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Romeo and Juliet

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Romeo and Juliet - Act 4, scene 3

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Last updated: Fri, Jul 31, 2015

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Act 4, scene 3.

Juliet sends the Nurse away for the night. After facing her terror at the prospect of awaking in her family’s burial vault, Juliet drinks the potion that Friar Lawrence has given her.

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Juliet's Monologues From Shakespeare's Tragedy

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Who is the protagonist of " Romeo and Juliet "? Do both titular characters share that role equally?

Typically, stories and plays focus on one protagonist and the rest are supporting characters (with an antagonist or two thrown in for good measure). With "Romeo and Juliet," some might argue that Romeo is the main character because he gets more stage time, not to mention a couple of sword fights, too.

However, Juliet experiences a great deal of family pressure, as well as an ongoing inner conflict. If we label the protagonist as the character that experiences the deepest level of conflict, then maybe the story is really about this young girl, swept up by her emotions and caught up in what will become the most tragic love story in the English language.

Here are some key moments in the life of Juliet Capulet . Each monologue reveals the growth of her character.

Act 2, Scene 2: The Balcony

In her most famous speech and her first monologue, Juliet wonders why the newfound love (or is it lust?) of her life is cursed with the last name Montague , the long-standing enemy of her family.

This scene takes place after Romeo and Juliet met at the Capulet's party. Romeo, infatuated, wandered his way back into Capulet's gardens right to Juliet's balcony. At the same time, Juliet comes out, unaware of Romeo's presence, and ponders her situation out loud.

The monologue beings with the now-famous line:

O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?

This line is often misinterpreted as Juliet asking about Romeo's whereabouts. However, "wherefore" in Shakesperean English meant "why." Juliet is thus questioning her own fate of falling in love with the enemy.

She then continues to plead, still thinking she is alone:

Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Capulet.

This passage reveals that the two families have an antagonist history , and Romeo and Juliet's love would be difficult to pursue. Juliet wishes Romeo would give up his family but is also ready to give up hers.

To soothe herself, she rationalizes as to why she should continue to love Romeo, saying that a name is superficial and does not necessarily make up a person.

'Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot, Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part Belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet;

Act 2, Scene 2: Declarations of Love

Later in the same scene, Juliet discovers that Romeo has been in the garden all along, overhearing her confessions. Since their emotions aren't a secret anymore, the two star-crossed lovers profess their affections openly.

Here are some lines from Juliet's monologue and an explanation in modern English.

Thou know'st the mask of night is on my face, Else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek For that which thou hast heard me speak to-night Fain would I dwell on form, fain, fain deny What I have spoke: but farewell compliment!

Juliet is glad it is night time and Romeo cannot see how red she is from the embarrassment of breaking conventions and letting him overhear all she has said. Juliet wishes she could have kept up her good manners. But, realizing it is too late for that, she accepts the situation and becomes more straightforward. 

Dost thou love me? I know thou wilt say 'Ay,' And I will take thy word: yet if thou swear'st, Thou mayst prove false; at lovers' perjuries Then say, Jove laughs. [...]

In this passage, Juliet displays the disposition of a person in love. She knows that Romeo loves her, but at the same time is anxious to hear it from him, and even then she wants to make sure he isn't simply falsely exaggerating.

Act 4, Scene 3: Juliet's Choice

In her last longer monologue, Juliet takes a big risk by deciding to trust in the friar's plan to fake her own death and wake within the tomb, where Romeo should be waiting for her. Here, she contemplates the potential danger of her decision, unleashing a combination of fear and determination.

Come, vial. What if this mixture do not work at all? Shall I be married then to-morrow morning? No, no: this shall forbid it: lie thou there. (Laying down her dagger.)

As Juliet is about to take the poison, she wonders what would happen if it doesn't work and she is afraid. Juliet would rather kill herself than marry someone new. The dagger here represents her plan B.

What if it be a poison, which the friar Subtly hath minister'd to have me dead, Lest in this marriage he should be dishonour'd, Because he married me before to Romeo? I fear it is: and yet, methinks, it should not, For he hath still been tried a holy man.

Juliet is second-guessing whether or not the friar is being honest with her. Is the potion a sleeping potion or a lethal one? Since the friar married the couple in secret, Juliet is nervous that he might be now trying to cover up what he did by killing her in case he gets in trouble with either the Capulets or Montagues. In the end, Juliet calms herself by saying the friar is a holy man and wouldn't trick her.

How if, when I am laid into the tomb, I wake before the time that Romeo Come to redeem me? there's a fearful point! Shall I not, then, be stifled in the vault, To whose foul mouth no healthsome air breathes in, And there die strangled ere my Romeo comes?

Thinking of other worst-case scenarios, Juliet wonders what would happen if the sleeping potion wore off before Romeo could remove her from the tomb and she suffocated to death. She ponders that if she wakes up alive, she might be so afraid of the darkness and all the dead bodies, with their horrible smells, that she might go crazy.

But in the end, Juliet rashly decides to take the potion as she exclaims:

Romeo, I come! This do I drink to thee.

