romeo and juliet act 2 scene 2 analysis essay

Romeo and Juliet

By william shakespeare, romeo and juliet summary and analysis of act 2, act two, introduction.

The Chorus explains that Romeo has traded his old desire for a new affection, and that Juliet has also fallen in love. Though their secret romance puts Romeo and Juliet at risk, their passion drives them to meet, regardless of the danger.

Act Two, Scene One

Out in the street, Romeo escapes from Mercutio and Benvolio . Mercutio calls to him, using lots of obscene wordplay. Benvolio finally gets tired of searching for Romeo, and they leave.

(Please note that some editions of Romeo and Juliet end Scene One here to begin a new one. Others, including the Norton Shakespeare, which this note is based on, continue the scene as follows.)

Meanwhile, Romeo has succeeded in leaping over the Capulets' garden wall and is hiding beneath Juliet's balcony. He wants to determine whether her attraction is equal to his own. She soon appears and delivers her famous soliloquy, asking "Oh Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" (2.1.75). She wishes that Romeo’s name were different, so that they would not be enemies. Romeo overhears her speech, which confirms his own feelings. He interrupts Juliet to confess his own love.

Juliet warns Romeo to speak truthfully, since she has fallen in love with him and does not want to be hurt. Romeo swears his feelings are genuine, and Juliet laments the fact that she cannot fall in love with him again. The Nurse calls to Juliet, who disappears momentarily. She comes back out and insists that if Romeo truly loves her, he should propose marriage and plan a meeting place for them. The Nurse calls Juliet a second time, and she exits. Romeo is about to leave when his love emerges yet a third time, and calls him back for some final words of parting.

Act Two, Scene Two

At the chapel, Friar Laurence is collecting herbs. Romeo arrives and confesses his new love for Juliet. He asks the Friar to marry them. Though the Friar is surprised that Romeo has forgotten Rosaline so quickly, he is nonetheless delighted, because Romeo and Juliet's union presents an opportunity to quell the raging feud between the Montagues and Capulets.

Act Two, Scene Three

Out in the street the next day, Benvolio tells Mercutio that Romeo has not yet returned home. He also reveals that Tybalt has sent Romeo a threatening message. When Romeo joins them, Mercutio mocks him, but Romeo matches his wit. Impressed, Mercutio notes,"Now art thou sociable, now art thou Romeo" (2.3.77).

Juliet’s Nurse and Peter arrive and ask to speak with Romeo. Mercutio makes sexual jokes about the Nurse, but eventually exits with Benvolio. The Nurse explains that Juliet will meet Romeo and marry him. Romeo proposes they meet that afternoon at Friar Laurence’s chapel.

Act Two, Scene Four

Back in the Capulet orchard, Juliet eagerly awaits news from the Nurse. When the Nurse eventually arrives, she comically refuses to give Juliet any information about Romeo until she has received a back rub. Finally, the Nurse tells Juliet about the plan for her to meet Romeo at Friar Laurence’s chapel.

Act Two, Scene Five

At the chapel, Romeo and Friar Laurence await Juliet’s arrival. The Friar cautions Romeo to "love moderately" (2.5.9). Juliet soon appears, and Friar Laurence brings them into the church to be married.

Act 2 is more focused than Act 1, in that it mostly serves to establish the marriage which will become the root of the play's dramatic conflict. However, within the the streamlined plot, Shakespeare explores the complications of love. The theme of love is central to Act 2 of Romeo and Juliet . Romeo and Juliet fall in love instantly, and marry one day later, sealing their future. The balcony scene is crucial to understanding their relationship because it allows Romeo and Juliet to test their initial passion and gain the courage to move forward with a marriage plan.

The love that Romeo and Juliet share is the opposite of the selfish love that Shakespeare references in the opening acts of the play. Shakespeare compares Juliet to the sun, and she is one of the most generous characters in the play. She reveals her selflessness when she declares, "My bounty is as boundless as the sea, / My love as deep. The more I give thee / The more I have, for both are infinite" (2.1.175-177). Rosaline, on the other hand, prefers to keep her beauty to herself. Shakespeare heightens this contrast when Romeo describes Rosaline as a Diana (the goddess of the moon) and tells Juliet, "Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon" (2.1.46).

