________________________________________________
_
PROLOGUE & ACT II SCENE I PROLOGUE
[Enter Chorus.]
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.
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.
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;
But passion lends them power, time means, to meet,
Temp'ring extremities with extreme sweet.
[Exit.]
ACT II. Scene I.
A lane by the wall of Capulet's orchard.
[Enter Romeo alone.]
ROMEO.
Can I go forward when my heart is here?
Turn back, dull earth, and find thy centre out.
[Climbs the wall and leaps down within it.]
[Enter Benvolio with Mercutio.]
BENVOLIO.
Romeo! my cousin Romeo! Romeo!
MERCUTIO.
He is wise,
And, on my life, hath stol'n him home to bed.
BENVOLIO.
He ran this way, and leapt this orchard wall.
Call, good Mercutio.
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 auburn Cupid, he that shot so trim
When King Cophetua lov'd the beggar maid!
He heareth not, he stirreth not, be 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!
BENVOLIO.
An if he hear thee, thou wilt anger him.
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: in his mistress' name,
I conjure only but to raise up him.
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.
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 et cetera, thou a pop'rin pear!
Romeo, good night. I'll to my truckle-bed;
This field-bed is too cold for me to sleep.
Come, shall we go?
BENVOLIO.
Go then, for 'tis in vain
'To seek him here that means not to be found.
[Exeunt.] _
Read next: ACT II: SCENE II
Read previous: ACT I: SCENE V
Table of content of Romeo and Juliet
GO TO TOP OF SCREEN
Post your review
Your review will be placed after the table of content of this book
