May 3 2017

What man art thou that, thus bescreened in night, / So stumblest on my counsel?

What can you infer about Romeo and Juliet by comparing their use of language  in Act II, scene ii, lines 52-111? Consider their main concerns in this excerpt.  Be sure to use specific textual evidence to support your claim, and further, be sure to make clear how that evidence actually supports that claim.

As always, please be sure to follow the rules of standard in your writing and respond to at least one other comment in this thread.

R&J blog #10

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Posted May 3, 2017 by equinson in category Romeo and Juliet

36 thoughts on “What man art thou that, thus bescreened in night, / So stumblest on my counsel?

  1. tarika1

    Through these lines, readers can infer several things about Romeo and Juliet. One of these things is how they are both willing to give up everything for each other. JUliet says, “My ears have yet not drunk a hundred words, Of thy tongue’s uttering, yet I know the sound. Art thou not Romeo, a Montague?” and Romeo responds, “Neither fair maid, if either thee dislike.” This shows how Romeo is willing to destroy his name (as Mrs. Quinson described in class) just for his love with Juliet to be acceptable. Juliet is concerned when she describes him as what he says, a Montague, but Romeo reassures her when he says he will be whatever she wants him to be, Romeo or a Montague.

  2. faithw

    By comparing Romeo and Juliet’s use of language in Act II scene ii, it becomes evident to the reader that the two characters have very diverse personality types with regard to looking at life. Romeo’s carefree view is evident when he states “Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye Than twenty of their swords. Look thou but sweet, And I am proof against their enmity.” In these lines, Romeo says that he is not afraid of her family’s reaction to him, as long as she loves him. He is not concerned about the risk of getting murdered were he to be caught at the Capulet residence. Romeo proves to be extremely irrational as he doesn’t care about his safety, but about whether or not a girl he just met loves him.

    Juliet, on the other hand, has a very different mindset. Unlike Romeo, Juliet is not blinded by love enough to be unaware of the danger Romeo is in. “If they do see thee they will murder thee.” She is concerned that if observed at the Capulet house by a kinsman, Romeo would be murdered. In this scene, Juliet proves to be cautious and a realist, unlike Romeo who has his head in the clouds.

  3. arihantp1

    From Act II scene ii we can clearly see how different Romeo and Juliet are. Juliet is much more realistic and down to Earth, while Romeo is stuck in his own world fantasizing over Juliet. Romeo clearly has no care about what the Capulets would do to him, by what he says during the balcony scene. “Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye Than twenty of their swords. Look thou but sweet, And I am proof against their enmity.” Juliet on the other hand is shocked by Romeo appearing out of a bush and in front of her room. She then continues to ask a series of questions normal for an event like this. She then urges Romeo to run, because if he gets caught it means certain doom for him. Both Romeo and Juliet wonder whether each of them truly loves each other. Romeo does not want to be “scarred by Cupid’s arrow” again, as he was with Rosaline. Juliet also wonders if Romeo will forget about her and pursue a different girl once he gets bored with her. Act II scene ii shows how Romeo and Juliet both have different mindsets, but truly love each other.

  4. Tyler Newby

    By analyzing lines 52 through 111, we can truly see how different Romeo and Juliet are. When the scene begins, we see Juliet on her balcony talking to herself about everything that is on her mind. Little did she know that Romeo heard her, and when he came out of his hiding place, she was very embarrassed. Juliet was very worried what Romeo thought of her after hearing everything she said, or whether or not he loved her. She was also worried that the Capulet kinsmen would come kill Romeo. Juliet is very realistic but is also worried that anything could go wrong at any time.

    Romeo, on the other hand, is very different. Despite Mercutio and Benvolio looking for him in the scene before, Romeo goes searching for Juliet. Romeo has no worries. He is obsessed with Juliet and is willing to do anything for her. He also thinks that their love gives him supernatural powers, like the ability to climb up the side of a wall or fight multiple Capulet kinsmen.

    1. francescaa

      Yes, I agree with the fact that Romeo has no worries whatsoever. He does not realize that this relationship is going to lead to some serious turmoil. In addition, he has in his head that he is some god with superpowers. This makes me concerned for Romeo because when people aren’t thinking straight, bad things happen.

