Unit of Study:
Shakespeare for Modern High
School Students
Ryan Howard
November 28, 2009
English 112B
Professor Warner
Introduction
This unit of study
looks at the teaching of Shakespeare to high school students, acknowledges
common problems, and attempts to remedy them through unconventional means.
There are several problems I acknowledge in the teaching of Shakespeare:
1.
Teachers who treat students as if
they are aspiring English majors.
Very few high school students want to be in an
English class, and almost no high school students want to cover Shakespeare. If
I had my way, Shakespeare would not be covered as extensively as he is, but
rather only touched upon. There is great worth in excerpts of Shakespeare, as
well as a sense of diminishing returns the more he is taught to those who do
not wish to learn it. So the solution is to teach in moderation.
2.
Testing to make sure students have read.
A common tool for teaching Shakespeare (or any
literature, really) is the test. In order to understand Shakespeare, students
must know the material, and in order to ensure students know the material,
tests are given. This is a waste of time and energy and stress. Besides the
myriad of work-arounds students have (Sparknotes, Wikipedia, Yahoo Answers,
digital multimedia), the test measures nothing worthwhile.
3.
Teachers who shun the tools students
exploit.
The Internet is a wonderful thing, but teachers
fear it. Most teachers seem confused by or ignorant of the Internet, which is a
shame. True, students can steal papers published online or find quick answers
at Wikipedia, but there are benefits as well. Teachers who learn how to exploit
the Internet can find a wealth of material they can use to make the class more
tolerable for the student. Think of it this way: web sites such as Wikipedia
and Sparknotes allow students to learn material that is already taught in the
classroom. The trick is developing a plan to make the web sites beneficial to
lessons.
This unit of study has been developed
to teach students worthwhile Shakespeare in moderation through the tools
students usually use to pass trivial tests without learning anything. The unit
comes in several parts: group study and work, individual study and work, group
presentations, and individual assessment of knowledge gained.
Step 1: Familiarization with
Shakespeare
Introduction:
Students will be put into groups. Each group will study one scene from a
different play. The material will be presented gradually, with time for
students to engage in discussion over the material in preparation for a group
presentation. Each group will consist of four or five students. Each group will
be assigned a different scene from a different play.
Materials:
Original text; No Fear Shakespeare
text; professional audio dramatization; professional visual dramatization.
Procedure:
[mon.]Day
One Classwork: Groups will be introduced to their scenes with summaries of
the plays in as much as they concern the assigned scenes. Groups will be given
the original texts of their scenes next to modern translations taken from No Fear Shakespeare. Students will read
their scenes in group, which shouldn�t take more than 20 minutes. Groups will
be given a list of questions that will require close reading of the text in
order to answer. These questions will be simple, however, as their role is to
encourage the students to pay attention to key parts of the scene, rather than
to provoke deep analysis. This is not a test or a worksheet. The
questions are tailored to foster an understanding of Shakespeare�s language and
poetry. In many cases, all that may be required to answer the questions is the
understanding of the modern translations from No Fear Shakespeare, which is acceptable, since this stage is
merely a jumping off point.
[mon.]Day
One Homework: Students will be provided professional audio dramatizations
of their scenes, which they are to listen to for homework. The length of each
group�s audio dramatization is between 4 and 10 minutes. Students are also to
be given a single, unique question that is somewhat deeper than the questions
given in class. The students are to answer these at home.
[tues.]Day
Two Classwork: Groups will meet again to discuss their thoughts on the
audio dramatizations as well as their individual questions they answered at
home. As a group, the students will review each other�s answers and address
each question together. The purpose for this is to allow multiple viewpoints
for each question. At the end of class, each group should turn in two answers
for each question: the individual student�s answer and the group�s collective
answer. Each answer done as a group is to have new thought added to it.
[tues.]Day
Two Homework: Students will be provided professional visual dramatizations
of their scenes, which they are to watch for homework. Once again, each student
will be given a single, unique question, which they are to answer at home. The
question will be deeper than previous questions.
[wed.]Day
Three Classwork: Groups meet once again to discuss new thoughts on their
scenes as well as to address their individual questions as a group. The same
expectations for new answers are in place.
[wed.]Day
Three Homework: By now, students should have a decent understanding of
their scenes. For homework, each student is to write a personal response to his
scene, with prompts from the teacher as a jumping off point.
[thurs.]Day
Four Classwork: Groups will meet to discuss and compare their personal
responses. In the last half of class, information about their group
presentations will be given.
Step 2: Group Presentations
Introduction:
Group presentations serve as a way for students to test their knowledge, while
at the same time continue learning. Every teacher knows the best way to become
an expert on a subject is to teach it. The other obvious benefit of group
presentations is they allow all the students in the class to be exposed to
different Shakespearean plays and other students� perspectives on them.
Materials:
Powerpoint.
Procedure:
[thurs.]Day
Four Classwork: Students will be given a list of key points they should
understand well enough to teach to the class. These may include examples of
poetic devices (alliteration, sonnet, metaphor, allusion, etc.), Shakespeare�s
language (accents, outdated words, phrases that have survived into modern usage
as clich�s, etc.), and analysis of small excerpts.
[thurs.]Day
Four Homework: Students will research how other people look at Shakespeare.
At this point it is perfectly acceptable to search for other people�s analyses
of what the student will be presenting. Remember: the definition of an expert
is someone who knows how to look something up. Besides, original thought often
generates from the work of others.
[fri.]Day
Five Classwork: Students plan their presentation. This day should be a
Friday, so students should make arrangements to meet or communicate outside of
school. Of particular importance is the divvying up of responsibilities: who
will present what parts of the scene?
[fri.]Day
Five Homework: Continue working on the presentation.
[mon.]Day
Six Classwork: Monday. Continue working on the presentation. Since there is
no specific assignment for this day, students should take advantage of the
teacher�s availability.
[mon.]Day Six Homework: Continue working on the presentation.
[tues.]Day
Seven Classwork: Tuesday. Continue working on the presentation. Since there
is no specific assignment for this day, students should take advantage of the
teacher�s availability.
[tues.]Day Seven Homework: Last chance to work on the presentation for
some groups.
[wed.]Day
Eight Classwork: Presentations begin with the shortest and easiest of
scenes.
[wed.]Day
Eight Homework: Students are given small excerpts from scenes by their
classmates to analyze for homework. These must be approved by the teacher, and
are designed to give the students more practice in analysis. Once more, it is
fine for students to look at online analysis for inspiration (or even to copy,
just not word for word). The absence of group discussion of these excerpts
should help the transition from group analysis to individual analysis.
[thurs.]Day
Nine Classwork: Presentations continue.
[thurs.]Day
Nine Homework: More small excerpts for students to analyze from today�s
presentations.
[fri.]Day
Ten Classwork: More time for presentations if needed.
[fri.]Day
Ten Homework: More small excerpts for students to individually analyze.
These should be emailed to the teacher by noon Saturday.
