Romeo and Juliet Act II Scene I
Original
Modern
Notes
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ACT II
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ACT II
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[Enter Chorus.]
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[Enter Chorus.]
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CHORUS. Now old desire doth in his deathbed lie, And young affection gapes to be his heir; That fair for which love groan’d for and would die, With tender Juliet match’d, is now not fair.
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CHORUS. Now old desire lies on his deathbed, And young affection gapes to be his heir; That beauty for which love once groaned and would have died, Matched with tender Juliet, is now no longer fair.
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CHORUS. Now Romeo is belov’d, and loves again, Alike bewitched by the charm of looks; But to his foe suppos’d he must complain, And she steal love’s sweet bait from fearful hooks:
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CHORUS. Now Romeo is loved, and loves in return, Both equally bewitched by the charm of looks; But he must plead his love to one he thinks a foe, And she must steal love’s sweet bait from dangerous hooks:
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CHORUS. Being held a foe, he may not have access To breathe such vows as lovers use to swear; And she as much in love, her means much less To meet her new beloved anywhere.
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CHORUS. Being considered an enemy, he may not have access To speak the vows that lovers usually swear; And she, equally in love, has even fewer means To meet her new beloved anywhere.
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CHORUS. But passion lends them power, time means, to meet, Tempering extremities with extreme sweet.
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CHORUS. But passion gives them power, and time gives them means to meet, Softening extreme difficulties with extreme sweetness.
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[Exit.]
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[Exit.]
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SCENE I. An open place adjoining Capulet’s Garden.
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SCENE I. An open place adjoining Capulet’s garden.
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[Enter Romeo.]
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[Enter Romeo.]
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ROMEO. Can I go forward when my heart is here? Turn back, dull earth, and find thy centre out.
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ROMEO. Can I go forward when my heart is here? Turn back, dull body, and find your true centre.
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[He climbs the wall and leaps down within it.]
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[He climbs the wall and leaps down inside the garden.]
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[Enter Benvolio and Mercutio.]
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[Enter Benvolio and Mercutio.]
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BENVOLIO. Romeo! My cousin Romeo! Romeo!
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BENVOLIO. Romeo! My cousin Romeo! Romeo!
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MERCUTIO. He is wise, And on my life hath stol’n him home to bed.
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MERCUTIO. He is wise, and on my life he has stolen home to bed.
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BENVOLIO. He ran this way, and leap’d this orchard wall: Call, good Mercutio.
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BENVOLIO. He ran this way and leapt over this orchard wall. Call him, good Mercutio.
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MERCUTIO. Nay, I’ll 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 ‘Ah me!’ Pronounce but Love and dove; Speak to my gossip Venus one fair word, One nickname for her purblind son and heir, Young Abraham Cupid, he that shot so trim When King Cophetua lov’d the beggar-maid. He heareth not, he stirreth not, he moveth not; 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, And the demesnes that there adjacent lie, That in thy likeness thou appear to us.
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MERCUTIO. No, I’ll conjure him too. Romeo! Moods! Madman! Passion! Lover! Appear in the shape of a sigh; speak just one rhyme and I am satisfied; cry only “Ah me!” Pronounce just “Love” and “dove”; speak one fair word to my gossip Venus, one nickname for her half-blind son and heir, young Abraham Cupid, the one who shot so accurately when King Cophetua loved the beggar-maid. He hears not, he stirs not, he moves not; the ape is dead, and I must conjure him. I conjure you by Rosaline’s bright eyes, by her high forehead and her scarlet lip, by her fine foot, straight leg, and quivering thigh, and the regions that lie next to them, that you appear to us in your own likeness.
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BENVOLIO. An if he hear thee, thou wilt anger him.
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BENVOLIO. And if he hears you, you will anger him.
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MERCUTIO. This cannot anger him. ’Twould anger him To raise a spirit in his mistress’ circle, Of some strange nature, letting it there stand Till she had laid it, and conjur’d 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.
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MERCUTIO. This cannot anger him. It would anger him to raise a spirit in his mistress’s circle of some strange nature, and let it stand there until she had laid it and conjured it down; that would be some spite. My invocation is fair and honest, and in his mistress’s name I conjure only to raise him up.
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BENVOLIO. Come, he hath hid himself among these trees To be consorted with the humorous night. Blind is his love, and best befits the dark.
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BENVOLIO. Come, he has hidden himself among these trees to keep company with the moody night. His love is blind, and darkness suits it best.
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MERCUTIO. 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 As maids call medlars when they laugh alone. O Romeo, that she were, O that she were An open-arse and thou a poperin pear! Romeo, good night. I’ll to my truckle-bed. This field-bed is too cold for me to sleep. Come, shall we go?
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MERCUTIO. If love is blind, love cannot hit the mark. Now he will sit under a medlar tree and wish his mistress were that kind of fruit that girls call medlars when they laugh among themselves. O Romeo, if only she were, O if only she were an open-arse and you a poperin pear! Romeo, good night. I’ll go to my small truckle-bed. This open-air bed is too cold for me to sleep. Come, shall we go?
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BENVOLIO. Go then; for ’tis in vain To seek him here that means not to be found.
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BENVOLIO. Go then; for it is useless to look for him here when he does not mean to be found.
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[Exeunt.]
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[They exit.]
Adjective · Sight
Purblind – Partially blind or dim-sighted. Traditional description of Cupid, who shoots his arrows without clear aim.
Fruit · Sexual slang
Medlar – A fruit that is only edible when rotten; slang for the female genitals (“open-arse”). Mercutio’s joke is coarsely sexual.
Fruit · Sexual slang
Poperin pear – A variety of pear; the name is a bawdy pun on “pop her in,” continuing the sexual innuendo.