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Romeo and Juliet "But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks...."

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Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy that could easily be mistaken for a comedy throughout the first half of the play. Rife with lewd jokes, bawdy humor, and comic supporting characters, the plot only darkens with the deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt in Act III. Indeed, had Shakespeare made only a few different strokes of his pen throughout the tale, the play could easily have been a romantic comedy of errors. It is no coincidence that Shakespeare wrote an explanatory prologue to Romeo and Juliet ; it is all the more telling that he never felt the need to so in any of his other tragedies.

Frankly, Romeo and Juliet causes some problems in examining it as tragedy. Neither Romeo nor Juliet are classically flawed tragic characters. While the tale of doomed lovers is timeless, this particular telling evokes its pathos because the tragedy seems so thrust upon them. Romeo and Juliet are no Macbeth and his lady, inviting the Heavens to pour down a plague of wrath in response to their deeds. They are, as Shakespeare so famously describes them, "star-crossed" victims of circumstances largely beyond their control. Whatever we may feel about the choices that the two youths make, there is a tragic resonance in the way Fate seems to conspire against them.

Largely, it is that hand of Fate that separates Romeo and Juliet from the grand tragedies of Hamlet , King Lear , Macbeth , and Othello . Shakespeare's late tragedies feature characters at the helms of their fortunes, for good or ill. Of course, Shakespeare also wrote Romeo and Juliet much earlier in his career, which may also help to explain the lyricism and comic overtones that sometimes seem to make the play more akin to Midsummer Night's Dream or Much Ado About Nothing . If the tragedy seems occasionally grafted upon the play, it remains poignant due to the poetic skill with which Shakespeare renders the love between the two title characters.

In the balcony scene, we have one of Shakespeare's most famous expressions of love. The soliloquy that opens Act II, sc. ii illustrates the heady, vigorous passion of youth with which the Bard imbues Romeo. Having stolen into the orchard, Romeo catches sight of Juliet above and soon is spouting words of love—even as Juliet takes the more practical voice of reason between them once the scene turns into a dialogue. Romeo, however, is far too drunk on his own ardor. The fervid comparison of Juliet to the sun, to light itself, is in stark contrast to Romeo's entrance in Act I, mooning over the now quite forgotten Rosaline.

We know from Shakespeare's prologue that this is a love doomed to end in tragedy. Despite that, we can still savor the marvelous thrill of love at first sight, revealed through such uninhibited expression as only the young (or the truly mad) can summon. For the scenes such as this one, at least, we can set aside our collective foreboding and enjoy the moment with them.

But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief, That thou her maid art far more fair than she: Be not her maid, since she is envious; Her vestal livery is but sick and green And none but fools do wear it; cast it off. It is my lady, O, it is my love! O, that she knew she were! She speaks yet she says nothing: what of that? Her eye discourses; I will answer it. I am too bold, 'tis not to me she speaks: Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, Having some business, do entreat her eyes To twinkle in their spheres till they return. What if her eyes were there, they in her head? The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars, As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven Would through the airy region stream so bright That birds would sing and think it were not night. See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand! O, that I were a glove upon that hand, That I might touch that cheek!

—Act II, sc. i

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Activities: Romeo and Juliet

The missing letter.

Write the letter that Friar Lawrence wrote to Romeo and never got delivered. Then write a new ending to the play assuming that he had received it. Consider that this doesn’t neces­sarily mean that things will end happily.

You’re the Designer

Create costume designs that show the difference between the Montagues and the Capulets. Pay attention to the meaning or feelings behind the colors you pick. Consider what era you want to set the play in and what impact that will have on the play.

You’re the Director

Safely act out the fight scene between Romeo, Mercutio, and Tybalt. Stage it first show­ing that it was Tybalt’s fault, again to show it as Mercutio’s fault, and lastly to show it as an accident.

You’re the Writer

Rewrite Juliet’s “Farewell Compliment” speech in the balcony scene (2.2,80–106) in modern language. Try to include several idioms, allusions, and examples of figurative lan­guage.

You’re the Actor

Option A: Monologue

Pick a speech of at least ten lines. Repeat the speech using several different techniques. Try it dramatically, angrily, humorously, sarcastically. Try emphasizing different words to change the meaning of the words.

Option B: Dialogue

Pick a bit of dialogue of at least ten lines. Play the scene using several different tech­niques. Try it dramatically, angrily, humorously, and sarcastically. Try emphasizing different words and swapping roles to change the meaning of the words.

Read Mercutio’s Queen Mabb speech (1.4.53–95). Draw a picture of Queen Mabb and write a story of one of her adventures.

Animal Games

Tybalt is called the “Prince of Cats” by Mercutio. Consider what is catlike about him. Draw or list what animals you would assign to other characters in the play.

Family Feud

Write or improvise a scene between Prince Escalus, Montague, and Capulet (or their wives) in which they discuss their differences and the cause of the feud and attempt to find a solution.

Write or improvise a scene at the feast in which Paris attempts to woo Juliet. How does Juliet feel about him? Does she “look to like if looking liking move”?

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