know what: / You must contrary me!" (1.5.84-
85).

Not only is Capulet very angry, but he tries to cover the

embarrassment of the moment by calling out to his guests, "What,
cheerly, my hearts!" (1.5.88), as though he were perfectly happy. Tybalt's only
choice is to shut up and leave, which he does, but not before making
a promise to himself that Romeo will pay. He says, "I will withdraw, but this
intrusion shall / Now seeming sweet convert to bitter gall" (1.5.91-92).

Exit Tybalt:
With Tybalt's threat still echoing in our ears, we now see Romeo
holding Juliet's hand and wittily offering to kiss it. He says, If I profane
with my unworthiest hand / This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this: / My lips, two blushing pilgrims,
ready stand / To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss" (1.5.93-96).
To us, Romeo may
sound impossibly sappy, but he's not. The popular love poetry of the
time (before MTV) often portrayed the lover as one who worshipped
his beloved with religious devotion. Romeo is having fun with that
idea by offering to pay the penalty ("fine") for touching Juliet's hand
("this holy shrine") by kissing it.
Juliet willingly joins in Romeo's game. Showing her own wit, she
tells him that there's nothing wrong with his hand and that he's
showing proper devotion by holding her hand—a kiss is not
required. She adds, For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, / And palm to palm is
holy palmers' kiss" (1.5.99-100), meaning that it's allowed to touch the hand of
a saint, and that the touch of pilgrims' ("palmers'") hands is in itself
holy kissing.
Not discouraged by this (and who would be?), Romeo asks if it's true
that both saints and pilgrims have lips. Juliet replies, "Ay, pilgrim, lips that
they must use in prayer." (1.5.102). This means that saints and pilgrims must use
their lips to pray, which sounds like a no-kissing statement, but
"pray" also meant "ask for," which is a hint that if Romeo wants a
kiss, he's going to have to actually ask for it.
Romeo catches the hint and makes his prayer: "O, then, dear saint, let lips do
what hands do; / They pray -- grant thou, lest faith turn to despair"(1.5.103-104). He's asking
for permission to let his lips pray and kiss. He's also saying that if
she doesn't grant his prayer, she won't be fulfilling her duties as a
saint, because saints are supposed to make faith stronger, not make it
turn into despair.
Juliet, playing her role as saint in this love-game, points out
that "Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake" (1.5.105). In other words, saints
don't make requests ("move"), but they do grant requests when they
are prayed to. In other other words: "Come and get it."
They kiss, and Romeo expresses his happiness: "Thus from my lips, by yours,
my sin is purged" (1.5.107), meaning that the kiss of his saint has cleansed
him of sin. This gives Juliet an opportunity to tease him into another
kiss. She says that if her lips have taken away his sin then her lips
must now have his sin. Romeo knows that that couldn't be right, so
he takes his sin back with another kiss.
Juliet, probably laughing, says, "You kiss by the book" (1.5.110). To do
something "by the book," is to do it according to the rules, and she is
suggesting that Romeo is very good at interpreting the rules in a way
which results in a kiss.
This whole love-game, including the kisses, takes only about a
minute, and then the young lovers are parted. The Nurse appears
with the news that Juliet's mother wants to speak with her. Juliet
obediently turns away, and Romeo asks the Nurse who Juliet's
mother is. The Nurse informs him that her mother is the lady of the
house, and that she herself is Juliet's nurse, and that "he that can lay hold of
her / Shall have the chinks" (1.5.116-117). "The chinks" are coins that make a
chinking sound, so the Nurse means that the husband of Juliet, only
heir to a rich man, will make her husband rich. (In addition, to "have
the chinks" is to be in that state of wheezing and gasping that comes
when you are laughing so hard that you need to stop, but can't, so the
Nurse, in her bawdy way, may also be suggesting that Juliet's
husband will have a really good time with her in bed.) However,
upon learning that Juliet is a Capulet, Romeo shows that he doesn't
care about Juliet's money. He exclaims, "O dear account! my life is my foe's debt"
(1.5.118). Because he is in love, he now owes his very life to Juliet, and
she (as a Capulet) is his foe.
Suddenly Benvolio comes to tell Romeo that it's time for them to go.
On the their way out, Capulet tries to get the strangers to stay by
offering them some food, but in a moment they're gone, so Capulet
heads for bed, leaving Juliet and the Nurse alone as the last guests go
out. Juliet asks the Nurse who the various guests are; she wants to
know who her new love is, but to hide her intentions from the Nurse,
she asks about two others first. The Nurse knows who the first two
are, but not the third, so Juliet sends her to learn his name. As the
Nurse chases after Romeo, Juliet says, "If he be married. / My grave is like to be my
wedding bed" (1.5.134-135) . She means that if Romeo is married, she will
die unmarried, because she will never marry another, but she is also
unkowningly foreshadowing her fate, in which her grave does
become her wedding bed.
The Nurse quickly returns with the news that the one who Juliet
asked about is Romeo and a Montague. Juliet exclaims, "My only love
sprung from my only hate! / Too early seen unknown, and known too late! /
[ominous] birth of love it is to me, / That I must love a loathed enemy" (1.5.138-141).
Prodigious
"Too early seen unkown, and known too late" suggests that if Juliet
had known Romeo to be a Montague she wouldn't have fallen in
love with him, but now it's "too late." She feels, like Romeo does,
that love is once and forever, and they both fear the consequences of
their love, but without any thought of changing their minds or hearts.
The Nurse asks Juliet what she's saying, and Juliet lies, saying it's
just a rhyme she heard from a dance partner. Then someone calls for
Juliet, and she and the Nurse hurry away, ending the scene.