  5. francescaa

    After comparing Romeo and Juliet’s lines from Act I scene ii, the reader can clearly see that the two characters have different concerns, and therefore have unique perspectives on how to live life. Although Juliet is in love, she isn’t completely blinded by it. She is way more sensible than Romeo and she realizes that with loving Romeo, there are many complications. First and foremost, Juliet is worried about Romeo’s safety. When you are caught intruding the premises of Capulet’s house, there is no mercy; especially when you belong to the enemy family. Juliet expresses her concern by saying “If they do see thee, they will murder thee.” However, unlike Juliet, Romeo has completely been blindsided by this new relationship. The seems to think he is safe creeping around the bushes of Capulet’s mansion and claims that love directed him to Juliet. Not only is completely absurd, but it shows how Romeo isn’t thinking clearly. When he claimed “Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye Than twenty of their swords. Look thou but sweet, And I am proof against their enmity,” we all got a pretty good understanding on his mindset. It is amazing that even though Juliet is younger, she is more mature and knowledgeable. It is possible that this is simply because of the way women and men were raised. Earlier in the play we learned that teenage girls were becoming mothers, so we can assume that girls were expected to “grow up” faster than boys were. Just from this scene, the reader has learned so much.

    1. avae1

      I completely agree, Juliet shows much more maturity than Romeo does, and even though she is of a younger age Juliet has more sense than the carefree Romeo.

    2. alekhya

      You bring up a very good point Francesca. I like the way you tied in this new idea of Juliet being more mature than Romeo and women marrying at a young age.

  6. alexo

    What I noticed about these lines was the stark contrast of the characters’ grasp on reality. Romeo seems to not want to leave Juliet on the balcony, to stay there forever. He doesn’t seem to realize what threat he is facing by being there with her. Juliet, on the other hand, is completely aware of the threat and is trying to avoid Romeo having a conflict with guards, and tries to get Romeo out of the place.

    “How camest thou hither, tell me, and wherefore?
    The orchard walls are high and hard to climb,
    And the place death, considering who thou art,
    If any of my kinsmen find thee here.”

    “With love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls,
    For stony limits cannot hold love out,
    And what love can do, that dares love attempt.
    Therefore thy kinsmen are no stop to me.”

    “If they do see thee they will murder thee.”

    However, Juliet is just as much a lover as Romeo is, and eventually, gives in and talks to Romeo.

    1. christophert3

      I completely agree with you. It is just as you said. Juliet worries of Romeo a great deal, warning him of the danger. But he simply keeps these warnings from interfering in his being there with her. Good job, Alex.

  7. christophert3

    I believe that, from what we read in lines 52-111, Romeo and Juliet love each other very much and wish that the other wasn’t of the opposite and opposing family. They also say they would also give up being in their family, or as Romeo puts it when Juliet asks him if he is Romeo and if he’s a Montague, “Neither, fair maid, if either thee dislike.” He denies being a Montague and would gladly shed his name if that were pleasing to Juliet, the one who he believes is his life and world. Throughout lines 52-111, there are many references to love, in Romeo’s case, and how it is a powerful force. I believe that, if this is to show how strong there love is, then they won’t be separated. There love allows them to soar on wings and defeat even the strongest of foes if those foes wish to tear them apart. When Juliet asks lots of questions to Romeo about his sneaking to watch her, I believe he just feels flustered that he was listening to her while she talked to herself about how much she loved him. It is very much like Ms. Quinson said in lines 90-111. She really is just worried that he who she loves very strongly doesn’t love her back, or that she loves him too much and is too much for him, also being described as going to fast for him to keep up. But, from what we know of Romeo and what we learn of him while he’s talking in the bush, he loves her very much the same. This shows us that the love that they will share will be strong.

