The Chorus delivers another short sonnet describing
the new love between Romeo and Juliet: the hatred between the lovers’
families makes it difficult for them to find the time or place to
meet and let their passion grow; but the prospect of their love
gives each of them the power and determination to elude the obstacles
placed in their path.
Having left the feast, Romeo decides that he cannot go
home. He must instead try to find Juliet. He climbs a wall bordering
the Capulet property and leaps down into the Capulet orchard. Benvolio
and Mercutio enter, calling out for Romeo. They are sure
he is nearby, but Romeo does not answer. Exasperated and amused,
Mercutio mocks Romeo’s feelings for Rosaline in an obscene speech.
Mercutio and Benvolio exit under the assumption that Romeo does
not want to be found. In the orchard, Romeo hears Mercutio’s teasing.
He says to himself, “He jests at scars that never felt a wound”
(2.1.43).
Juliet suddenly appears at a window above the spot where Romeo
is standing. Romeo compares her to the morning sun, far more beautiful
than the moon it banishes. He nearly speaks to her, but thinks better
of it. Juliet, musing to herself and unaware that Romeo is in her
garden, asks why Romeo must be Romeo—a Montague, and therefore an
enemy to her family. She says that if he would refuse his Montague
name, she would give herself to him; or if he would simply swear
that he loved her, she would refuse her Capulet name. Romeo responds
to her plea, surprising Juliet, since she thought she was alone.
She wonders how he found her and he tells her that love led him
to her. Juliet worries that Romeo will be murdered if he is found
in the garden, but Romeo refuses to budge, claiming that Juliet’s
love would make him immune to his enemies. Juliet admits she feels
as strongly about Romeo as he professes he loves her, but she worries
that perhaps Romeo will prove inconstant or false, or will think
Juliet too easily won. Romeo begins to swear to her, but she stops
him, concerned that everything is happening too quickly. He reassures
her, and the two confess their love again. The Nurse calls for Juliet,
and Juliet goes inside for a moment. When she reappears, she tells
Romeo that she will send someone to him the next day to see if his
love is honorable and if he intends to wed her. The Nurse
calls again, and again Juliet withdraws. She appears at the window
once more to set a time when her emissary should call on him: they
settle on nine in the morning. They exult in their love for another moment
before saying good night. Juliet goes back inside her chamber, and
Romeo departs in search of a monk to aid him in his cause.
The prologue to the second act reinforces themes that
have already appeared. One love has been replaced by another through
the enchanting power of the “charm of looks,” and the force of parental influence
stands in the way of the lovers’ happiness. This prologue functions
less as the voice of fate than the first one does. Instead it builds
suspense by laying out the problem of the two lovers and hinting
that there may be some way to overcome it: “But passion lends them
power, time means, to meet, / Temp’ring extremities with extreme
sweet” (2.Prologue.13–14).
Act 2 is the happiest and least tragic act in the play.
In it, Shakespeare devotes himself to exploring the positive, joyful,
and romantic aspects of young love. Scene 1, the balcony scene (so
called because it is often staged with Juliet on a balcony, though
the stage directions suggest only that she is at a window above
Romeo), is one of the most famous scenes in all of theater, owing
to its beautiful and evocative poetry. Shakespeare plumbs the depths
of the young lovers’ characters, and captures the subtleties of
their interaction, as in Juliet’s struggle between the need for
caution and an overpowering desire to be with Romeo.
Many of the most important scenes in Romeo and
Juliet, such as the balcony scene, take place either very
late at night or very early in the morning, since Shakespeare must
use the full length of each day in order to compress the action
of the play into just four days. Shakespeare exploits the transition
between day and night with a recurring light/dark motif, sometimes
drawing a sharp distinction between night and day, at other times
blurring the boundaries between them. Romeo’s long, impassioned
description of Juliet in the balcony scene is an example of this
theme. Romeo imagines that Juliet is the sun, rising from the east
to banish the night; in effect, he says that she is transforming
night into day.