Step 3: Application of Knowledge
Gained
Introduction:
At this point, students will have had intimate exposure to Shakespeare as well
as ample practice understanding him. The questions students have been required
to answer were created specifically to guide them through stages of
understanding their scenes; working in groups will have allowed students to
share their perspectives with each other; looking up analyses posted online
will have given students an idea of how to look at Shakespeare; presentations
will have prepared students to explain analysis; audio and visual
dramatizations, as well as modern translations, will have helped students
understand the content of Shakespeare to a point where they are not completely
lost all the time. Now it is time for students to analyze Shakespeare alone and
without any help.
Materials:
New excerpts from plays, sonnets.
Procedure:
[mon.]Day
Eleven Classwork: Students will be given a series of excerpts from various
scenes from various plays. Students will be able to choose a certain number of
excerpts from the selection that they will analyze. This exercise should be
done individually and silently. Consider it an exam if you must. After it is
done, the teacher will call upon volunteers and �volunteers� to share their
analyses of excerpts. The teacher will then guide the class through each
excerpt. Toward the end of class, sonnets should be introduced (introduced, not
taught).
Conclusion:
By the end of this unit, students will have been given a thorough introduction
to a variety of Shakespeare. From here, the teacher may opt to let the students
themselves choose a play to cover from beginning to end, based on the scenes
students studied and presented in class. Additionally, the work students have
done to understand excerpts of Shakespeare will have prepared them for a study
of Shakespeare�s sonnets. The overall benefit of this unit is that it eases
students into Shakespeare with a dedicated support system, the ultimate motive
being fostering students� understanding not testing for text read.
Excerpts to be used in assessment exams
Instructions: Choose
one simple, one intermediate, and one advanced excerpt from the following list. Analyze
your choices as you did for your group scenes.
Simple
Few love to hear the sins
they love to act;
-Prince Pericles; Pericles, Act I, Scene i
Young men’s love then
lies
Not truly in their
hearts, but in their eyes.
-Friar Lawrence; Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene iii
Intermediate
If thou dost seek to have
what thou dost hide,
By self-example mayst thou
be denied!
-Sonnet 142
The earth, that’s
nature’s mother, is her tomb.
What is her burying
grave, that is her womb.
-Friar Lawrence; Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene iii
Advanced
Kings are earth's gods; in
vice their law's their will;
And if Jove
[1]
stray, who dares say Jove doth ill?
-Prince Pericles; Pericles, Act I, Scene i
Care keeps his watch
in every old man’s eye,
And where care
lodges, sleep will never lie.
But where unbruisèd
youth with unstuffed brain
Doth couch his limbs,
there golden sleep doth reign.
-Friar Lawrence; Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene iii
Enter one bearing a coronet, then King LEAR,
then the Dukes of CORNWALL and ALBANY, next GONERIL, REGAN, CORDELIA, and attendants
LEAR
Attend the lords of France and Burgundy, Gloucester.
GLOUCESTER
I shall, my lord.
Exit GLOUCESTER
LEAR
Meantime we shall express our darker purpose.—
Give me the map there.—Know that we have divided
In three our kingdom, and ’tis our fast intent
To shake all cares and business from our age,
Conferring them on younger strengths while we
Unburdened crawl toward death.—Our son of Cornwall,
And you, our no less loving son of Albany,
We have this hour a constant will to publish
Our daughters' several dowers, that future strife
May be prevented now.
The two great princes, France and Burgundy,
Great rivals in our youngest daughter’s love,
Long in our court have made their amorous sojourn,
And here are to be answered.—Tell me, my daughters,
(Since now we will divest us both of rule,
Interest of territory, cares of state)
Which of you shall we say doth love us most
That we our largest bounty may extend
Where nature doth with merit challenge?—Goneril,
Our eldest born, speak first.
GONERIL
Sir, I do love you more than words can wield the matter,
Dearer than eyesight, space, and liberty,
Beyond what can be valued, rich or rare,
No less than life, with grace, health, beauty, honor,
As much as child e'er loved or father found—
A love that makes breath poor and speech unable.
Beyond all manner of so much I love you.
A man bearing a
crown enters, followed by KING LEAR, the Dukes of CORNWALL and ALBANY, then GONERIL, REGAN, CORDELIA, and
attendants.
LEAR
Go escort the lords of France and
Burgundy, Gloucester.
GLOUCESTER
Yes, my lord.
GLOUCESTER exits.
LEAR
In the meantime I’ll get down to my
real business.—Hand me that map over there.—I hereby announce that
I’ve divided my kingdom into three parts, which I’m handing over to the younger
generation so I can enjoy a little rest and peace of mind in my old age.—Cornwall
and Albany, my loving sons-in-law, I now want to announce publicly what each of
my daughters will inherit, to avoid hostilities after I die. The two great princes of France and Burgundy, vying for the
hand of my youngest Cordelia, have been at my court a long time and will soon
have their answers.—My daughters, since I’m about to give up my throne
and the worries that go along with it, tell me which one of you loves me most,
so that I can give my largest gift to the one who deserves it most.—Goneril,
my oldest daughter, you speak first.
GONERIL
Sir, I love you more than words can
say. I love you more than eyesight, space, and freedom, beyond wealth or
anything of value. I love you as much as life itself, and as much as status,
health, beauty, or honor. I love you as much as any child has ever loved her
father, with a love too deep to be spoken of. I love you more than any answer
to the question “How much?”
CORDELIA
(aside) What shall Cordelia speak? Love, and be silent.
LEAR
Of all these bounds, even from this line to this,
With shadowy forests and with champains riched,
With plenteous rivers and wide-skirted meads,
We make thee lady. To thine and Albany’s issue
Be this perpetual.—What says our second daughter,
Our dearest Regan, wife of Cornwall? Speak.
REGAN
Sir, I am made of that self mettle as my sister,
And prize me at her worth. In my true heart,
I find she names my very deed of love—
Only she comes too short, that I profess
Myself an enemy to all other joys,
Which the most precious square of sense possesses.
And find I am alone felicitate
In your dear highness' love.
CORDELIA
(aside)Then poor Cordelia!
And yet not so, since I am sure my love’s
More ponderous than my tongue.
LEAR
To thee and thine hereditary ever
Remain this ample third of our fair kingdom,
No less in space, validity, and pleasure
Than that conferred on Goneril.—But now, our joy,
Although our last and least, to whose young love
The vines of France and milk of Burgundy
Strive to be interessed. What can you say to draw
A third more opulent than your sisters? Speak.
CORDELIA
Nothing, my lord.
LEAR
Nothing?
CORDELIA
Nothing.
CORDELIA
(to herself) What will I
say? I can only love and be silent.
LEAR
I give you all this land, from this
line to that one—dense forests, fertile fields, rivers rich with fish,
wide meadows. This land will belong to your and Albany’s children
forever.—And now what does my second daughter Regan, the wife of
Cornwall, have to say? Tell me.
REGAN
Sir, I’m made of the same stuff as
my sister and consider myself just as good as she is. She’s described my
feelings of love for you precisely, but her description falls a little short of
the truth. I reject completely any joy
except my love for you, and I find that only your majesty’s love makes me
happy.
CORDELIA
(to herself) Poor me,
what am I going to say now? But I’m not poor in love—my love is bigger
than my words are.