  8. caias1

    Something we can infer about Romeo and Juliet is that Juliet is much more realistic and pragmatic than Romeo. While she worries about his safety if her family finds him under her balcony, he is more concerned with whether or not she loves him back. Romeo also sees Juliet’s love as his protection against his family, stating, “Look thou but sweet,And I am proof against their enmity.” He is basically telling Juliet that if she looks at him with love, than her family can not kill him, although we know that is not true. Even with her love, Romeo is not invincible against the whole Capulet house. Another thing we can infer about Juliet is that she is very self-conscious about what she says in public. In the first two scenes where Juliet and other people were present, she barely says a word. When she believes she is alone on her balcony, Juliet pours out her feelings for Romeo.

    Romeo is shown to be a kind of hopeless romantic. Prior to being with Juliet, his outlook on the world was very sad and bleak. Once they get together, her love for him makes Romeo feel like he can do anything, even fly. Romeo believes that Juliet’s affections make him invincible against men with a twenty swords. Obviously, this is not true, but that is how he perceives Juliet’s affections

  9. maddy

    The second act of Scene Two juxtaposes the dispositions of Romeo and Juliet. Romeo is further depicted to have sanguine regards of their relationship in contrast to Juliet, who is disclosed as a realist. Rather than swooning at the sight of Romeo once more, Juliet forewarns him of the prospect of being murdered by Capulet kinsmen. Juliet additionally becomes chagrined upon the knowledge of Romeo being present, for this denotes that he overheard her conversing of him to herself. She promptly states that she did not intend for him to hear such words of hers. Nonetheless, Romeo appears not to be affected in a negative manner by Juliet’s soliloquy. He confesses that he too would sacrifice his [Montague] identity to sustain their relationship, and that he is not concerned of Capulet kinsmen discovering him conversing with Juliet. “‘Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye/Than twenty of their swords… My life were better ended by their hate/Than death proroguèd, wanting of thy love.’” These lines convey that Romeo views a discontent look from Juliet to be more detrimental than facing death, and that he would rather be murdered than to live without her. It is thus exemplified how juxtaposed with the cautious approach Juliet has of their developing love, Romeo is being enamored by her at a rate both immense and compulsive. The premises of Romeo’s approach bear a similar resemblance to his infatuation for Rosaline. Although Juliet loves Romeo in return, and Rosaline did not, it is apparent that Romeo idolizes (or idolized, in accordance to Rosaline) both women with great yet shortly-acquired fervor.

  10. avae1

    As Juliet becomes aware that Romeo is beneath her, their methods of speech reveal their distinct mindsets. The two were both talking out loud to themselves, sharing their most honest and true feelings with the air. Juliet was care free and open about her emotions, although when she realized Romeo was listening, she became slightly more sheltered. As soon as Juliet left her “own world” her worrisome nature came flooding back in, “And the place death, considering who thou art, If any kinsmen find thee here.” She immediately tries to protect Romeo, afraid that he will pay the consequences for his forbidden act. Furthermore, Juliet appears to be more concerned about how others perceive her, “Or, if thou thinkest I am too quickly won”. She does not wish to come on too strong with her emotions towards Romeo, and also regrets speaking so boldly before he came. One could infer that Juliet is accustomed to following the rules, and she tries to maintain this but her love tells her otherwise. On the other hand, Romeo’s perspective on how to handle life is almost opposite to Juliet’s. Romeo is not as afraid to completely express his love, and does not care who hears him. Romeo is convinced that love is the answer to everything, and as long as he has it there is nothing he can’t do, which includes flying, “With love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls, For stony limits cannot hold love out.” Romeo is quite optimistic for he doesn’t show worry of exposure. Although the levels of caution between the lovers may differ, nonetheless they share a love that is equally strong.

  11. charlottes

    For Juliet, I chose the line : “And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.”
    This line shows how deep Juliet’s love is. Some may think this just means if they get married, she will give up her maiden name. It is so much more than that. The montagues and the Capulets have been sworn enemies for centuries. For Juliet to suddenly give up the name Capulet and become a Montague is a big deal. If they get married, she could be considered just like Romeo and all the other Montagues – a family enemy. She doesn’t know what is coming, but she knows she would be willing to put Romeo before her family.

