Lord Capulet, although he feels he is too old to dance, encourages everybody else to join in because he likes to watch the young people enjoy themselves. He orders the musicians to play, and the dancing begins “Come, musicians play” (line 25). His speech is full of references to walking and dancing, and contrasts the hot vigour of youth with the sedateness of age, and its confusions. As his friends dance, Romeo watches and the audience anticipate the moment when he and Juliet will meet. Meanwhile, Lord Capulet summons a second Capulet, a cousin of his. As they watch the younger generation dance, they sit down and reminisce about the last time the two of them danced like this “Nay sit, nay sit, good cousin Capulet, For you and I are past our dancing days. How long is’t now since last yourself and I were in a mask?” (line 30) As the two old friends talk with a smile over their youth, we hear Romeo ask a servant about Juliet.
“What lady’s that which doth enrich the hand of yonder knight?” (line 41). Romeo is stunned by Juliet’s beauty; his speech is rich in romantic imagery. The servant replies “I know not sir” (line 42) This to Romeo would not matter because he already seems to be in love. “O she doth teach the torches to burn bright” (line 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. The striking simile “It seems she hangs on the cheek of night like a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear” (line 44-45) in which Romeo compares Juliet to a sparkling jewel in a dark man’s ear, and the image of her as “a snowy dove trooping with crows” (line 47) are keeping in with the associations of brightness, light and having holy qualities which run throughout the play, and are often mentioned in relation to love. The audience now recognise that the passion with which Romeo speaks and his feelings of love for Juliet are sincere. These first words show us that everything we have heard about Rosaline has been more fantasy, and not true love as Romeo had thought. Juliet is referred to in terms of her ‘true beauty’ It seems Romeo had forgotten about Rosaline. He uses rhyme (bright/night crows/shows), metaphor (a snowy dove), simile and uplifting language to describe Juliet’s beauty – it seems he is not as depressed as he was when he though he was in love with Rosaline. As Benvolio said he would, Romeo now forswears his love for Rosaline at once, “Did my heart love till now? Forswear it sight, For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night” (line 51). Near to the beginning of scene 2, Benvolio advised Romeo that, since one fire burns out another, and one pain is made less by the anguish of another, he should therefore find a new love “Tut man, one fire burns out another’s burning, One pain is lessened by another’s anguish; Turn giddy, and be holp by backward turning” (Act 1 scene 2 line 46-49). This now happens, but it is dramatically ironic as the audience know that Romeo’s pain will be made greater, not less, by his love for Juliet. Romeo also says here that Juliet has beauty that is “too rich for use” and is “for earth too dear”(line 46) meaning that she is too fine for the uses of this world and too precious to be on earth. This sounds rather ominous and again reinforces the sense of foreboding.
This romantic dialect is abruptly interrupted by the cousin of Juliet, Tybalt, who throughout the play seems to be drawn to violence and conflict. Romeo however is still unaware or the identity of his love, and the audience await the moment when this will be revealed. In complete dissimilarity to Romeo’s gentle and admiring love speech, Tybalt as usual, spoils for a fight. Capulet’s banquet is a ‘masked’ ball, so all the guests wear decorative masks to conceal their identity. This type of ball was popular in Elizabethan times, the period in which the play is set. Tybalt immediately recognises Romeo’s voice as that of an enemy Montague “This by his voice should be a Montague” (line 53). In an echo of Act 1 scene 1, he draws his sword with the intention of “strike[ing] him [Romeo] dead” (line 58) he justifies his intended murder by the “honor of my kin” (line 57) and does not consider it as a sin. This increases tension within the drama and the pace is picked up. Tybalt appears to have a volatile temperament throughout the play. He takes the fact that Romeo has turned up at the Capulet ball as an insult “To fleer and scorn at our solemnity?” (line 56) this shows Tybalts arrogant nature. Tybalt’s arrogance quickly meets its match. Capulet sees the anger on Tybalt’s face and sees (but probably doesn’t hear) him talking. He asks his nephew “Why how now kinsman, wherefore storm you so?”(line 59). In asking this, Capulet describes Tybalt’s mood as a ‘storm’ and is concerned as to why his nephew is behaving in this way. Tybalt replies “Uncle, this is a Montague, our foe; A villan that is hither come in spite, To scorn at our solemnity this night”(line 60) he uses violent and dangerous language which adds to the build up of tension in this scene. Capulet appears to be calm and composed at this point and asks “Young Romeo is it?”(line 63) The audience would be trying to predict the future events, will Capulet punish Romeo, or consent to Tybalt performing the murder? Or maybe he will let it pass and enjoy the remainder of the night. Tybalt answers Lord Capulet, saying that it is indeed Romeo, repeating the fact that he is a villan. Capulet then politely tries to talk some sense into Tybalt saying “Content thee gentle coz*, let him alone. ‘A bears him like a portly gentleman; And to say truth, Verona brags of him” (line 65) *In calling 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 a short and friendly term for ‘cousin’. (‘Cousin’ was a word that covered a lot of ground, including ‘nephew’, which is what Tybalt is in relation to Lord and Lady Capulet) Capulet goes on to say “To be a virtuous and well governed youth, I would not for the wealth of all this town…Show a fair presence, and put off these frowns, An ill-beseeming semblance for a feast” (line 67-73). Despite Capulet’s friendly words of wisdom, Tybalt is still angry responding to his Uncle “It fits when such a villan is a guest. I’ll not endure him” Tybalt persists, and we see how Lord Capulet’s mood can change swiftly too. He quickly becomes furious at Tybalts disobedience. During the course of the play, we get the impression that Capulet likes to be in control and will not tolerate anyone who disobeys or refuses to agree with him, even if it concerns family as it does with Tybalt now and later with his own daughter, Juliet. Lord Capulet does not want to cause a disruption to the ball as he is host because it would prove embarrassing – this shows that Capulet is very image conscious and values his popularity and the opinions of others. Him being such a strong and powerful character and also the fact that Lord Montague (Romeo’s father) is probably very similar in nature is most likely to be one of the causes of the feud and rivalry between the two houses, both wanting to be the superior and most important.