LEAR
You and your heirs hereby receive
this large third of our lovely kingdom, no smaller in area or value than what I
gave Goneril.—Now, you, my youngest daughter, my joy, courted by the rich
rulers of France and Burgundy, what can you tell me that will make me give you
a bigger part of my kingdom than I gave your sisters? Speak.
CORDELIA
Nothing, my lord.
LEAR
Nothing?
CORDELIA
Nothing.
LEAR
How? Nothing will come of nothing. Speak again.
CORDELIA
Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave
My heart into my mouth. I love your majesty
According to my bond, no more nor less.
LEAR
How, how, Cordelia? Mend your speech a little,
Lest you may mar your fortunes.
CORDELIA
Good my lord,
You have begot me, bred me, loved me. I
Return those duties back as are right fit—
Obey you, love you, and most honor you.
Why have my sisters husbands if they say
They love you all? Haply when I shall wed
That lord whose hand must take my plight shall carry
Half my love with him, half my care and duty.
Sure, I shall never marry like my sisters,
To love my father all.
LEAR
But goes thy heart with this?
CORDELIA
Ay, good my lord.
LEAR
So young and so untender?
CORDELIA
So young, my lord, and true.
LEAR
Let it be so. Thy truth then be thy dower.
For by the sacred radiance of the sun,
The mysteries of Hecate and the night,
By all the operation of the orbs
From whom we do exist and cease to be—
Here I disclaim all my paternal care,
Propinquity, and property of blood,
And as a stranger to my heart and me
Hold thee from this for ever. The barbarous Scythian,
LEAR
Come on, “nothing” will get you
nothing. Try again.
CORDELIA
I’m unlucky. I don’t have a talent
for putting my heart’s feelings into words. I love you as a child should love
her father, neither more nor less.
LEAR
What are you saying, Cordelia?
Revise your statement, or you may damage your inheritance.
CORDELIA
My lord, you brought me up and loved
me, and I’m giving back just as I should: I obey you, love you, and honor you. How can my sisters speak the truth when
they say they love only you? Don’t they love their husbands too? Hopefully when
I get married, I’ll give my husband half my love and half my sense of duty. I’m
sure I’ll never get married in the way my sisters say they’re married, loving
their father only.
LEAR
But do you mean what you’re saying?
CORDELIA
Yes, my lord.
LEAR
So young and so cruel?
CORDELIA
So young, my lord, and honest.
LEAR
Then that’s the way it’ll be. The
truth will be all the inheritance you get. I swear by the sacred sun, by the
mysterious moon, and by all the planets that rule our lives, that I disown you
now as my daughter. As of now, there are no family ties between us, and I
consider you a stranger to me. Foreign savages who eat their own children for
dinner will be as close to my heart as you, ex-daughter of mine.
Or he that makes his generation messes
To gorge his appetite, shall to my bosom
Be as well neighbored, pitied, and relieved
As thou my sometime daughter.
KENT
Good my liege—
LEAR
Peace, Kent.
Come not between the dragon and his wrath.
I loved her most and thought to set my rest
On her kind nursery.—
(to CORDELIA)
Hence, and avoid my sight!—
So be my grave my peace as here I give
Her father’s heart from her.—Call France. Who stirs?
Call Burgundy.—
Exeunt several attendants Cornwall and
Albany,
With my two daughters' dowers digest this third.
Let pride, which she calls plainness, marry her.
I do invest you jointly with my power,
Preeminence, and all the large effects
That troop with majesty. Ourself, by monthly course,
With reservation of an hundred knights
By you to be sustained, shall our abode
Make with you by due turns. Only shall we retain
The name, and all th' additions to a king.
The sway, revenue, execution of the rest,
Belovèd sons, be yours; which to confirm,
This coronet part between you.
(gives CORNWALL and ALBANY the coronet)
KENT
Royal Lear,
Whom I have ever honored as my king,
Loved as my father, as my master followed,
As my great patron thought on in my prayers—
LEAR
The bow is bent and drawn. Make from the shaft.
KENT
But sir—
LEAR
Be quiet, Kent. Don’t get in my way
when I’m angry. I loved Cordelia most of all and planned to spend my old age
with her taking care of me. (to CORDELIA) Go away! Get out of my sight!—I guess if she
doesn’t love her father, then I’ll only have peace when I’m dead.—Call
the King of France. Why is nobody doing anything? Call the Duke of Burgundy.
Several
attendants exit.
Cornwall
and Albany, you and your wives can divide this last third of my kingdom between
you. If she wants to be proud, or “honest,” as she calls it, she can just marry
her own pride. I hereby grant to you two my crown and all the privileges that
kingship brings. I’ll live one month with one of you, the next month with the
other one. All I ask is that you provide me with a hundred knights for my own
entourage. I’ll keep only the title of king, but you’ll have everything else:
all the authority and income that come with kingship. To confirm all this, take
this crown to share between yourselves. (he gives CORNWALL and ALBANY the crown)
KENT
King Lear, I’ve always honored you
as king, loved you as my father, obeyed you as my master, and thanked you in my
prayers—
LEAR
I’m furious and ready to snap. Stay
away or else I’ll take my anger out on you.
KENT
Let it fall rather, though the fork invade
The region of my heart. Be Kent unmannerly
When Lear is mad. What wouldst thou do, old man?
Think’st thou that duty shall have dread to speak
When power to flattery bows? To plainness honor’s bound
When majesty falls to folly. Reserve thy state,
And in thy best consideration check
This hideous rashness. Answer my life my judgment,
Thy youngest daughter does not love thee least,
Nor are those empty-hearted whose low sound
Reverbs no hollowness.
LEAR
Kent, on thy life, no more.
KENT
My life I never held but as a pawn
To wage against thy enemies, nor fear to lose it,
Thy safety being motive.
LEAR
Out of my sight!
KENT
See better, Lear, and let me still remain
The true blank of thine eye.
LEAR
Now, by Apollo—
KENT
Now, by Apollo, King,
Thou swear’st thy gods in vain.
LEAR
O vassal! Miscreant!
ALBANY, CORNWALL
Dear sir, forbear!
KENT
Do, kill thy physician, and the fee bestow
Upon thy foul disease. Revoke thy gift,
Or whilst I can vent clamor from my throat,
I’ll tell thee thou dost evil.
KENT
Let your anger fall on me then, even
if its sharpness pierces my heart. Kent can speak rudely when Lear goes mad.
What are you doing, old man? When powerful kings cave in to flatterers, do you
think loyal men will be afraid to speak out against it? When a majestic king
starts acting silly, then it’s my duty to be blunt. Hold on to your crown and use your better judgment to
rethink this rash decision. On my life I swear to you that your youngest
daughter doesn’t love you least. A loud mouth often points to an empty heart,
and just because she’s quiet doesn’t mean she’s unloving.
LEAR
Kent, if you want to stay alive,
stop talking.
KENT
I never considered my life as
anything more than a chess pawn for you to play off against your enemies. I’m
not afraid to lose it if it helps protect you.
LEAR
Get out of my sight!