    For Romeo, I chose the line: “O, speak again bright angel!”
    This line displays Romeo almost as a Petrarchan lover. In the moment, Juliet is higher up than him, simply because she is on the balcony and he is on the bottom of a tree. Before we hear Juliet speak about her deep love for Romeo, must assume Romeo loves her more. This line shows it. He is talking about her as a n angel or goddess – someone to be worshipped. Someone who is perfect and has no flaws, but little does the reader know (at this point) juliet has the same feeling. The typical Petrarchan love has been broken down because Juliet chose to love him back. Now that is a powerful love story.

  12. briannag3

    In Act II scene ii we can see the differences between Romeo and Juliet. Romeo is much more of a dreamer, almost like his love is blinding him from reality. He acts a little unrealistic when saying, “Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye Than twenty of their swords.” This statement is obviously untrue and shows how much he dreams out of reality when he is in love. Juliet on the other hand sees the world as it is. If her guards see him, he’ll get killed. Juliet says, “And the place death, considering who thou art, If any kinsmen find thee here.” She knows that he’s dead if anyone finds him there so she wants to make sure that he doesn’t get hurt. In this scene we can also see how in love with each other they really are. Both of them admit that if they had the chance, they would rid themselves of their names so they could be together. Juliet says that the name “Montague” doesn’t define who Romeo is and any other name would make him perfect. This shows that they care for each other more than their individual families.

  13. Sofiad1

    Romeo’s view on life is very different than Juliets. For one thing, Romeo is following his love blindly, and thinks he’s invincible. He says, “With loves light wings did I o’erperch these walls.” He is saying that love is giving him the ability to do anything. Juliet, on the other hand, is much more rational. She tells Romeo that him staying could get him killed. She literally says, “If thy do see thee, thy will kill thee.” The Kinsmen are just as dead-set against the Montagues as the Capulets themselves are. This would cause a bloody battle if Romeo was seen on calumet ground.

  14. cameronl3

    Lots can be inferred about the lie between Romeo and Juliet. The more and more I continue to read scene ii, the more I realize how truly important it is to the entire play. We learn about how similar that their love really is, and that it really is true love. We can also infer that there will be many problems with their love, due to the fact that Juliet is a Capulet, and Romeo is a Montague. But they continually say that this does not matter, and that they will love each other no matter what the are. From the looks of it, I believe that this is true, and they will do anything to stay together. With their similarities in love, Romeo is much more of a dreamer than Juliet. This is shown when he says his love will fight for him, and protect him from the danger that may come. Juliet knows this is not true and says he will die if he is not caught.

  15. margauxc

    The fatality of Romeo and Juliet’s love is a primary facet of this conceptual scene, and therefore, consists of various indications of the nature of both characters. During lines sixty-three to sixty-four, Juliet remarks, “My ears have yet not drunk a hundred words of thy tongue’s uttering, yet I know the sound.” Behind these words, an interesting aspect of Juliet’s character can be observed. Romeo’s exchange with Juliet during Capulet’s feast was minimal- yet Juliet still manages to recognize his voice- which indicates that Juliet has been keeping their encounter in mind- down to the last specific detail. From this, one could infer that Juliet may be as much of a romantic as Romeo is. In regards towards Romeo, specific lines which emphasize an aspect of his character happen to be lines seventy-six to seventy-eight, in which he states- “Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye than twenty of their swords. Look thou but sweet, and I am proof against their enmity.” In these lines, Romeo demonstrates his passion and dedication to Juliet. As seen by his infatuation with Rosaline, when Romeo commits to an action- he exemplifies astounding determination and devotion. In this case, Romeo is an Icarus who’s flown to close to the sun. (As mentioned earlier in the scene, Juliet is his sun). Romeo is far too close to Juliet, and has admitted several times that his demise is inevitable because of his proximity. In these lines, Romeo confirms that he acknowledges the dangers which come with attaining Juliet’s affection- yet confesses he has no regards towards the perils. For Romeo, the reward of a passionate love is far more tempting.