In the balcony scene, Romeo and Juliet recognize this selfish brand of love and then transcend it. The garden setting is more than just a secretive meeting place – it invokes images of a pastoral Eden, which symbolizes both purity and virginity. Romeo and Juliet's connection is simultaneously rooted in pure love and unbridled passion. At the beginning of the balcony scene, Romeo invades Juliet's privacy without her invitation, which becomes doubly apparent when he overhears her soliloquy. Here, Shakespeare breaks the convention of the soliloquy, which is traditionally a speech where a character shares his or her inner thoughts only with the audience. That Romeo overhears Juliet's soliloquy is an invasion, on one hand, but also serves as a reminder of the cost of intimacy. That Juliet both allows and cherishes Romeo's interruption reminds the audience that true love requires two people to open their hearts to one another.

Shakespeare underscores the idea that lovers must abandon their selfishness by having Romeo and Juliet swear to themselves, rather than to other bodies. For instance, when Romeo tries to swear by the moon, Juliet remarks that the moon waxes and wanes, and is too variable. Instead, she says, "Or if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self" (2.1.155). Shakespeare often has characters encourage one another to be true to themselves first, and only then can they be true to others. In the case of Romeo and Juliet, the characters must accept their unique identities (and transcend their family names) in order to experience the purest kind of love.

Shakespeare also implies that when people fall in love, they can grow. Juliet's behavior changes after she meets Romeo. She is used to obeying the Nurse's authority, and during the balcony scene, she disappears twice. However, she also defies authority twice in order to reappear and continue her conversation with Romeo. This is a sure sign of her emerging independence, which explains her quick decision to marry Romeo and defy her parents. Juliet also reveals her practical intelligence by understanding the need for a plan for them to meet and by insisting on marriage, which is a reversal of Elizabethan gender roles. Romeo, while less active than Juliet, also becomes more confident after their meeting, eschewing his juvenile melancholy for a more gregarious personality that impresses Mercutio.

Shakespeare introduces the theme of identity in Act 2. In her soliloquy, Juliet wishes that Romeo could transcend his name. Her famous declaration – "What's in a name? that which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet" – expresses the idea that people can be more than their societal roles. Juliet understands that if she and Romeo are to be together, they must defy the limitations of society and follow their individual passions.

In this act, Shakespeare also introduces Friar Laurence a multifaceted character who understands the need for personal autonomy. Because of his underlying motivations, however, the Friar is an imperfect religious figure. He is willing to compromise the religious sanctity of marriage for the sake of a political goal. He clearly finds Romeo’s new passion suspect, but agrees to perform the marriage ceremony so that he can end the feud between the Montagues and Capulets. Friar Laurence's actions represent the dichotomy between societal convention and individual desire.

Finally, Shakespeare continues to explore the contrasts that he introduced in Act I, particularly the disparity between night and day (or darkness and light). Benvolio states, "Blind is his love, and best befits the dark," in reference to Romeo's newfound passion (2.1.32). When Romeo finally sees Juliet at her balcony, he wonders, "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" (2.1.44-46). Romeo then invokes the darkness as a form of protection from harm: "I have night's cloak to hide me from their eyes" (2.1.117). Unfortunately, the disorder of the day eventually overcomes the passionate and protective night - destroying both lovers in the process.

Shakespeare also underlines the contrast between youth and old age. Friar Laurence acts as Romeo's confidante, and the Nurse advises Juliet. However, both these adults offer advice that seems strangely out of place given the circumstances of the play. For instance, Friar Laurence says to Romeo, "Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast" (2.2.94). He also advises Romeo to "Therefore love moderately" (2.5.9). The Friar's advice for Romeo to love "moderately", however, comes too late. In fact, by the end of the play we even see Friar Laurence rejecting his own advice and stumbling to reach Juliet's grave before Romeo can find her. "How oft tonight have my old feet stumbled at graves?" (5.3.123).

Finally, Shakespeare introduces the contrast between silver and gold in this act through his use of imagery. Romeo says, "How silver-sweet sound lovers' tongues by night" and "Lady, by yonder blessed moon I vow, / That tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops" (2.1.210, 149-50). Shakespeare often employs silver as a symbol of love and beauty. On the other hand, he uses gold as a sign of greed or desire. Rosaline is immune to showers of gold, an image that evokes the selfishness of bribery. Later, when Romeo is banished, he comments that banishment is a "golden axe," meaning that his punishment is merely a glossed- over equivalent of death. And finally, the erection of the golden statues at the end a sign of the fact that neither Capulet nor Montague has really learned anything from Romeo and Juliet's deaths.