KENT
Learn to see better, Lear, and let
me stay here where you can look to me for good advice.
LEAR
Now, I swear by Apollo…
KENT
By Apollo, King, you’re taking the
names of the gods in vain.
LEAR
Oh, you lowlife! Scum!
ALBANY, CORNWALL
Please stop, sir.
KENT
Sure, kill the doctor who’s trying
to cure you and pay your disease. Take back your gift to Albany and Cornwall.
If you don’t, then as long as I’m able to speak I’ll keep telling you you’ve
done a bad, bad thing.
LEAR
Hear me, recreant! On thine allegiance hear me.
That thou hast sought to make us break our vows,
Which we durst never yet, and with strained pride
To come betwixt our sentence and our power,
Which nor our nature nor our place can bear,
Our potency made good, take thy reward:
Five days we do allot thee for provision
To shield thee from diseases of the world.
And on the sixth to turn thy hated back
Upon our kingdom. If on the next day following
Thy banished trunk be found in our dominions,
The moment is thy death. Away! By Jupiter,
This shall not be revoked.
KENT
Why, fare thee well, King. Sith thus thou wilt appear,
Freedom lives hence, and banishment is here.
(to CORDELIA)
The gods to their dear shelter take thee, maid,
That justly think’st and hast most rightly said!
(to REGAN and GONERIL)
And your large speeches may your deeds approve,
That good effects may spring from words of love.—
Thus Kent, O princes, bids you all adieu.
He’ll shape his old course in a country new.
Exit KENT
Flourish.
Enter GLOUCESTER with the King of FRANCE,
the Duke of BURGUNDY, and attendants
GLOUCESTER
Here’s France and Burgundy, my noble lord.
LEAR
My lord of Burgundy.
We first address towards you, who with this king
Hath rivaled for our daughter. What in the least
Will you require in present dower with her
Or cease your quest of love?
LEAR
Listen to me, you traitor. You’ll
pay the price for trying to make me go back on the vow I made when I bequeathed
my kingdom to them. I’ve never broken a vow yet. You tried to make me revise my
judgment on my youngest daughter, disrespecting my power as king—which I can’t put up with either as a ruler
or as a person. This is your punishment: I’ll give you five days to gather
together what you need to survive, then on the sixth day you’ll leave this
kingdom that hates you. If the day after that you’re found in my kingdom, you
die. Now get out of here! I swear by Jupiter I’ll never revoke this punishment.
KENT
Farewell, King. If this is how you
act, it’s clear that freedom has been banished from this kingdom.(to CORDELIA) I hope the gods will protect you, my dear girl, for thinking
fairly and speaking correctly. (to REGAN and GONERIL) And
you two, I hope your actions carry out your grand promises of love, so that big
words can bring big results. Farewell to all of you. I’ll carry on my old life
in a new land.
KENT exits.
Trumpets play.
GLOUCESTER enters with the King of FRANCE, the Duke of BURGUNDY, and
attendants.
GLOUCESTER
Here are the rulers of France and
Burgundy, my lord.
LEAR
My lord the ruler of Burgundy, I’ll
speak to you first. You’ve been competing with this king for my daughter.
What’s the least that you will settle for as a dowry?
BURGUNDY
Most royal majesty,
I crave no more than hath your highness offered.
Nor will you tender less.
LEAR
Right noble Burgundy,
When she was dear to us we did hold her so,
But now her price is fallen. Sir, there she stands.
If aught within that little seeming substance,
Or all of it, with our displeasure pieced
And nothing more, may fitly like your grace,
She’s there, and she is yours.
BURGUNDY
I know no answer.
LEAR
Sir, will you, with those infirmities she owes—
Unfriended, new adopted to our hate,
Dowered with our curse and strangered with our oath—
Take her or leave her?
BURGUNDY
Pardon me, royal sir.
Election makes not up in such conditions.
LEAR
Then leave her, sir, for by the power that made me,
I tell you all her wealth.
(to FRANCE)For you, great King,
I would not from your love make such a stray
To match you where I hate. Therefore beseech you
T' avert your liking a more worthier way
Than on a wretch whom Nature is ashamed
Almost t' acknowledge hers.
BURGUNDY
Your highness, I want nothing more
than what you’ve already offered. I know you’ll offer nothing less than that.
LEAR
Burgundy, I valued her highly when I
cared about her. But now her price has fallen. There she is, over there. If
there’s anything you like about that worthless little thing, then go for it.
She’s all yours. But what you see is what you get—her only dowry is my
disapproval. There she is.
BURGUNDY
I don’t know what to say.
LEAR
She’s got big flaws. She has no
friends or protectors. I no longer love her. Her only dowry is my curse and
banishment. So do you take her or leave her?
BURGUNDY
I’m sorry, sir, but nobody can make
a choice like this in such circumstances.
LEAR
Then leave her, sir. I swear to God
she’s not worth anything more than what I told you. (to FRANCE) And as for you, great King of France, I’d never insult our friendship by
encouraging you to marry a girl I hate. So I beg you to look around for a
better match than this wretched creature that you can barely call human.
FRANCE
This is most strange,
That she that even but now was your best object—
The argument of your praise, balm of your age,
Most best, most dearest—should in this trice of time
Commit a thing so monstrous to dismantle
So many folds of favor. Sure, her offense
Must be of such unnatural degree
That monsters it (or your fore-vouched affection
Fall into taint), which to believe of her
Must be a faith that reason without miracle
Could never plant in me.
CORDELIA
(to LEAR) I yet beseech your majesty,
If for I want that glib and oily art
To speak and purpose not—since what I well intend,
I’ll do ’t before I speak—that you make known
It is no vicious blot, murder, or foulness,
No unchaste action or dishonored step
That hath deprived me of your grace and favor,
But even for want of that for which I am richer:
A still-soliciting eye and such a tongue
As I am glad I have not, though not to have it
Hath lost me in your liking.
LEAR
Go to, go to. Better thou
Hadst not been born than not t' have pleased me better.
FRANCE
Is it no more but this—a tardiness in nature
Which often leaves the history unspoke
That it intends to do?—My lord of Burgundy,
What say you to the lady? Love’s not love
When it is mingled with regards that stands
Aloof from th' entire point. Will you have her?
She is herself a dowry.
FRANCE
This is very odd. Until very
recently she was your favorite, the object of all your praise and the delight
of your old age. It’s strange that someone so dear to you could do anything so
horrible as to warrant this sudden hatred.
Her crime must be extreme and monstrous, or else your earlier love for her
wasn’t as true as it seemed. But it’d take a miracle to make me believe she
could do anything that horrible.
CORDELIA
(to LEAR) Please, your majesty, I don’t have a glib way with words and I only say what I
mean. If I decide to do something, then I do it instead of talking about it. So
I beg your majesty to let people know that it wasn’t because I did something
atrocious
that I fell from your favor. I
didn’t murder or commit any immoral or lustful act. I’m out of favor simply
because I’m not a fortune-hunter and I don’t have a smooth way with
words—and I’m a better person because of it, even though it has cost me
your love.
