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And private in his chamber pens himself,
Shuts up his windows, locks fair daylight out,
130And makes himself an artificial night.
Black and portentous must this humor prove
Unless good counsel may the cause remove.
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He locks himself up alone in his bedroom, shuts his windows to
keep out the beautiful daylight, and makes himself an artificial
night. This mood of his is going to bring bad news, unless someone
smart can fix what’s bothering him.
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BENVOLIO My noble uncle, do you know the cause?
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BENVOLIO My noble uncle, do you know why he acts this way?
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MONTAGUE I neither know it nor can learn of him.
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MONTAGUE I don’t know, and he won’t tell me.
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BENVOLIO
135Have you importuned him by any means?
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BENVOLIO Have you done everything you could to make him tell you the
reason?
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MONTAGUE Both by myself and many other friends.
But he, his own affections' counselor,
Is to himself—I will not say how true,
But to himself so secret and so close,
140So far from sounding and discovery,
As is the bud bit with an envious worm,
Ere he can spread his sweet leaves to the air,
Or dedicate his beauty to the same.
Could we but learn from whence his sorrows grow.
145We would as willingly give cure as know.
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MONTAGUE I’ve tried, and many of our friends have tried to make
him talk, but he keeps his thoughts to himself. He doesn’t
want any friend but himself, and though I don’t know
whether he’s a good friend
to himself, he certainly keeps his own secrets. He’s like a
flower bud that won’t open itself up to the world because
it’s been poisoned from within by parasites. If we could
only find out why he’s sad, we’d be as eager to
help him as we were to learn the reason for his sadness.
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Enter ROMEO
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ROMEO enters.
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BENVOLIO See, where he comes. So please you, step aside.
I’ll know his grievance or be much denied.
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BENVOLIO Look—here he comes. If you don’t mind, please
step aside. He’ll either have to tell me what’s
wrong or else tell me no over and over.
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MONTAGUE I would thou wert so happy by thy stay
To hear true shrift.—Come, madam, let’s
away.
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MONTAGUE I hope you’re lucky enough to hear the true story by
sticking around. (to his wife) Come,
madam, let’s go.
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Exeunt MONTAGUE and LADY
MONTAGUE
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MONTAGUE and LADY
MONTAGUE exit.
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