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.°
A lover may bestride the gossamers°
That idles in the wanton° summer air,
And yet not fall; so light is vanity.°
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,° 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,° 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.°
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,° 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,° and as soon moody to be moved.°
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 hath3.1.9 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
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 doublet° before Easter?
With another for tying his new shoes with old
riband?° 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 simple° of my life for an
hour and a quarter.°
Mercutio. The fee simple? O simple!°
Enter Tybalt, Petruchio,° 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.° 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?° What, dost thou make us min-
strels? And thou make minstrels of us, look to hear
nothing but discords. Here’s my fiddlestick;° here’s
that shall make you dance. Zounds,° 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.°
Mercutio. But I’ll be hanged, sir, if he wear your
livery.°
Marry, go before the field,° 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.°
Romeo. Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee
Doth much excuse the appertaining° 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 devise°
Till thou shalt know the reason of my love;
And so, good Capulet, which name I tender°
As dearly as mine own, be satisfied.
47 Consort (1) to keep company with (2) company of musicians 49 fiddlestick i.e., sword 50 Zounds by God’s wounds 57 man (Mercutio takes this to mean “manservant”) 58 livery servant’s uniform 59 field dueling field 62 villain low fellow 64 appertaining appropriate 70 devise imagine 72 tender value
Mercutio. O calm, dishonorable, vile submission!
Alla stoccata° carries it away. [Draws.]
Tybalt, you ratcatcher, will you walk?°
Tybalt. What wouldst thou have with me?
Mercutio. Good King of Cats, nothing but one of your
nine lives. That I mean to make bold withal,° and,
as you shall use me hereafter, dry-beat° the rest of
the eight. Will you pluck your sword out of his
pilcher° by the ears? Make haste, lest mine be about
your ears ere it be out.
Tybalt. I am for you. [Draws.]
Romeo. Gentle Mercutio, put thy rapier up.
Mercutio. Come, sir, your passado!° [They fight.]
Romeo. Draw, Benvolio; beat down their weapons.
Gentlemen, for shame! Forbear this outrage!
Tybalt, Mercutio, the Prince expressly hath
Forbid this bandying° in Verona streets.
Hold, Tybalt! Good
Mercutio!
[Tybalt under Romeo’s arm thrusts Mercutio in, and flies.]
Mercutio. I am hurt.
A plague a° both houses! I am sped.°
Is he gone and hath nothing?
Benvolio. What, art thou hurt?
Mercutio. Ay, ay, a scratch, a scratch. Marry, ’tis
enough.
Where is my page? Go, villain, fetch a surgeon.
[Exit Page.]
Romeo. Courage, man. The hurt cannot be much.
Mercutio. No, ’tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide75 Alla stoccata (a term in fencing, “At the thrust,” which Mercutio uses contemptuously as a nickname for Tybalt) 76 walk step aside 79 make bold withal make bold with, take 80 dry-beat thrash 82 pilcher scabbard 86 passado lunge 90 bandying brawling 92 a on 92 sped wounded
as a church door; but ’tis enough, ’twill serve. Ask
for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave°
man. I am peppered,° I warrant, for this world. A
plague a both your houses! Zounds, a dog, a rat, a
mouse, a cat, to scratch a man to death! A braggart,
a rogue, a villain, that fights by the book of arith-
metic!° Why the devil came you between us? I was
hurt under your arm.
Romeo. I thought all for the best.
Mercutio. Help me into some house, Benvolio,
Or I shall faint. A plague a both your houses!
They have made worms’ meat of me. I have it,°
And soundly too. Your houses!
Exit [Mercutio and Benvolio].
Romeo. This gentleman, the Prince’s near ally,°
My very° friend, hath got this mortal hurt
In my behalf—my reputation stained
With Tybalt’s slander—Tybalt, that an hour
Hath been my cousin. O sweet Juliet,
Thy beauty hath made me effeminate
And in my temper soft’ned valor’s steel!°
Enter Benvolio.
Benvolio. O Romeo, Romeo, brave Mercutio is dead!
That gallant spirit hath aspired° the clouds,
Which too untimely here did scorn the earth.
Romeo. This day’s black fate on moe° days doth
depend;°
This but begins the woe others must end.
[Enter Tybalt.]
Benvolio. Here comes the furious Tybalt back again.
Romeo. Alive in triumph, and Mercutio slain?
99 grave (1) extremely serious (2) ready for the grave 100 am peppered have been given a deathblow 103-04 by the book of arithmetic by formal rules 109 I have it i.e., I have received my deathblow 111 ally relative 112 very true 117 in . . . steel softened the valorous part of my character 119 aspired climbed to 121 moe more 121 depend hang over
Away to heaven respective lenity,°
And fire-eyed fury be my conduct° now!
Now, Tybalt, take the “villain” back again
That late thou gavest me; for Mercutio’s soul
Is but a little way above our heads,
Staying for thine to keep him company.
Either thou or I, or both, must go with him.
Tybalt. Thou, wretched boy, that didst consort him
here,
Shalt with him hence.
Romeo. This shall determine that.
They fight. Tybalt falls.
Benvolio. Romeo, away, be gone!
The citizens are up, and Tybalt slain.
Stand not amazed. The Prince will doom thee death
If thou art taken. Hence, be gone, away!
Romeo. O, I am fortune’s fool!°
Benvolio. Why dost thou stay?
Exit Romeo.
Enter Citizens.
Citizen. Which way ran he that killed Mercutio?
Tybalt, that murderer, which way ran he?