Capulet increases tension once more by becoming increasingly angry at Tybalt, it is clear that he is very short-tempered. Saying such things as “This trick may chance to scathe you” (line 84) meaning ‘if you go on like this, you’ll suffer for it’ in an almost threatening way towards Tybalt. Lord Capulet makes it nearly impossible for Tybalt to argue further so Tybalt withdraws, not leaving though without a final threat of revenge to Romeo “I will withdraw, but this intrusion shall, Now seeming sweet, convert to bitterest gall” (line 91). In saying this, Tybalt provokes the audience to prepare for future trouble and violence concerning himself and Romeo, swearing revenge.
At this point in the play, there is a lot of contrast taking place, both within the action and language. The contrast is shown through love (Romeo and Juliet) and hate (Tybalt). Tybalt calls for his sword and is prepared to slay Romeo and a few minutes later, Romeo is declaring love for Juliet and sharing a kiss. Romeo talks of his love for Juliet whereas in the following line, Tybalt talks of revenge/scorn/sin and bitterest gall. This works well as a dramatic technique as it provides suspense, tension, danger and excitement for the audience.
After Lord Capulet and the ‘fiery’ Tybalt have left, Romeo decides to approach Juliet.
The verse in Romeo and Juliet – Mostly, Shakespeare’s plays are written in a mixture of blank verse (regular but unrhymed) and prose. However, Romeo and Juliet uses much more rhyme than most Shakespeare plays. You can find rhyming couplets (lines rhyming in pairs e.g. “Patience perforce with wilful choler meeting, Makes my flesh tremble in their different greeting” [Act 1 scene 5 line 88]) used frequently. The most remarkable use Shakespeare makes of rhyme is to insert sonnets into the play. The sonnet is a form of romantic love poem, which originated in Italy and was very popular in Elizabethan England. The speeches by Chorus as prologues to Acts 1 and 2 are sonnets, and in this scene the first dialogue between Romeo and Juliet is in sonnet form.
As Romeo speaks to Juliet for the first time, it seems as though he is oblivious to his surroundings, even though he could be in danger. His concentration is fixed on Juliet. This shows the sincerity and seriousness of his love for her. To understand and enjoy this classic, however, the audience must truly believe that Romeo and Juliet are in love. If this is not taken seriously then the play will not work. Romeo speaks to Juliet as if she were a pure and holy angel, the audience have to realise that this is what he truly believes. His dialogue is rich in religious and holy imagery, showing again his genuineness and truth in what he says. This is different to the way in which he spoke of Rosaline in previous scenes. He speaks of Juliet referring to aspects of the Christian faith whereas with Rosaline, he referred to ancient Greek mythology, The Greek God of hunting, Diana and the Greek God of love, Cupid. This link to religion and the imagery which is described would be crystal clear in significance to the Shakespearian audience. During the time period in which William Shakespeare lived, religion was a part of daily life, everybody believed in the Christian faith, it was a way of life and therefore it is so important to realise that the use of language of this nature in the text would be immediately recognised and understood. For example “my sin is purged” (spoken by Romeo line 106).