Character List
Romeo - The son and heir of Montague and Lady Montague. A young man of about sixteen, Romeo is
handsome, intelligent, and sensitive. Though impulsive and immature, his idealism and passion make
him an extremely likable character. He lives in the middle of a violent feud between his family and the
Capulets, but he is not at all interested in violence. His only interest is love. At the beginning of the
play he is madly in love with a woman named Rosaline, but the instant he lays eyes on Juliet, he falls in
love with her and forgets Rosaline. Thus, Shakespeare gives us every reason to question how real
Romeo’s new love is, but Romeo goes to extremes to prove the seriousness of his feelings. He secretly
marries Juliet, the daughter of his father’s worst enemy; he happily takes abuse from Tybalt; and he
would rather die than live without his beloved. Romeo is also an affectionate and devoted friend to his
relative Benvolio, Mercutio, and Friar Lawrence.

Read an in-depth analysis of Romeo.

Juliet - The daughter of Capulet and Lady Capulet. A beautiful thirteen-year-old girl, Juliet begins the play as a naïve child
who has thought little about love and marriage, but she grows up quickly upon falling in love with Romeo, the son of her
family’s great enemy. Because she is a girl in an aristocratic family, she has none of the freedom Romeo has to roam around
the city, climb over walls in the middle of the night, or get into swordfights. Nevertheless, she shows amazing courage in
trusting her entire life and future to Romeo, even refusing to believe the worst reports about him after he gets involved in a
fight with her cousin. Juliet’s closest friend and confidant is her nurse, though she’s willing to shut the Nurse out of her life the
moment the Nurse turns against Romeo.

Read an in-depth analysis of Juliet.

Friar Lawrence - A Franciscan friar, friend to both Romeo and Juliet. Kind, civic-minded, a proponent of moderation, and
always ready with a plan, Friar Lawrence secretly marries the impassioned lovers in hopes that the union might eventually
bring peace to Verona. As well as being a Catholic holy man, Friar Lawrence is also an expert in the use of seemingly
mystical potions and herbs.

Read an in-depth analysis of Friar Lawrence.

Mercutio - A kinsman to the Prince, and Romeo’s close friend. One of the most extraordinary characters in all of
Shakespeare’s plays, Mercutio overflows with imagination, wit, and, at times, a strange, biting satire and brooding fervor.
Mercutio loves wordplay, especially sexual double entendres. He can be quite hotheaded, and hates people who are affected,
pretentious, or obsessed with the latest fashions. He finds Romeo’s romanticized ideas about love tiresome, and tries to
convince Romeo to view love as a simple matter of sexual appetite.
Read an in-depth analysis of Mercutio.

