Act 2
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FRIAR LAWRENCE
55Be plain, good son, and homely in thy drift.
Riddling confession finds but riddling shrift.
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FRIAR LAWRENCE Speak plainly, make your meaning clear, my son. A jumbled
confession can only receive a jumbled absolution.
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ROMEO Then plainly know my heart’s dear love is set
On the fair daughter of rich Capulet.
As mine on hers, so hers is set on mine,
60And all combined, save what thou must combine
By holy marriage. When and where and how
We met, we wooed and made exchange of vow,
I’ll tell thee as we pass, but this I pray:
That thou consent to marry us today.
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ROMEO I love rich Capulet’s daughter. I love her, and she loves
me. We’re bound to each other in every possible way, except
we need you to marry us. I’ll tell you more later about
when and where we met, how we fell in love, and how we exchanged
promises, but now I’m begging you: please, agree to marry
us today.
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FRIAR LAWRENCE
65Holy Saint Francis, what a change is here!
Is Rosaline, whom thou didst love so dear,
So soon forsaken? Young men’s love then lies
Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes.
Jesu Maria, what a deal of brine
70Hath washed thy sallow cheeks for Rosaline!
How much salt water thrown away in waste
To season love that of it doth not taste!
The sun not yet thy sighs from heaven clears,
Thy old groans ring yet in my ancient ears.
75Lo, here upon thy cheek the stain doth sit
Of an old tear that is not washed off yet.
If e'er thou wast thyself and these woes thine,
Thou and these woes were all for Rosaline.
And art thou changed? Pronounce this sentence then:
80Women may fall when there’s no strength in men.
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FRIAR LAWRENCE Holy Saint Francis, this is a drastic change! Have you given up so
quickly on Rosaline, whom you loved so much? Then young men love
with their eyes, not with their hearts. Jesus and Mary, how many
tears did you cry for Rosaline? How many salty tear-drops did you
waste salting a love you never tasted? The sun hasn’t yet
melted away the fog you made with all your sighs. The groans you
used to make are still ringing in my old ears. There’s
still a stain on your cheek from an old tear that hasn’t
been washed off yet. If you were ever yourself, and this sadness was
yours, you and your sadness were all for Rosaline. And now
you’ve changed? Then repeat this after me: you
can’t expect women to be faithful when men are so
unreliable.
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ROMEO Thou chid’st me oft for loving Rosaline.
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ROMEO You scolded me often for loving Rosaline.
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FRIAR LAWRENCE For doting, not for loving, pupil mine.
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FRIAR LAWRENCE I scolded you for obsessing about her, not for loving her, my
student.
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ROMEO And badest me bury love.
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ROMEO And you told me to bury my love.
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More Help
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Character List
CHARACTERS -
Romeo: Character Analysis
CHARACTERS -
Plot Analysis
MAIN IDEAS -
Are Romeo and Juliet really in love?
MAIN IDEAS -
Quotes by Theme
QUOTES -
Themes
MAIN IDEAS -
Review Quiz
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