ROMEO
AND JULIET: ACT 2
William
Shakespeare
"Now old
desire doth in his death-bed 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 beloved and loves again,
Alike betwitched by the charm of looks,
But to his foe supposed 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 any where:
But passion lends them power, time means, to meet
Tempering extremities with extreme sweet."
-Chorus to Act II
Act
II Summary
Act two is one of the most memorable acts in Romeo and Juliet. Act II,
Scene 1 starts off with the Montagues. Benvolio and Mercutio are talking
to Romeo about where he went last night after the party and about his love-stricken
condition. Scene two is undisputedly one of the most widely known scenes
of literature today. This scene is in the Capulet's garden where Romeo
is in the garden and Juliet is on the balcony. This is where you will hear
the most known words: "O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?" This
scene ends when Juliet asks Romeo to think about getting married. In scene
three, Romeo goes to the Friar's cell to ask if he will marry Romeo and
Juliet. In scene four, the Nurse of Juliet comes to ask Romeo if he will
marry Juliet. He says he will. In scene five, the Nurse plays a joke on
Juliet by not telling her about the marriage and instead makes small talk
with here. Finally the Nurse tell Juliet to go the Friar's cell to get
married. In the last scene, Juliet gets married to Romeo by the Friar but
no one knows about this except for the nurse.
Major
Characters
Romeo: In this act,
Romeo is in love with Juliet. Through out the act you can see how much
he cares for her. He goes to her balcony to see her knowing that if he
will get caught, he will be beaten or killed. He also gets married to Juliet,
which will cause a lot of conflicts between to the two families.
Juliet: In this act,
Juliet is in love with Romeo but is worried because he is a Montague. She
is very interested in getting married to Romeo and does get married.
Friar: The Friar is
a very important person in this play. He is not Montague or Capulet. He
is a man who is trying to make peace with the two families. By marrying
Romeo and Juliet, he thinks the two families will live the rest of their
lives in peace but finds out that his plan back fires with tremendous consequences.
Nurse: The Nurse is
a major character because she is the one of the only two people that knows
Romeo and Juliet are getting married. She is very happy for them both.
In this act, she runs around and become the messenger for Romeo and Juliet
because the can't meet.
Scene
Descriptions For Act II
Scene
1
Setting: Near Capulet's
Orchard
Characters: Romeo,
Benvolio, Mecrutio
Summary: Romeo is hiding
in the Capulet's orchard. He is on his way to go see Juliet.
Benvolio and Mecrutio are looking for Romeo. They tease Romeo to
try and make him come out of hiding.
Scene
2
Setting: Capulet's
orchard
Characters: Romeo,
Juliet
Summary: Romeo is spying
on Juliet. Juliet is on her balcony off of her room. She speaks
to herself about how she loves Romeo. Romeo starts talking to Juliet,
they meet up again under the starry night. They swear to each other
that they love one another. They part their own ways and Romeo and
Juliet promise to get married.
Scene
3
Setting: Friar Laurence's
Cell
Characters: Friar Laurence,
Romeo
Summary: Romeo tells
Friar that he has forgotten about his past love, Rosaline, and is now in
love with Juliet. He asks the Friar to marry him and Juliet.
The Friar does not approve at first but then he does because he believes
it might be the solution to the rage between the two house holds, the Montagues
and Capulets.
Scene
4
Setting: A street in
Verona
Characters: Mecrutio,
Benvolio, Romeo, Nurse, Peter
Summary: Benvolio and
Mecrutio talk about where Romeo was last night. Juliet's nurse speaks
with Romeo to ask what the wedding plans are. Romeo tells the Nurse
the plan and she goes off to tell Juliet.
Scene
5
Setting: Capulet's
orchard
Characters: Juliet,
Nurse
Summary: The Nurse
tells Juliet to go to Friar Laurence's cell, because that is where she
will find Romeo to make her a bride.
Scene
6
Setting: Friar Laurence's
cell
Characters: Juliet,
Romeo, Friar Laurence
Summary: Romeo and
Juliet go with Friar Laurence to get married.
Memorable
Lines/Quotes For Act II
Scene
1:
"Can I go forward
when my heart is here? Turn back, dull earth, and find thy center out."
-Romeo, Lines
1 and 2
"Blind is his love and
best befits the dark."
-Benvolio, Line
32
Scene
2:
"But soft! What light
through yonder window breaks?"
-Romeo, Line
32
"O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore
art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; or if thou will not,
be sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet."
-Juliet, Lines
33-36
"What is in a name?
That which we call a rose by any other word would smell so sweet."
-Juliet, Lines
43-44
"O, swear not by the
moon, the inconstant moon, that monthly changes in her circle orb, lest
that thy love prove like wise variable."
-Juliet, Line
109-111
"How silver-sweet sounds
lovers' tongues by night, like softest music attending ears!"
-Romeo, Lines
166-167
"Good night, good night!
Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say good night till it be morrow!"
-Juliet, Lines
185-186
Scene
3:
"With Rosaline, my ghostly
father? No. I have forgot that name and that name's woe."
-Romeo, Lines
45-46
"Be plain, good son,
and homely in thy drift. Riddling confession, finds but riddling
shrift."
-Friar Laurence,
Lines 55-56
"Young men's love then
lies not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes."
-Friar Laurence,
Lines 67-68
"For this alliance may
so happy prove to turn your households rancor to pure love."
-Friar Laurence,
Lines 91-92
Scene
4:
"Alas, poor Romeo, he
is already dead, run through the ear with a love song..."
-Mercutio, Lines
13-15
"If you be he, sir,
I desire some confidence with you."
-Nurse, Lines
129-130
Scene
5:
"How art thou out of
breath when thou hast breath to say to me that thou art out of breath?"
-Juliet, Lines
31-32
"Your love says, like
an honest gentleman, and a courteous, and a kind, and a handsome, and,
I warrant, a virtuous-where is your mother?"
-Nurse, 55-58
"Then hie you hence
to Friar Laurence's cell; there stays a husband to make you a wife."
-Nurse, Lines
68-69
Scene
6:
"These violent delights
have violent ends."
-Friar Laurence,
Line 9
"For, by your leaves,
you shall not stay alone till holy church incorporate two in one."
-Friar Laurence,
Line 36-37
5
Study Questions For Act II
1) What is Friar Laurence's
main reason for marrying Romeo and Juliet?
2.) Which character,
Romeo or Juliet, acts more rationally about love, and why is this so?
3.) Does Juliet ever
express subtly that she may secretly doubt Romeo's love for her?
4.) What does Juliet
mean when she says "parting is such sweet sorrow?"
5.) Which aspect of
Romeo and Juliet's love for one another foreshadows trouble?
Feel free to email me at scrtagntman_2000@yahoo.com