The Nurse - Juliet’s nurse, the woman who breast-fed Juliet when she was a baby and has cared for Juliet her entire life. A
vulgar, long-winded, and sentimental character, the Nurse provides comic relief with her frequently inappropriate remarks and
speeches. But, until a disagreement near the play’s end, the Nurse is Juliet’s faithful confidante and loyal intermediary in
Juliet’s affair with Romeo. She provides a contrast with Juliet, given that her view of love is earthy and sexual, whereas Juliet
is idealistic and intense. The Nurse believes in love and wants Juliet to have a nice-looking husband, but the idea that Juliet
would want to sacrifice herself for love is incomprehensible to her.
Tybalt - A Capulet, Juliet’s cousin on her mother’s side. Vain, fashionable, supremely aware of courtesy and the lack of it, he
becomes aggressive, violent, and quick to draw his sword when he feels his pride has been injured. Once drawn, his sword is
something to be feared. He loathes Montagues.

Capulet - The patriarch of the Capulet family, father of Juliet, husband of Lady Capulet, and enemy, for unexplained reasons,
of Montague. He truly loves his daughter, though he is not well acquainted with Juliet’s thoughts or feelings, and seems to
think that what is best for her is a “good” match with Paris. Often prudent, he commands respect and propriety, but he is liable
to fly into a rage when either is lacking.
Lady Capulet - Juliet’s mother, Capulet’s wife. A woman who herself married young (by her own estimation she gave birth to
Juliet at close to the age of fourteen), she is eager to see her daughter marry Paris. She is an ineffectual mother, relying on
the Nurse for moral and pragmatic support.
Montague - Romeo’s father, the patriarch of the Montague clan and bitter enemy of Capulet. At the beginning of the play, he
is chiefly concerned about Romeo’s melancholy.
Lady Montague - Romeo’s mother, Montague’s wife. She dies of grief after Romeo is exiled from Verona.

Paris - A kinsman of the Prince, and the suitor of Juliet most preferred by Capulet. Once Capulet has promised him he can
marry Juliet, he behaves very presumptuous toward her, acting as if they are already married.
Benvolio - Montague’s nephew, Romeo’s cousin and thoughtful friend, he makes a genuine effort to defuse violent scenes in
public places, though Mercutio accuses him of having a nasty temper in private. He spends most of the play trying to help
Romeo get his mind off Rosaline, even after Romeo has fallen in love with Juliet.
Prince Escalus - The Prince of Verona. A kinsman of Mercutio and Paris. As the seat of political power in Verona, he is
concerned about maintaining the public peace at all costs.
Friar John - A Franciscan friar charged by Friar Lawrence with taking the news of Juliet’s false death to Romeo in Mantua.
Friar John is held up in a quarantined house, and the message never reaches Romeo.
Balthasar - Romeo’s dedicated servant, who brings Romeo the news of Juliet’s death, unaware that her death is a ruse.

Sampson & Gregory - Two servants of the house of Capulet, who, like their master, hate the Montagues. At the outset of
the play, they successfully provoke some Montague men into a fight.
Abram - Montague’s servant, who fights with Sampson and Gregory in the first scene of the play.

The Apothecary - An apothecary in Mantua. Had he been wealthier, he might have been able to afford to value his morals
more than money, and refused to sell poison to Romeo.
Peter - A Capulet servant who invites guests to Capulet’s feast and escorts the Nurse to meet with Romeo. He is illiterate,
and a bad singer.
Rosaline - The woman with whom Romeo is infatuated at the beginning of the play. Rosaline never appears onstage, but it
is said by other characters that she is very beautiful and has sworn to live a life of chastity.
The Chorus - The Chorus is a single character who, as developed in Greek drama, functions as a narrator offering
commentary on the play’s plot and themes.