Romeo and Juliet Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Romeo and Juliet is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Can you find verbal irony in the play? Where?

One example of verbal irony would be Romeo's reference to the poison he has purchased as a "sweet medicine". A cordial is a sweet liquor or medicine.

Come, cordial and not poison, go with me To Juliet's grave; for there must I use thee.

What do we learn about Mercutio in queen man speech?

The whole speech is based on pagan Celtic mythology. Mercutio’s speech is laced with sexual innuendo. The words “queen” and “mab” refer to whores in Elizabethan England. As his speech goes on we notice the subtext get increasingly sexual...

What does Romeo fear as he approaches Capulet house? What literary device would this be an example of?

Romeo feels something bad is going to happen.

I fear too early, for my mind misgives Some consequence yet hanging in the stars

Looks like foreshadowing to me!

Study Guide for Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet study guide contains a biography of William Shakespeare, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Romeo and Juliet
• Romeo and Juliet Summary
• Romeo and Juliet Video
• Character List

Essays for Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.

• Unity in Shakespeare's Tragedies
• Fate in Romeo and Juliet
• Romeo and Juliet: Under the Guise of Love
• The Apothecary's Greater Significance in Romeo and Juliet
• Romeo and Juliet: Two Worlds

Lesson Plan for Romeo and Juliet

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Romeo and Juliet
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Romeo and Juliet Bibliography

E-Text of Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet e-text contains the full text of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.

• List of Characters

Wikipedia Entries for Romeo and Juliet

• Introduction

Well, do not swear. Although I joy in thee, I have no joy of this contract to-night: It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden; Too like the lightning, which doth cease to be Ere one can say "It lightens."    (2.2.116-120)

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Romeo and Juliet - Act 2, scene 1

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Act 2, scene 1.

Romeo finds himself so in love with Juliet that he cannot leave her. He scales a wall and enters Capulet’s garden. Meanwhile Benvolio and Mercutio look for him in vain.

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Romeo and Juliet Soliloquy

Soliloquy in “romeo and juliet”.

“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.”

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other word would smell as sweet. So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called, Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without that title.”

“For naught so vile that on the Earth doth live But to the Earth some special good doth give; Nor aught so good but, strained from that fair use, Revolts from true birth, stumbling on abuse.”

“The clock struck nine when I did send the Nurse. In half an hour she promised to return. Perchance she cannot meet him. That’s not so. O, she is lame! Love’s heralds should be thoughts, Which ten times faster glides than the sun’s beams”

“Come, gentle night ; come, loving black-browed night, Give me my Romeo, and when I shall die, Take him and cut him out in little stars, And he will make the face of heaven so fine That all the world will be in love with night…”

“Farewell.—God knows when we shall meet again. I have a faint cold fear thrills through my veins That almost freezes up the heat of life. I’ll call them back again to comfort me.— Nurse!—What should she do here? My dismal scene I needs must act alone.”

“Mistress! What, mistress! Juliet!—Fast, I warrant her, she— Why, lamb, why, lady! Fie, you slugabed! Why, love, I say! Madam! Sweetheart! Why, bride!— What, not a word?”

“I dreamt my lady came and found me dead (Strange dream that gives a dead man leave to think!) And breathed such life with kisses in my lips That I revived and was an emperor.”

“Sweet flower, with flowers thy bridal bed I strew (O woe, thy canopy is dust and stones!) Which with sweet water nightly I will dew, Or, wanting that, with tears distilled by moans. The obsequies that I for thee will keep Nightly shall be to strew thy grave and weep.”

Example #10

“He told me Paris should have married Juliet. Said he not so? Or did I dream it so? Or am I mad, hearing him talk of Juliet, To think it was so?—O, give me thy hand, One writ with me in sour misfortune’s book!”

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Language (Romeo and Juliet)

This section explores the language used in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy that explores the themes of love, fate, conflict, and death. The language used in the play is rich in poetic devices, which enhances the emotional intensity and underscores key themes. Shakespeare’s mastery of language is evident through his use of figurative language, rhetoric, imagery, and dramatic irony.