Romeo describes his lips as “two blushing pilgrims” (line 94). A pilgrim is the word used to describe a person who visits a holy place to worship. For example, pilgrims visit Bethlehem to worship Jesus. So, in this sonnet, Romeo is the pilgrim who is devoted to Juliet. By saying that his lips are ‘two blushing pilgrims’, Romeo is using a dramatic device, a metaphor. The word “palmers” (line 99) is another word for pilgrim. When Romeo asks Juliet “Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?” (line 100) he is asking her ‘Are you not a saint who is worshipped by pilgrims?’ This all links in to religion and, once again, demonstrates the love they have for each other is sacred and holy. Romeo says “If I profane with my unworthiest hand, This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this” (line 92) here he is saying that Juliets hand is the shrine to which pilgrims (his lips) travel to worship (kiss). Even touching the shrine may defile it, but then his lips will remedy this. 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 is showing proper devotion by holding her hand, she adds “Good Pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, Which mannerly devotion shows in this; For saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch, And palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss” (line 96-100) This also relates to religion as it refers to pilgrims returning from the Holy Land carrying palms and were so called ‘palmers’. A more suitable greeting ‘kiss’ for a palmer would be to touch hands ‘palms’. Juliet insists that pilgrilms’ lips mist be used in prayer “Ay pilgrim lips that they must use in prayer” (line 101), she does not however move away as Romeo begins to kiss her. There is a use of dramatic irony as Romeo and Juliet have no idea that their families are from opposing houses, the audience do however and anticipate this being revealed and consider the possible reactions of both characters. Juliet says that Romeo “kiss by th’book” (line 109) meaning ‘to do it according to the rules’ or ‘expertly’ in this case.
It is important to consider how this moment would be portrayed on stage, as it was performed originally because, through the busy atmosphere of the Capulet banquet there is contrast between the movement at the party and the stillness between Romeo and Juliet during the sonnet. Shakespeare must succeed in focusing our attention on Romeo and Juliet. When Romeo first describes Juliet (line 43) the audience are forced to forget the hustle and bustle of the party that surrounds them, and are drawn to the images of beauty. Also Romeo uses rhyming couplets in his dialogue and this stands out as when Lord Capulet speaks he uses blank verse and prose. The sonnet, with the religious imagery and the metaphor of the pilgrim serve to reinforce the image if love and devotion. The rhyming couplets that Romeo uses, and the sonnet for of the text isolate Romeo and Juliet from the other characters in the scene. Paris and Rosaline, by this point, are long forgotten.
As the conversation between Romeo and Juliet becomes more deep and meaningful, the audience begin to consider the fate of which Romeo and Juliet are now doomed to. The nurse enters at this point, calling Juliet “Madam your mother craves a word with you” (line 110) Juliet obediently turns away, and Romeo asks the nurse who Juliet’s mother is “What is her mother” (line 111) Then informs him that Juliet’s mother is the lady of the house and that she herself is Juliet’s nurse. The nurse also says that he who “lays hold of her” will “have the chinks” (line 116-7), meaning that her future husband will be ‘in the money’. Romeo however, has no interest in this; he is stunned to learn that Juliet is a Capulet, let alone the daughter of Lord Capulet. Romeo exclaims “O dear account, my life is my foe’s debt” (line 118) because he is in love with Juliet, he now owes his life to her, but his life depends on his enemy. Benvolio appears and tells Romeo that it is time for them to leave. Romeo agrees; things have gone ‘well’ for him, but he is dismayed at what the future holds because of his new love for Juliet. On their way out, Capulet tries to get them to stay by offering the strangers some food, but in a moment, they’re gone, so Lord Capulet heads for bed, leaving Juliet and the nurse alone as the last guests go out. Juliet asks who the various guests are; she wants to know who her new love is, but hides her intentions from the nurse, she asks about two others first. The nurse knows who the first two are but not the third (who is Romeo), 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” meaning ‘I’ll die unmarried’ or ‘I’ll die if I can’t marry him’ – another ominous comment. This is the first time in the play that death is portrayed as a bridegroom, although this image occurs again at the end. Here Juliet is also unknowingly foreshadowing her fate, in which her grave does become her wedding bed. The nurse immediately returns with the news that the one Juliet asked about is Romeo, the only son of her great enemy, Lord Montague. Juliet’s reaction is similar to Romeo’s when he found out who Juliet really was, saying “My only love sprung from my only hate” (line 137). “Too early seen unknown, and known too late” (line 138) 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 also says that she met him and loved him before she knew who he was. This underlines the folly of the feud – if the two families would just accept each other as they are rather than as enemies, then the feud would disappear. Sometimes it is difficult to decide whether the play is more about the nature of hate than the nature of love, more concerned with death and darkness than with life and light. Juliet feels, like Romeo 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 is saying, and Juliet lies, saying that it’s just a rhyme she heard from a dance partner “A rhyme I learned even now, Of one I danced withal” (line 142). Someone calls for Juliet, and she and the nurse hurry away, ending the scene on a point of high tension, and leaving the audience pondering the events which they know the future holds.