LEAR
Enough. It would’ve been better for
you not to have been born at all than to displease me as you did.
FRANCE
You mean this is the whole problem,
that she is shy and hasn’t said everything she means to say and do?—My
lord of Burgundy, what do you have to say to this lady? Love’s not love when it
gets mixed up with irrelevant outside matters. Will you marry her? She herself
is as valuable as any dowry could ever be.
BURGUNDY
(to LEAR)Royal King,
Give but that portion which yourself proposed,
And here I take Cordelia by the hand,
Duchess of Burgundy.
LEAR
Nothing. I have sworn. I am firm.
BURGUNDY
(to CORDELIA) I am sorry then. You have so lost a father
That you must lose a husband.
CORDELIA
Peace be with Burgundy.
Since that respects and fortunes are his love,
I shall not be his wife.
FRANCE
Fairest Cordelia, that art most rich being poor,
Most choice forsaken, and most loved despised!
Thee and thy virtues here I seize upon,
Be it lawful I take up what’s cast away.
Gods, gods! 'Tis strange that from their cold’st neglect
My love should kindle to inflamed respect.—
Thy dowerless daughter, King, thrown to my chance,
Is queen of us, of ours, and our fair France.
Not all the dukes of waterish Burgundy
Can buy this unprized precious maid of me.—
Bid them farewell, Cordelia, though unkind.
Thou losest here, a better where to find.
LEAR
Thou hast her, France. Let her be thine, for we
Have no such daughter, nor shall ever see
That face of hers again. (to CORDELIA) Therefore be gone
Without our grace, our love, our benison.—
Come, noble Burgundy.
Flourish
Exeunt all but FRANCE, GONERIL, REGAN,
and CORDELIA
BURGUNDY
(to LEAR) King, just give me the dowry you promised me, and I’ll make Cordelia the
Duchess of Burgundy right away.
LEAR
No, I’ll give nothing. I won’t budge
on that.
BURGUNDY
(to CORDELIA) In that case, I’m sorry you have to lose me as a husband because you lost the
king as a father.
CORDELIA
Peace to you, my lord of Burgundy.
Since you love money and power so much, I won’t be your wife.
FRANCE
Beautiful Cordelia, you’re all the
richer now that you’re poor. You’re more valuable now that you’re rejected and
more loved now that you’re hated.
I’ll take you and your wonderful
virtues here and now, if it’s okay that I’m picking up what others have thrown
away. It’s so strange that in neglecting you so cruelly, the gods have made me
love you so dearly.—King, the daughter you’ve rejected is now mine, as
Queen of France. No Duke of spineless Burgundy can take this treasure of a girl
from me now.—Say goodbye to them, Cordelia, even though they’ve been
unkind to you. You’ll find a much better place in France than what you’re
giving up here.
LEAR
She’s yours, King of France. Take
her. She’s no longer my daughter, and I’ll never see her face again. (to CORDELIA) So get out of here. Leave without any blessing or love from
me.—Come with me, Burgundy.
Trumpets play.
Everyone exits except FRANCE, GONERIL, REGAN,
and CORDELIA.
EMILIA
How goes it now? He looks gentler than
he did.
DESDEMONA
He says he will return incontinent,
And hath commanded me to go to bed
And bid me to dismiss you.
EMILIA
Dismiss me?
DESDEMONA
It was his bidding. Therefore, good
Emilia,
Give me my nightly wearing, and adieu.
We must not now displease him.
EMILIA
Ay. Would you had never seen him!
DESDEMONA
So would not I. My love doth so approve
him
That even his stubbornness, his checks,
his frowns—
Prithee, unpin me—have grace and
favor.
EMILIA
I have laid those sheets you bade me on
the bed.
DESDEMONA
All’s one. Good Father, how foolish are
our minds!
If I do die before thee, prithee,
shroud me
In one of these same sheets.
EMILIA
Come, come! You talk!
DESDEMONA
My mother had a maid called Barbary,
She was in love, and he she loved
proved mad
And did forsake her. She had a song of
“Willow,”
An old thing ’twas, but it expressed
her fortune
And she died singing it. That song
tonight
Will not go from my mind. I have much
to do
But to go hang my head all at one side
And sing it like poor Barbary. Prithee,
dispatch.
EMILIA
Shall I go fetch your nightgown?
EMILIA
How are things now?
He looks calmer than he did before.
DESDEMONA
He says he’ll come
back right away. He asked me to go to bed and to send you away.
EMILIA
Send me away?
DESDEMONA
That’s what he said.
So give me my nightgown, Emilia, and I’ll say goodnight. We shouldn’t displease
him.
EMILIA
Yes. I wish you’d
never met him.
DESDEMONA
That’s not what I
wish. I love him even when he’s harsh and mean—Help me unpin this, would
you?—I love even his stubbornness, his frowns, his bad moods.
EMILIA
I put those wedding
sheets on your bed, as you asked.
DESDEMONA
It doesn’t matter.
Oh, how silly we are! If I die before you do make sure I’m wrapped in those
sheets in my coffin.
EMILIA
Listen to you! Don’t
be silly!
DESDEMONA
My mother had a maid
named Barbary. She was in love, and her lover turned out to be wild and left
her. She knew an old song called “Willow” that reminded her of her own story,
and she died singing it. I can’t get that song out of my head tonight. It’s all
I can do to keep myself from hanging my head down in despair and singing it
like poor Barbary. Please, hurry up.
EMILIA
Should I get your
nightgown?
DESDEMONA
No, unpin me here.
This Lodovico is a proper man.
EMILIA
A very handsome man.
DESDEMONA
He speaks well.
EMILIA
I know a lady in Venice would have
walked barefoot to Palestine for a touch of his nether lip.
DESDEMONA
(singing)
The poor soul sat sighing by a sycamore tree,
Sing all a green willow.
Her hand on her bosom, her head on her knee,
Sing willow, willow, willow.
The fresh streams ran by her, and murmured her moans,
Sing willow, willow, willow.
Her salt tears fell from her, and softened the stones
Lay by
these—
Sing willow, willow, willow—
Prithee, hie
thee, he’ll come anon—
Sing all a green willow must be my garland.
Let nobody blame him, his scorn I approve—
Nay, that’s not next—Hark! Who is
’t that knocks?
EMILIA
It’s the wind.
DESDEMONA
(sings)
I called my love false love but what said he then?
Sing willow, willow, willow.
If I court more women
you’ll couch with more men—
So, get thee gone, good night. Mine
eyes do itch,
Doth that bode weeping?
EMILIA
'Tis neither here nor there.
DESDEMONA
No, just help me
unpin this. That Lodovico is a good-looking man.
EMILIA
He’s very handsome.
DESDEMONA
He speaks well.
EMILIA
I know a lady in
Venice who’d walk all the way to Palestine for a kiss from him.
DESDEMONA
(singing)
The poor soul sat singing by the sycamore tree,
Everyone sing the green willow,
She had her hand on her breast and her head on her knee,
Sing willow, willow, willow.
The fresh streams ran by her and murmured her moans,
Sing willow, willow, willow.