  16. George

    Shakespeare uses this scene to not only show their devotion to each other but to show how very different they are. We see Romeo a melodramatic daydreamer of a person and Juliet the more realistic accurate to the point person. This is shown when Romeo sneaks off from Benvolio and the others to find Juliet. We can also see this when Juliet expresses concern about his safety because he is a Montague in the house of Capulet. This is just another example of Duality in this book. We see the duality of their personalities and the duality of setting (the loud party to now a quiet balcony).

  17. alekhya

    In Act II scene ii from lines 52-111 we are provided with a thorough comparison of the concerns of Romeo and Juliet. When Romeo climbs the walls of Capulet’s orchards and speaks to Juliet who is on her balcony. Juliet is full of concern for his safety. Multiple times she warns Romeo that her family will not hesitate to kill him if they see him.”If they see thee, they will murder thee.” (line 75) As if though that statement was not clear enough Romeo stays right where he is and responds saying that Capulet swords are no where near as painful as any disappointment in her eyes. “Alack there is more peril in thine eye than twenty of their swords.”(lines 76-77) Throughout this dialogue Romeo never fails to mention, every time he speaks, how much great his love for Juliet is. When she asks him a question or tells him he is in great danger he replies with a description of how smitten he is with Juliet. “Juliet- The orchard walls are high and hard to climb, and the place is death, considering who thou art, if any of my kinsmen find thee here. Romeo- With love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls, for stony limits cannot hold love out, and what love can do, that dares love attempt.”(lines 68-73) In conclusion, based on this dialogue one can say that Juliet’s concern for Romeo’s safety shows us that she is more sensible and clear headed than Romeo. Romeo on the other hand doesn’t seem to be hearing any of Juliet’s warnings and shows us that he is love for Juliet is blinding his sense.

  18. laurena2

    By reading these lines from Romeo and Juliet, it is evident that the two love each other in completely different ways. At the beginning of the scene, Juliet is admiring Romeo’s personality. Her love is more realistic than Romeo’s. Juliet understands that their love is forbidden, however she is still able to consider the sacrifice of giving up the Capulet name to be with him.

    Romeo’s idea of love is much less realistic than Juliet’s. He admires her beauty, comparing her eyes to the brightest stars in Heaven, and her cheeks even brighter. Romeo mentions that he is okay with being murdered, as long as he dies with Juliet by his side. Romeo is much more open about his love than Juliet is. He pours out his heart and feelings, and expects the same from Juliet. Although the two have completely different ideas of love, they both understand that their love is forbidden, and requires many sacrifices to be successful.

  19. marinas1

    In this scene, we see how Romeo and Juliet interact with one another, thusly providing us a glance into their respective psyches. Frankly, we now are well aware of Romeo’s romanticism towards the world and Juliet. It has come up in the past already, in regards to Rosaline and how dramatic Romeo was during his time of affectation towards Rosaline, during which he was so depressed that he had “‘a soul of lead'”. Now, the same kind of idealism is running through Romeo’s mind. When Juliet warns Romeo of the danger he may end up getting into; being killed by one of her guards if they find him beside her balcony. In response, Romeo disregards her question, and continues idolizing Juliet by declaring “‘Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye than twenty of their swords. Look thou but sweet, and I am proof against their enmity.'” Here, Romeo is saying that if Juliet were to glare at him, he would be n more danger than if he were to get involoved woth her guards. If she looks at him kindly, he will have the power to stand against her guards’ hatred. This is quite riveting, for Romeo again has this utterly unused idea about love, being the opposite of practical in any given situation.

    Juliet is also quite an engrossing character in this scene. When she begins to ponder over whether Romeo loves her or not, she pronounces “‘Dost thou love me? I know thou wilt say ‘Ay’, and I will take thy word. Yet, if tou swear’st, thou mayst prove false.'” Unlike Romeo, who expresses his love at any given minute with absolutely no shame instilled in his heart, Juliet worries that Romeo does not love her back. Here, we seehow Juliet is far more relatable than Roemo. While Romeo is quite keen on romanticising every single moment, Juliet has common worries that many today in the modern day world bear as well. There are certaintly very few “Romeos” in thsi day and age, but their are absolutely a multitde of “Juliets”.

