Romeo and Juliet - Act 2

Scene 1
1. Romeo : Turn back dull earth, and find thy centre out
  1. He has the impulsion to go to Juliet, not caring about his family's morals and values, and shows rebellion. He knows that he is the honourable man, and therefore Juliet cannot take it upon herself to continue the relationship
  2. He has to lead the relationship between the two, and becomes the alpha male, and shows dominance, almost marks his territory
  3. Theme: Possession/Male Dominance
  4. 'Can my body go away when my heart is here'
  5. Earth - The human body was traditionally said to be made from 'the dust of the ground' - Genesis 2.7
  6. Centre - Heart
2. Benvolio: Blind is his love, and best befits the dark.
  1. Foreshadows the ending of the play, has connotations of hidden/forbidden or danger, which also describes how they died, and most of the relationship relating to family
  2. Many of Romeo and Juliet's scenes happen in the dark, signifies the relationship is only a shadow of what it could have been if they had lived.
  3. Shows irony, as Juliet is compared to the sun in the next scene
  4. Theme: Love
  5. Mercutio: If love be blind, love cannot hit the mark.
    1. Links to Benvolio's quite just before, as if their love is blind, it is encased in darkness
Scene 2 (Balcony Scene)
1. The lovers are physically separated, Shakespeare can only show passion and love through poetry, instead of real, visible embraces
  1. The entire scene is almost a metaphor for rape/sex/consent, as Romeo literally invades Juliets private space, and continues to pursue her and chases her like a predator - he is there without her permission, and is unwanted at first
  2. Theme: Possession/Male dominance/Patriarchy
2. Romeo: But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is east, and Juliet is the sun
  1. A metaphor, builds on the idea that Juliet is Romeo's guiding light, lifting out of his previous, sombre mood
    1. Also shows how dependent Romeo is on other people, he cannot be independent or show power without someone to guide him, like a spoilt child
      1. Theme: Role of genders in society
  2. Romeo: kill the envious moon
    1. The moon is cold/inferior compared to the sun, as the moon is only lit by reflecting the sun's light, showing how Romeo and Rosaline's relationship was Romeo's false perception of love
3. Romeo: It is my lady, O it is my love
  1. Objectifies Juliet as a possession of Romeo's although they had only just met, he shows dominance and patriarchy over her, but romeo had invaded her personal space and thoughts
  2. Theme: Patriarchy/Male dominance
4. Juliet: O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse they name; Or if thou wilt not, but be sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Capulet
  1. She has little respect for her family, and is rebellious, enforces the ideology at the time that women were emotional, irrational and led by their hearts
  2. She also agrees to marriage before she knows that Romeo is watching her
  3. Theme: Family/Obedience
5. Juliet: What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet
  1. Iambic pentameter, shows false certainty in Juliet's thoughts
  2. Words do not mean anything, and do not have any link to the identity of an object or person. Juliet refuses to believe that Romeo is a Montague, and is willing to love him without any social repercussions.
  3. Juliet's use of language to dismiss ideas of family will not be feasible as Romeo and Juliet are the only characters in the play who are willing to completely disregard their families
    1. The Nurse is forced to accept Juliet's beliefs as she does not want to lose her job
  4. Theme: Family/Obedience
6. Romeo: I take thee at thy word, Call me but love, and I'll be new baptised; Henceforth I never will be Romeo
  1. Even the potential 'power of their love' cannot remove their names, or identities that they have created for themselves, and that their families have created for them. They feed of each other's ludicrous, unrealistic and very optimistic and naïve ideas about love
  2. Theme: Family/Identity
7. Juliet: What man art thou that thus bescreen'd in night So stumblest on my counsel?
  1. Romeo shows dominance over Juliet, by invading her private/personal space, shows impulsion and irrationality, which is a trait which is usually related to women in this period
8. Juliet: Swear by thy gracious self, Which is the god of my idolatry
  1. Blasphemous language, relates to the amount of religious language used to describe each other, including when Romeo and Juliet first met
  2. Theme: Religion
9. Romeo: O speak again, bright angel, for thou art/ As glorious to this night
  1. Juliet is described as a divine being, links to the religious imagery in the sonnet - nearly blasphemous
  2. Theme: Light and Dark
Scene 3
1. Friar Lawrence: Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied, And vice sometime by action dignified
  1. If plants and herbs are used improperly, it can lead to misfortune and danger, which foreshadows the ending, where Romeo assumes that Juliet is dead after taking the draft that the Friar gave her
  2. Theme: Death/Tragedy
2. Friar Lawrence: Posion hath residence, and medicine power
  1. Even in the plants, there are two sides, a powerful evil and a powerful good force within them, this relates to many of the characters
  2. Friar Lawrence: And where the worser is predominant, Full soon the canker death eats up that plant
    1. Where the good within the plant is unbalanced by the evil power, it will destroy anything in it's way, and relating to Romeo and Juliet, the evil may kill even the 'power of love' which they claim to have found
3. Friar Lawrence: For this alliance may be so happy prove, To turn your households' rancour to true love
  1. Although he is an adult, with a larger perspective on life, and not wrapped in a bubble of 'true love', the Friar encourages Romeo and Juliet's relationship, and therefore Romeo's beliefs that he is in true love.
    1. This suggests that the Friar becomes more of a friend to Romeo than a trustworthy, reliable adult because it seems like he is only happy that romeo is out of his usual melodramatic slump of overwhelming sadness, and is therefore encouraging those feelings to continue. The Friar seems to be going out of his way to make sure that romeo stays happy.
  2. Or this could suggest that the Friar actually want to take responsibility when the houses unite in harmony, as he was the one who married Romeo and Juliet. He may only want to marry them to receive credit and therefore more respect and power from the houses, since he was the one who encouraged these feelings of love and passion
Scene 4
1. Mercurio: Now art thou sociable, now art thou Romeo
  1. Now you are yourself, as when Romeo was with Rosaline, he was like an illness
Scene 5
Scene 6
1. Friar Lawrence: These violent delights have violent ends

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Romeo and Juliet - Act 2

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