Her salt tears fell from her and softened the stones,
Put these things over there.—
Sing willow, willow, willow.—
Please, hurry, he’ll come right away.—
Everyone sing, a green willow must be my garland.
Nobody blame him, he’s right to hate me—
No, that’s not how it
goes.—Who’s knocking?
EMILIA
It’s the wind.
DESDEMONA
(singing)
I told my lover he didn’t love me, but what did he say?
Sing willow, willow, willow.
If I chase more
women, you’ll sleep with more men—
Okay, go away now.
Good night. My eyes itch—is that an omen I’ll be crying soon?
EMILIA
No, it doesn’t mean
anything.
DESDEMONA
I have heard it said so. Oh, these men,
these men!
Dost thou in conscience
think—tell me, Emilia—
That there be women do abuse their
husbands
In such gross kind?
EMILIA
There be some such, no question.
DESDEMONA
Wouldst thou do such a deed for all the
world?
EMILIA
Why, would not you?
DESDEMONA
No, by this heavenly light!
EMILIA
Nor I neither, by this heavenly light.
I might do ’t as well i' th' dark.
DESDEMONA
Wouldst thou do such a deed for all the
world?
EMILIA
The world’s a huge thing. It is a great
price for a small vice.
DESDEMONA
In troth, I think thou wouldst not.
EMILIA
In troth, I think I should, and undo ’t
when I had done. Marry, I would not do such a thing for a joint-ring, nor for
measures of lawn, nor for gowns, petticoats, nor caps, nor any petty
exhibition. But for the whole world? Why, who would not make her husband a
cuckold to make him a monarch? I should venture purgatory for ’t.
DESDEMONA
Beshrew me, if I would do such a wrong
For the whole world.
EMILIA
Why the wrong is but a wrong i' th'
world, and having the world for your labor, ’tis a wrong in your own world, and
you might quickly make it right.
DESDEMONA
I do not think there is any such woman.
DESDEMONA
I heard someone say
that’s what it means. Oh, these men, these men! Do you honestly
think—tell me, Emilia—there are women who’d cheat on their husbands
in such a disgusting manner?
EMILIA
There are women like
that out there, no question.
DESDEMONA
Would you ever do
such a thing for all the world?
EMILIA
Why, wouldn’t you?
DESDEMONA
By the light of
heaven, no, I would not!
EMILIA
I wouldn’t either, by
daylight. It would be easier to do it in the dark.
DESDEMONA
Could you really do
such a thing, for all the world?
EMILIA
The world’s huge.
It’s a big prize for such a small sin.
DESDEMONA
I don’t think you
would.
EMILIA
Actually I think I
would, and then I’d undo it after I did it. I wouldn’t do it for a nice ring,
or fine linen, or pretty gowns or petticoats or hats. But for the whole world?
Who wouldn’t cheat on her husband to make him king? I’d risk my soul for that.
DESDEMONA
I’d never do such a
bad thing, not for the whole world!
EMILIA
Why, a bad action is
just a wrong in this world, but when you’ve won the whole world, it’s a wrong
in your own world, so you can make it right then.
DESDEMONA
I don’t think any
woman like that exists.
EMILIA
Yes, a dozen, and as many to th'
vantage as would store the world they played for.
But I do think it is their husbands'
faults
If wives do fall. Say that they slack
their duties
And pour our treasures into foreign
laps,
Or else break out in peevish
jealousies,
Throwing restraint upon us. Or say they
strike us,
Or scant our former having in despite.
Why, we have galls, and though we have
some grace,
Yet have we some revenge. Let husbands
know
Their wives have sense like them. They
see and smell
And have their palates both for sweet
and sour,
As husbands have. What is it that they
do
When they change us for others? Is it
sport?
I think it is. And doth affection breed
it?
I think it doth. Is ’t frailty that
thus errs?
It is so too. And have not we
affections,
Desires for sport, and frailty, as men
have?
Then let them use us well, else let
them know,
The ills we do, their ills instruct us
so.
DESDEMONA
Good night, good night. Heaven me such
uses send,
Not to pick bad from bad, but by bad
mend!
EMILIA
Yes, a dozen of
them—as many as there are women in the world, in fact. But I do think
it’s the husband’s fault if we wives cheat on them. For instance, our husbands may
stop sleeping with us, and give it out to other women instead. Or they may get
insanely jealous, and keep us from going anywhere. Or let’s say they hit us, or
cut back on the money they give us out of spite. We have feelings. We may be
able to forgive them, but we want to get back at them too. Husbands need to
know that their wives are human beings too. They see, smell, and taste sweet
and sour just like their husbands. Why do they replace us with other women? Do
they do it for fun? I think they do. Is it out of lust? I think so. Is it a
weakness? It is. And don’t we have passions, and a taste for fun, and
weaknesses, just like men? Then tell them to treat us well. Or let them figure
out that the bad things we do are just what we learned from them.
DESDEMONA
Good night, good
night. I pray that God will let me learn from women like that—not to
follow their bad example, but to avoid it!
JULIET appears in a window above
ROMEO
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. Oh, it is
my love.
Oh, 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 eye 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.
Oh, that I were a glove
upon that hand
That I might touch that
cheek!
JULIET
Ay me!
ROMEO
(aside) She
speaks.
O, speak again, bright
angel! For thou art
As glorious to this night,
being o'er my head,
As is a wingèd messenger
of heaven
Unto the white, upturnèd,
wondering eyes
Of mortals that fall back
to gaze on him
When he bestrides the
lazy-puffing clouds
And sails upon the bosom
of the air.
JULIET enters on the balcony.
ROMEO
Wait,
what’s that light in the window over there? It is the east, and Juliet is the
sun. Rise up, beautiful sun, and kill the jealous moon. The moon is already
sick and pale with grief because you, Juliet, her maid, are more beautiful than
she.
Don’t
be her maid, because she is jealous. Virginity makes her look sick and green.
Only fools hold on to their virginity. Let it go. Oh, there’s my lady! Oh, it
is my love. Oh, I wish she knew how much I love her. She’s talking, but she’s
not saying anything. So what? Her eyes are saying something. I will answer
them. I am too bold. She’s not talking to me. Two of the brightest stars in the
whole sky had to go away on business, and they’re asking her eyes to twinkle in
their places until they return. What if her eyes were in the sky and the stars were
in her head?—The brightness of her cheeks would outshine the stars the
way the sun outshines a lamp. If her eyes were in the night sky, they would
shine so brightly through space that birds would start singing, thinking her
light was the light of day. Look how she leans her hand on her cheek. Oh, I
wish I was the glove on that hand so that I could touch that cheek.
JULIET
Oh,
my!
ROMEO
(to
himself) She speaks.
Oh, speak again, bright angel. You are as glorious as an angel tonight. You
shine above me, like a winged messenger from heaven who makes mortal men fall
on their backs to look up at the sky, watching the angel walking on the clouds
and sailing on the air.
JULIET
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.
ROMEO
(aside) Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?
JULIET
'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 word would
smell as sweet.
So Romeo would, were he
not Romeo called,
Retain that dear
perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo,
doff thy name,
And for that name, which
is no part of thee
Take all myself.