    On a completely different note, the mention of night continues to appear and reapper throughout the text. In this particular scene it is mentioned at least twice, once when Juliet says “‘…the mask of night is one my face, else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek…'”, and once more when Romeo says “‘I have night’s cloak to hide me from [the guards’] eyes.'” In a previous scene, Benvolio said “‘Come, he hath hid himself among these trees to be consorted with the humorous night.'”, obviously reffering to Romeo. This os quite interesting, for it seems here that the night is meant to hide certain things from view. In this way, are Romeo and Juleit simply “blindly falling in love”, without seeing eah other’s faults or imperfections, nor truly thinking about the consequences of their decisions? After all, they do seem to be doing exactly that.

  20. Kat

    Romeo and Juliet have interesting dialogue. For instance when they talk together they often talk in sonnets. When they are expressing their feelings about each other they compare each other to angels, and heavenly beings. Based on their words we can see how much they love each other and how they feel like they need each other. Before act ii scene ii Juliet hasn’t had much dialogue. There has always been someone else that talks more than Juliet whether they are addressing her or not she always seems to be overshadowed. However in this scene she has long spiels just like Romeo. She speaks about Romeo, but she thinks that she is alone. This tells us about her life somewhat. We can see that Juliet lives a pretty sheltered life. She doesn’t speak much unless she is alone. Even when with her mother and her nurse she doesn’t have lengthy dialogue. When Juliet realizes that she is not alone and Romeo is there she once again become shy. Her dialogue goes back to being less than others in the scene. However we also see a change in Juliet and her dialogue. We see her going from scared to talk, to trusting Romeo and having lengthy dialogues just like him. This shows that both of them fell in love right from the start and feel as if they are very close.

  21. ilyssal

    After reading and rereading the dialogue, I am fascinated by the words spoken between Romeo and Juliet. When they speak individually, they speak normally. Together, Romeo and Juliet speak in poetry. Their words combined form 14 line sonnets with a traditional rhyme scheme. Before Juliet is aware of Romeo’s stage presence in the famous balcony scene, she speaks 16 lines. Maybe if she did know Romeo could hear her speaking, she would have said 14 lines, making it a sonnet. I find it very sweet how prior to Romeo and Juliet falling in love, they spoke in regular sentences but ever since becoming lovestruck, poetry flows directly from their lips.

  22. ivanl

    By analyzing the dialogue, we can see that Romeo and Juliet both love each other, yet, they go about it in very different ways. Romeo, seems to have a fantasy built up in his mind with Juliet, saying that love will shield him from all the bad things that may try to get in between their love for each other. Romeo claims that love can make him fly, and will help against the kinsmen that may come to kill him since he is a Montague. Juliet is very realistic about their love, yet just as mad about it as Romeo is. She pours out her feelings about Romeo on the balconey, unaware that Romeo is below listening. She says 16 lines instead of 14 lines, perhaps this is a subtle way to show that Juliet has deep feelings for Romeo, because any other time, she speaks in sonnet. The way they both talk also show that they are willing to do anything to be with each other, including giving up their family names, despite the long feud between each family.

  23. eshap

    In this scene, we can see the difference in how Romeo and Juliet interact with each other, both showing very different concerns at the moment. Romeo has climbed over the tall garden wall in order to see Juliet, showing he is clearly romantic. Out of the two, Romeo is the one who is carefree, while Juliet displays concern at the fact that someone will see him. As we have seen before, Romeo’s romantic side has come up once again, just as it had with Rosaline. When he was in love with Rosaline, he couldn’t stop thinking about her beauty, being miserable that she wouldn’t love him in return. Here, Romeo has claimed that love gave him the ability to go over the wall. “With love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls, for stony limits cannot hold love out.” (lines 71-72) Romeo claims that nothing can stop his love, he will always make his way to Juliet. Unlike Rosaline, whom he never dared to approach, knowing well she wouldn’t love him. With Juliet, he has the courage to bring up his romantic side even more, knowing that she loves him as well. He puts himself entirely out for Juliet, not caring whether or not the guards will come, showing his romantic side once again. When Juliet gives Romeo a warning about her guards, he says, “Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye than twenty of their swords. Look thou but sweet, and I am proof against their enmity.” (lines 76-78) Romeo claims that should Juliet glare at him, he is in more danger than if the guards came. However, with a loving glance from Juliet, he would be able to defeat the guards without any weapons. Romeo shows many times how his love is never ending, regardless of the danger he puts himself in.