Key Language Features in Romeo and Juliet

Blank Verse and Iambic Pentameter

Much of Romeo and Juliet is written in blank verse, which is unrhymed iambic pentameter. This mirrors the rhythm of natural speech but adds a formal structure to the dialogue.

Iambic pentameter consists of ten syllables in each line, with alternating unstressed and stressed beats: "But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks?"

Shakespeare often uses this form for noble characters or serious moments, giving their speeches a dignified and rhythmic quality.

Prose is used in the play for everyday conversation or more informal situations, particularly by lower-status characters such as the Nurse or Mercutio.

By switching between prose and verse, Shakespeare creates contrasts between the nobility and the common people, as well as between serious and light-hearted moments.

Figurative Language

Metaphor and Simile

Shakespeare frequently uses metaphors and similes to create vivid imagery and deepen the audience’s understanding of characters' emotions.

Metaphor: In Act 2, Scene 2 (the balcony scene), Romeo says, "Juliet is the sun", comparing Juliet to the brightest celestial body, symbolising her importance and beauty.

Simile: Juliet, in Act 1, Scene 5, compares love to a rose, saying, "My bounty is as boundless as the sea", suggesting that her love is infinite and deep.

Personification

Shakespeare uses personification to give human qualities to inanimate objects or abstract ideas. For example, Juliet speaks of "death" as a "lover" who has taken her in Act 5, highlighting the tragedy of her fate.

Hyperbole is used to express the intensity of the emotions the characters feel, particularly in the love scenes. Romeo’s language is often highly exaggerated, reflecting the passion and impulsivity of youth. For example, in Act 2, Scene 2, Romeo claims, "With love’s light wings did I o'erperch these walls", exaggerating his ability to overcome any obstacle due to his love for Juliet.

Light and Dark Imagery

One of the most prominent uses of imagery in the play is the contrast between light and dark. Throughout the play, light is associated with love, beauty, and goodness, while darkness represents danger, secrecy, and death.

Romeo frequently refers to Juliet as a source of light. For instance, he calls her "the sun" and describes her beauty as bright and glowing.

However, much of their love affair takes place at night, symbolising both the secrecy of their relationship and the ever-present danger that surrounds them.

Religious Imagery

Religious imagery is used to elevate the love between Romeo and Juliet to something pure and sacred. In Act 1, Scene 5, when Romeo and Juliet meet, they refer to each other in religious terms:

Romeo calls Juliet a "saint" and says his lips are "two blushing pilgrims", suggesting that his love is reverent and spiritual.

Dramatic Irony

Dramatic irony plays a significant role in creating tension in Romeo and Juliet. The audience is aware of certain facts that the characters are not, which heightens the tragic elements of the story.

For example, in Act 3, Scene 1, Mercutio does not know that Romeo has secretly married Juliet, and therefore, when Romeo refuses to fight Tybalt, Mercutio feels betrayed. The audience, however, knows Romeo’s refusal is because Tybalt is now his kinsman by marriage.

Soliloquies

Shakespeare uses soliloquies to reveal characters’ inner thoughts and emotions. One of the most famous examples is Juliet’s soliloquy in Act 2, Scene 2, where she longs for Romeo, saying, "O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?"

Through this soliloquy, the audience sees Juliet's inner conflict over her love for Romeo, who is part of her family’s sworn enemy, the Montagues.

Antithesis and Oxymorons

Shakespeare uses antithesis and oxymorons to emphasise the conflicting emotions that characters experience.

Juliet’s speech in Act 1, Scene 5 is filled with oxymorons: "O brawling love! O loving hate!", reflecting the contradictory nature of love and the turmoil it causes.

Similarly, Romeo speaks of "O heavy lightness, serious vanity", underscoring the complexity of his emotions.

In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare’s use of language is central to the play’s impact. Through figurative language, imagery, and rhetorical devices, Shakespeare captures the intensity of youthful love, the inevitability of fate, and the tragedy of conflict. The contrasts in language, whether between light and dark imagery or formal verse and informal prose, add depth and nuance to the characters and themes, making Romeo and Juliet one of Shakespeare’s most enduring and studied works.

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