ROMEO
I take thee at thy word.
Call me but love, and I’ll
be new baptized.
Henceforth I never will be
Romeo.
JULIET
What man art thou that,
thus bescreened in night,
So stumblest on my
counsel?
ROMEO
By a name
I know not how to tell
thee who I am.
My name, dear saint, is
hateful to myself
Because it is an enemy to
thee.
Had I it written, I would
tear the word.
JULIET
My ears have not yet drunk
a hundred words
Of that tongue’s uttering,
yet I know the sound.
Art thou not Romeo, and a
Montague?
JULIET
(not knowing ROMEO hears
her) Oh, Romeo, Romeo, why do you have to be Romeo? Forget about your
father and change your name. Or else, if you won’t change your name, just swear
you love me and I’ll stop being a Capulet.
ROMEO
(to himself) Should I listen
for more, or should I speak now?
JULIET
(still not knowing ROMEO hears
her) It’s only your name that’s my enemy. You’d still be yourself even if
you stopped being a Montague. What’s a Montague anyway? It isn’t a hand, a
foot, an arm, a face, or any other part of a man. Oh, be some other name! What
does a name mean? The thing we call a rose would smell just as sweet if we
called it by any other name. Romeo would be just as perfect even if he wasn’t
called Romeo. Romeo, lose your name. Trade in your name—which really has
nothing to do with you—and take all of me in exchange.
ROMEO
(to JULIET) I trust
your words. Just call me your love, and I will take a new name. From now on I
will never be Romeo again.
JULIET
Who
are you? Why do you hide in the darkness and listen to my private thoughts?
ROMEO
I
don’t know how to tell you who I am by telling you a name. I hate my name, dear
saint, because my name is your enemy. If I had it written down, I would tear up
the paper.
JULIET
I haven’t
heard you say a hundred words yet, but I recognize the sound of your voice.
Aren’t you Romeo? And aren’t you a Montague?
ROMEO
Neither, fair maid, if
either thee dislike.
JULIET
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.
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.
Therefore thy kinsmen are
no stop to me.
JULIET
If they do see thee they
will murder thee.
ROMEO
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
I would not for the world
they saw thee here.
ROMEO
I have night’s cloak to
hide me from their eyes,
And but thou love me, let
them find me here.
My life were better ended
by their hate
Than death proroguèd,
wanting of thy love.
JULIET
By whose direction found’st
thou out this place?
ROMEO
By love, that first did
prompt me to inquire.
He lent me counsel and I
lent him eyes.
I am no pilot. Yet, wert
thou as far
As that vast shore washed
with the farthest sea,
I would adventure for such
merchandise.
ROMEO
I
am neither of those things if you dislike them.
JULIET
Tell
me, how did you get in here? And why did you come? The orchard walls are high,
and it’s hard to climb over them. If any of my relatives find you here they’ll
kill you because of who you are.
ROMEO
I
flew over these walls with the light wings of love. Stone walls can’t keep love
out. Whatever a man in love can possibly do, his love will make him try to do
it. Therefore your relatives are no obstacle.
JULIET
If
they see you, they’ll murder you.
ROMEO
Alas,
one angry look from you would be worse than twenty of your relatives with
swords. Just look at me kindly, and I’m invincible against their hatred.
JULIET
I’d
give anything to keep them from seeing you here.
ROMEO
The
darkness will hide me from them. And if you don’t love me, let them find me
here. I’d rather they killed me than have to live without your love.
JULIET
Who
told you how to get here below my bedroom?
ROMEO
Love
showed me the way—the same thing that made me look for you in the first
place. Love told me what to do, and I let love borrow my eyes. I’m not a
sailor, but if you were across the farthest sea, I would risk everything to
gain you.
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 tonight.
Fain would I dwell on
form. Fain, fain deny
What I have spoke. But
farewell compliment!
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,
They say, Jove laughs. O
gentle Romeo,
If thou dost love,
pronounce it faithfully.
Or if thou think’st I am
too quickly won,
I’ll frown and be perverse
and say thee nay,
So thou wilt woo. But
else, not for the world.
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
Than those that have more coying
to be strange.
I should have been more
strange, I must confess,
But that thou overheard’st,
ere I was 'ware,
My true love’s passion.
Therefore pardon me,
And not impute this
yielding to light love,
Which the dark night hath
so discovered.
ROMEO
Lady, by yonder blessèd
moon I vow,
That tips with silver all
these fruit-tree tops—
JULIET
O, swear not by the moon, th'
inconstant moon,
That monthly changes in
her circle orb,
Lest that thy love prove
likewise variable.
ROMEO
What shall I swear by?
JULIET
Do not swear at all.
Or, if thou wilt, swear by
thy gracious self,
Which is the god of my
idolatry,
And I’ll believe thee.
JULIET
You
can’t see my face because it’s dark out. Otherwise, you’d see me blushing about
the things you’ve heard me say tonight. I would be happy to keep up good
manners and deny the things I said. But forget about good manners. Do you love
me? I know you’ll say “yes,” and I’ll believe you. But if you swear you love
me, you might turn out to be lying. They say Jove laughs when lovers lie to
each other. Oh Romeo, if you really love me, say it truly. Or if you think it’s
too easy and quick to win my heart, I’ll frown and play hard-to-get, as long as
that will make you try to win me, but otherwise I wouldn’t act that way for
anything. In truth, handsome Montague, I like you too much, so you may think my
behavior is loose. But trust me, gentleman, I’ll prove myself more faithful
than girls who act coy and play hard-to-get. I should have been more standoffish,
I confess, but you overheard me talking about the love in my heart when I
didn’t know you were there. So excuse me, and do not assume that because you
made me love you so easily my love isn’t serious.
Lady,
I swear by the sacred moon above, the moon that paints the tops of fruit trees
with silver—
JULIET
Don’t
swear by the moon. The moon is always changing. Every month its position in the
sky shifts. I don’t want you to turn out to be that inconsistent too.
ROMEO
What
should I swear by?
JULIET
Don’t
swear at all. But if you have to swear, swear by your wonderful self, which is
the god I worship like an idol, and then I’ll believe you.
ROMEO
If my heart’s dear
love—
JULIET
Well, do not swear.
Although I joy in thee,
I have no joy of this
contract tonight.
It is too rash, too
unadvised, too sudden,
Too like the lightning, which
doth cease to be
Ere one can say “It
lightens.” Sweet, good night.
This bud of love, by
summer’s ripening breath,
May prove a beauteous
flower when next we meet.
Good night, good night! As
sweet repose and rest
Come to thy heart as that
within my breast.
ROMEO
O, wilt thou leave me so
unsatisfied?
JULIET
What satisfaction canst
thou have tonight?
ROMEO
Th' exchange of thy love’s
faithful vow for mine.
JULIET
I gave thee mine before
thou didst request it,
And yet I would it were to
give again.
ROMEO
Wouldst thou withdraw it?
For what purpose, love?
JULIET
But to be frank, and give
it thee again.
And yet I wish but for the
thing I have.
My bounty is as boundless
as the sea,
My love as deep. The more
I give to thee,
The more I have, for both
are infinite.