    Just as Romeo was quite romantic, Juliet shows a slightly different side. When she was unaware of Romeo’s presence, Juliet poured her heart out to him, wondering if he would be willing to change his name for her. Now that she knew Romeo was standing below her, she limited what she said about how she loves him. Instead, Juliet displays concern for Romeo if the guards heard a noise. She didn’t want the only one she loved to be put in danger because of her. “How camest thou hither, tell me, and wherefore? The orchard walls are high and hard to climb and the place death, considering who thou art, if any of my kinsman find thee here.” (lines 67-70) Here, Juliet shows the real problem at the moment. Even though Juliet is a Capulet and Romeo is a Montague, the biggest concern between them is whether or not Romeo will be seen. Although Romeo shows no concern, Juliet is worried that he will be put to death, and doesn’t want that for the one she loves. Otherwise, her parents would force her to marry Paris. While Juliet shows concern for Romeo, she also is avoiding a certain future with her marriage.

  24. Rebecca F

    By their language, I can infer that Romeo and Juliet really do believe they love each other. Juliet in her soliloquy says, “O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?/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.” In this short paragraph, Juliet claims to be willing to give up her name to be with Romeo if Romeo will not. Despite what Juliet goes on to say, a name is an important thing, especially in medieval times. Your family name can tell a great deal about you, letting others know if you have any influence or power. Yet Juliet if willing to give up her status as a Capulet to be with Romeo.
    In renouncing her name, Juliet would likely anger her family as well. They would be angry with her both because she gave up her name and because she gave it up for a Montague.
    But Juliet is willing to risk it to be with Romeo, showing that she truly loves him, for she is willing to give up much to be with him.

  25. adam

    In these lines, it is now obvious the compares and contrasts between Romeo and Juliet. During this scene, it is clear that they are in love with eachother and they both feel that way. They fit together perfectly and do everything better together. They are both thinking of eachother and dreaming of eachother at the same time. But, Juliet states now that she will become a Montague if she must just to be with Romeo, which is a big deal putting a new boy ahead of family. Juliet had just met Romeo, and vise versa and they are already in love. This makes me wonder what will happen when and if the Capulets find out about Romeo. They thought Juliet was going to be with Paris, and when they find out that she has met a boy and wants to change her name to be with them , they must be concerned

  26. willowm

    Before this scene Shakespeare did not give Juliet many lines, but we knew she felt an instant connection with Romeo because she tells the nurse. Romeo believed that it was love at first sight, but he did not hear her say it until she was on the balcony alone. Lines 52-111 are their conversation after Juliet learns of Romeo’s presence. This is the first moment the two are both aware of their love for one another.

    At first Juliet was shy and impersonal because she was embarrassed, having just confessed her deep love to Romeo accidentally. Here Shakespeare shows this by giving her short lines, “By whose direction found’st thou out this place?” After Romeo makes it very clear that he feels the same way she opens up. This is when she gives her speech about how she loves him, “In truth, fair Montague, I am too fond, and therefore thou mayst think my havior light. But trust me gentleman, I’ll prove more true.” In this quote Juliet acknowledges Romeo as a Montague, and admits she was a little forward but tells Romeo that if he sticks around, she’ll prove to be more faithful. Shakespeare uses sentence length to show Juliet’s change in feeling throughout the dialog.

    Romeo on the other hand was confident throughout, of course he had some reassurance when he heard Juliet when she thought she was alone. It shows us that he is a romantic with an idealized view of reality. He comes in bold, “Call me but love, and I’ll be new baptized.” After meeting her twice he is willing to give up his name. Also, to address Juliet’s concerns for his safety while he is on Capulet ground he says “And I am proof against their enmity.” This part of the dialog reveals Juliet to be the more realistic of the two. Romeo is most concerned about being with her and he will die trying.


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