Benvolio. There lies that Tybalt.
Citizen. Up, sir, go with me.
I charge thee in the Prince’s name obey.
Enter Prince, old Montague, Capulet, their Wives,
and all.
Prince. Where are the vile beginners of this fray?
Benvolio. O noble Prince, I can discover° all
The unlucky manage° of this fatal brawl.
125 respective lenity discriminating mercifulness 126 conduct guide 138 fool plaything, dupe 144 discover reveal 145 manage course
There lies the man, slain by young Romeo,
That slew thy kinsman, brave Mercutio.
Lady Capulet. Tybalt, my cousin! O my brother’s child!
O Prince! O cousin! Husband! O, the blood is
spilled
Of my dear kinsman! Prince, as thou art true,
For blood of ours shed blood of Montague.
O cousin, cousin!
Prince. Benvolio, who began this bloody fray?
Benvolio. Tybalt, here slain, whom Romeo’s hand did
slay.
Romeo, that spoke him fair, bid him bethink
How nice° the quarrel was, and urged° withal
Your high displeasure. All this—utterèd
With gentle breath, calm look, knees humbly
bowed—
Could not take truce with the unruly spleen°
Of Tybalt deaf to peace, but that he tilts°
With piercing steel at bold Mercutio’s breast;
Who, all as hot, turns deadly point to point,
And, with a martial scorn, with one hand beats
Cold death aside and with the other sends
It back to Tybalt, whose dexterity
Retorts it. Romeo he cries aloud,
“Hold, friends! Friends, part!” and swifter than his
tongue,
His agile arm beats down their fatal points,
And ’twixt them rushes; underneath whose arm
An envious° thrust from Tybalt hit the life
Of stout Mercutio, and then Tybalt fled;
But by and by comes back to Romeo,
Who had but newly entertained° revenge,
And to’t they go like lightning; for, ere I
Could draw to part them, was stout Tybalt slain;
And, as he fell, did Romeo turn and fly.
This is the truth, or let Benvolio die.
156 nice trivial 156 urged mentioned 159 spleen ill nature 160 tilts thrusts 170 envious full of enmity 173 entertained contemplated
Lady Capulet. He is a kinsman to the Montague;
Affection makes him false, he speaks not true.
Some twenty of them fought in this black strife,
And all those twenty could but kill one life.
I beg for justice, which thou, Prince, must give.
Romeo slew Tybalt; Romeo must not live.
Prince. Romeo slew him; he slew Mercutio.
Who now the price of his dear blood doth owe?
Capulet. Not Romeo, Prince; he was Mercutio’s friend;
His fault concludes but what the law should end,
The life of Tybalt.
Prince. And for that offense
Immediately we do exile him hence.
I have an interest in your hate’s proceeding,
My blood° for your rude brawls doth lie a-bleeding;
But I’ll amerce° you with so strong a fine
That you shall all repent the loss of mine.
I will be deaf to pleading and excuses;
Nor tears nor prayers shall purchase out abuses.
Therefore use none. Let Romeo hence in haste,
Else, when he is found, that hour is his last.
Bear hence this body and attend our will.°
Mercy but murders, pardoning those that kill.
Exit [with others].
[Scene 2. Capulet’s orchard.]
Enter Juliet alone.
Juliet. Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds,°
Towards Phoebus’ lodging!° Such a wagoner191 My blood (Mercutio was the Prince’s relative) 192 amerce pun
ish by fine 198 attend our will respect my decision 3.2.1 fiery- footed steeds horses of the sun god, Phoebus 2 Towards Phoebus’ lodging i.e., beneath the horizon
As Phaëton° would whip you to the west
And bring in cloudy night immediately.
Spread thy close curtain, love-performing night,
That runaways’° eyes may wink,° and Romeo
Leap to these arms untalked of and unseen.
Lovers can see to do their amorous rites,
And by their own beauties; or, if love be blind,
It best agrees with night. Come, civil night,
Thou sober-suited matron all in black,
And learn me how to lose a winning match,
Played for a pair of stainless maidenhoods.
Hood° my unmanned° blood, bating° in my cheeks,
With thy black mantle till strange° love grow bold,
Think true love acted simple modesty.
Come, night; come, Romeo; come, thou day in
night;
For thou wilt lie upon the wings of night
Whiter than new snow upon a raven’s back.
Come, gentle night; come, loving, black-browed
night;
Give me my Romeo; and, when I shall die,
Take him and cut him out in little stars,
And he will make the face of heaven so fine
That all the world will be in love with night
And pay no worship to the garish sun.
O, I have bought the mansion of a love,
But not possessed it; and though I am sold,
Not yet enjoyed. So tedious is this day
As is the night before some festival
To an impatient child that hath new robes
And may not wear them. O, here comes my nurse,
Enter Nurse, with cords.
And she brings news; and every tongue that speaks
But Romeo’s name speaks heavenly eloquence.
3 Phaëton Phoebus’ son, who mismanaged the horses and let them run away 6 runaways’ of the horses (?) 6 wink shut 14 Hood i.e., cover with a hood, as in falconry 14 unmanned (1) untamed (2) unmated 14 bating fluttering 15 strange unfamiliar
Now, nurse, what news? What hast thou there, the
cords
That Romeo bid thee fetch?
Nurse. Ay, ay, the cords.
Juliet. Ay me! What news? Why dost thou wring thy
hands?
Nurse. Ah, weraday!° He’s dead, he’s dead, he’s dead!
We are undone, lady, we are undone!
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