NURSE calls
from within
I hear some noise within.
Dear love, adieu.—
Anon, good
Nurse!—Sweet Montague, be true.
Stay but a little. I will
come again.
Exit JULIET, above
ROMEO
If
my heart’s dear love—
JULIET
Well,
don’t swear. Although you bring me joy, I can’t take joy in this exchange of
promises tonight. It’s too crazy. We haven’t done enough thinking. It’s too
sudden. It’s too much like lightning, which flashes and then disappears before
you can say, “it’s lightning.” My sweet, good night. Our love, which right now
is like a flower bud in the summer air, may turn out to be a beautiful flower
by the next time we meet. I hope you enjoy the same sweet peace and rest I feel
in my heart.
ROMEO
Oh,
are you going to leave me so unsatisfied?
JULIET
What
satisfaction could you possibly have tonight?
ROMEO
I
would be satisfied if we made each other true promises of love.
JULIET
I
pledged my love to you before you asked me to. Yet I wish I could take that
promise back, so I had it to give again.
ROMEO
You
would take it back? Why would you do that, my love?
JULIET
Only
to be generous and give it to you once more. But I’m wishing for something I
already have. My generosity to you is as limitless as the sea, and my love is
as deep. The more love I give you, the more I have. Both loves are infinite.
The NURSE calls from offstage.
I
hear a noise inside. Dear love, goodbye—Just a minute, good Nurse. Sweet
Montague, be true. Stay here for a moment. I’ll come back.
JULIET exits.
ROMEO
O blessèd, blessèd night!
I am afeard,
Being in night, all this
is but a dream,
Too flattering sweet to be
substantial.
Enter JULIET, above
JULIET
Three words, dear Romeo, and
good night indeed.
If that thy bent of love
be honorable,
Thy purpose marriage, send
me word tomorrow
By one that I’ll procure
to come to thee
Where and what time thou
wilt perform the rite,
And all my fortunes at thy
foot I’ll lay
And follow thee my lord
throughout the world.
NURSE
(from within) Madam!
JULIET
I come, anon.—But if
thou mean’st not well,
I do beseech thee—
NURSE
(from within) Madam!
JULIET
By and by, I come.—
To cease thy strife and
leave me to my grief.
Tomorrow will I send.
ROMEO
So thrive my soul—
JULIET
A thousand times good
night!
Exit JULIET, above
ROMEO
A thousand times the worse
to want thy light.
Love goes toward love as
schoolboys from their books,
But love from love, toward
school with heavy looks.
Moves to exit Reenter JULIET, above
ROMEO
Oh,
blessed, blessed night! Because it’s dark out, I’m afraid all this is just a
dream, too sweet to be real.
JULIET enters on her balcony.
JULIET
Three
words, dear Romeo, and then it’s good night for real. If your intentions as a
lover are truly honorable and you want to marry me, send me word tomorrow. I’ll
send a messenger to you, and you can pass on a message telling me where and
when we’ll be married. I’ll lay all my fortunes at your feet and follow you, my
lord, all over the world.
NURSE
(offstage) Madam!
JULIET
(to the NURSE) I’ll be
right there! (to ROMEO) But if you don’t have honorable
intentions, I beg you—
NURSE
(offstage) Madam!
JULIET
Alright,
I’m coming!—I beg you to stop trying for me and leave me to my sadness.
Tomorrow I’ll send the messenger.
ROMEO
My
soul depends on it—
JULIET
A
thousand times good night.
JULIET exits.
ROMEO
Leaving
you is a thousand times worse than being near you. A lover goes toward his beloved
as enthusiastically as a schoolboy leaving his books, but when he leaves his
girlfriend, he feels as miserable as the schoolboy on his way to school.
ROMEO starts
to leave. JULIET returns, on her balcony.
JULIET
Hist! Romeo,
hist!—Oh, for a falconer’s voice,
To lure this tassel-gentle
back again!
Bondage is hoarse, and may
not speak aloud,
Else would I tear the cave
where Echo lies,
And make her airy tongue
more hoarse than mine,
With repetition of “My
Romeo!”
ROMEO
It is my soul that calls
upon my name.
How silver-sweet sound
lovers' tongues by night,
Like softest music to
attending ears!
JULIET
Romeo!
ROMEO
My sweet?
JULIET
What o'clock tomorrow
Shall I send to thee?
ROMEO
By the hour of nine.
JULIET
I will not fail. 'Tis
twenty year till then.
I have forgot why I did
call thee back.
ROMEO
Let me stand here till
thou remember it.
JULIET
I shall forget, to have
thee still stand there,
Remembering how I love thy
company.
ROMEO
And I’ll still stay, to
have thee still forget,
Forgetting any other home
but this.
JULIET
'Tis almost morning. I
would have thee gone.
And yet no further than a
wanton’s bird,
That lets it hop a little
from his hand
Like a poor prisoner in
his twisted gyves,
And with a silken thread
plucks it back again,
So loving-jealous of his
liberty.
JULIET
Hist,
Romeo! Hist! Oh, I wish I could make a falconer’s call, so I could bring my
little falcon back again. I’m trapped in my family’s house, so I must be quiet.
Otherwise I would rip open the cave where Echo sleeps. I would make her repeat
his name until her voice grew more hoarse than mine by repeating, “My Romeo!”
ROMEO
My
soul is calling out my name. The sound of lovers calling each others names
through the night is silver-sweet. It’s the sweetest sound a lover ever hears.
JULIET
Romeo!
ROMEO
My
sweet?
JULIET
What
time tomorrow should I send a messenger to you?
ROMEO
By
nine o'clock.
JULIET
I
won’t fail. From now until then seems like twenty years. I have forgotten why I
called you back.
ROMEO
Let
me stand here until you remember your reason.
JULIET
I’ll
forget it, and you’ll have to stand there forever. I’ll only remember how much
I love your company.
ROMEO
I’ll
keep standing here, even if you keep forgetting. I’ll forget that I have any
home besides this spot right here.
JULIET
It’s
almost morning. I want to make you go, but I’d only let you go as far as a
spoiled child lets his pet bird go. He lets the bird hop a little from his hand
and then yanks him back by a string.
ROMEO
I would I were thy bird.
JULIET
Sweet, so would I.
Yet I should kill thee
with much cherishing.
Good night, good night!
Parting is such sweet sorrow
That I shall say good
night till it be morrow.
Exit JULIET, above
ROMEO
Sleep dwell upon thine
eyes, peace in thy breast.
Would I were sleep and
peace, so sweet to rest.
Hence will I to my ghostly
friar’s close cell,
His help to crave and my
dear hap to tell.
Exit
I
wish I was your bird.
JULIET
My
sweet, so do I. But I would kill you by petting you too much. Good night, good
night. Parting is such sweet sorrow that I’ll say good night until tonight
becomes tomorrow.
JULIET exits.
ROMEO
I
hope you sleep peacefully. I wish I were Sleep and Peace, so I could spend the
night with you. Now I’ll go see my priest, to ask for his help and tell him
about my good luck.
He exits.