| “O Romeo O Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name.” | julietmeaning: 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. |
| “But 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.” | Romeo, He is expressing his feelings at the capulet’s orchard, it is important because it shows how much he loves her. he says “It is the East, and juliet is the sun” this means she is so hot and butiful that she is around the whole day., Soliloquy, Romeo , Romeo, after Capulet’s dance, Romeo hides in the Capulet orchard and glimpses Juliet at her window. |
| “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By another word would smell as sweet So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called.” | … |
| “O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon, That monthly changes in her circle orb, Lest that thy love prove likewise variable.” | Who: JulietWhen: She is on her balcony after the Capulet’s party with Romeo standing below.Why: Romeo is swearing by the moon that he loves her.Meaning: She does not wish for Romeo to swear by the moon because it is inconstant. |
| “Good night, good night! Painting is such sweet sorrow That I shall say good night till it be morrow.” | Romeo |
| “Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied. And vice sometime by action dignified.” | Friar Lawrence-talking about people’s actions, -friar (remember: vice=bad, virtue=good) if misused, good intentions/things can turn bad, and bad intent/things can turn good |
| “Is Rosaline, that thou didst love so dear, So soon forsaken? Young men’s love then lies Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes.” | Friar Lawrenceto RomeoHave you given up so quickly on who you loved so much? Then young men love with their eyes and not with their hearts. |
| “Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast.” | Friar Lawrence to Romeo (Act II, Scene iii), 1. Friar Lawrence 2. Romeo is asking to the friar to marry them, saying to hurry and the friar says to be patient. 3. It makes reference to the old story about the Tortoise and the Hare. Romeo’s previous line O, let us hence; I stand on sudden haste shows that he wants to hurry and the friar says slow down or you’ll fall on your face. |
| “Alas, poor Romeo, he is already dead…run through the ear with a love song.” | Mercutio, Mercutio to Benvolio Act 2Mercutio is telling Benvolio how its too late to rescue Romeo, he has already fallen in love. |
| “Do thou but close our hands with holy words, Then love-devouring death do what he dare – It is enough I may but call her mine.” | Romeo to Friar LawrenceAll you have to do is join our hand with holy words, then love-destroying death can do whatever it pleases.It is enough for me if I can call her mine. |
| “These violent delights have violent ends And in their triumph die, like fire and powder, Which, as they kiss consume.” | Friar LawrenceThese sudden joys have sudden endings. They burn up in victory like fire and gunpowder. When they meet as in a kiss they explode. |
| “Romeo, the love I bear thee can afford No better term than this: thou art a villain.” | Tybalt, Tybalt is saying he can only call Romeo one tihng; a villian. This is right before mercutios death. it is a retort to what romeo previously said. |
| “Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man.” | Mercutio, Speaker: Mercutiocontext/significance: pun on grave, Speaker: Mercutio To whom: Romeo, Tybalt, et al.Importance: Mercutio, even to the end, uses humor, but here, he’s also mad.Shows significance of using both tragic and humorous in dramatic genre |
| “A plague a’ both your houses!” | Mercutio–to Romeo and Tybalt while he is dying because of their fight, Mercutio, fatally wounded by Tybalt, curses both the Capulets and Montagues, Mercutio to Benvolio. They have just fought and Mercutio is injured. -Curse both the houses because they are the reason for my death |
| “Give me Romeo; and, when he shall die, Take him and cut him out in little stars, And he will make the face of heaven so fine That all the world will be in love with night And pay no worship to the garish sun.” | JulietGive me Romeo and when I die turn him into stars and form a constellation in his image. His face will make the heavens so beautiful that the world will fall in love with the night and forget about the garish sun. |
| “Romeo, come forth; come forth; thou fearful man. Affliction is enamored of thy parts, And thou art wedded to calamity.” | Friar LawrenceHe is telling Romeo to come out you frightened man, trouble likes Romeo and he is wedded to disaster |
| “Well, we were born to die.” | Lord Capulet, paradox |
| “Ay, sir, but she will none, she gives you thanks. I would the fool were married to her grave!” | Lady Capulet, . Yes. And in reply she says thank you but no thanks. May the fool be married to her grave!, lady capulet to lord capulet. i would rather her die |
| “Ancient damnation! O most wicked fiend! Thou and my bosom henceforth shall be twain.” | Julietdamned old lady. It is a worse sin for her to want me to break my vows and for her to say bad things after she praised him. |
| “What, drawn, and talk of peace? I hate the word As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee.” | Tybalt → Benvolio: What are you talking about? I do not want to stop fighting. I hate peace as much as I hate hell, your family, and you., Said by Tybalt to Benvolio, shows his aggressive nature and intense hatred towards the Montagues |
| “O me! What fray was here? Yet tell me not, for I have heard it all. Here’s much to do with hate, but more with love.” | Speaker: RomeoTo whom: BenvolioSignificance: Romeo points to the inherent oppositions and paradoxes of life, love, hate; Does he mean that the fights are the result of too much love of kin? This seems to be one of the under currents of the poem — the search for balance in a general sense, but especially in terms of how we love one another. |
| “It is an honor I dream not of” | Juliet to Lady Capulet I don’t want to be married.This tells us that Juliet does not want to be married |
| “I fear, too early; for my mind misgives Some consequences yet hanging in the stars Shall bitterly begin his fearful date With this night’s revels and expire the term Of a despised life,closed in my breast, But some vile forfeit of untimely death.” | RomeoRomeo is worried they will get there to early. He fears the party is going to be the start to something bad, end to his own death. |
| “O, where is Romeo? Saw you him today? Right glad I am he was not at this fray.” | Lady Montague, Rhyming couplet, Said by Lady Montague to Benvolio, she doesn’t know where Romeo is but is glad he wasn’t there for the fight |
| “My only love, sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and unknown too late! Prodigious birth of love is to me That I must love a loathed enemy.” | Juliet, (Juliet to Herself) [aside] it is a shame that my first love is my only enemy. she realizes here that she can not love him because he is a Montague, Juliet after the Nurse tells her that Romeo is a Montague. She has already fallen in love with him. The information has come too late to save them from this difficult situation. |
| “But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is 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.” | Soliloquy, Romeo, He is expressing his feelings at the capulet’s orchard, it is important because it shows how much he loves her. he says “It is the East, and juliet is the sun” this means she is so hot and beautiful that she is around the whole day. |
| “O, shut the door, and when thou hast done so, Come weep with me-past hope, past care, past help!” | JulietO shut the door and after you shut it come over here and weep with me. this mess is beyond hope, beyond cure, beyond help. |
| “Is Rosaline, that thou didst love so dear, So soon forsaken? Young men’s love then lies Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes.” | Friar Lawrence to RomeoHave you given up so quickly on Rosaline whom you loved so much? Then young men love with their eyes,not with their hearts. |
| “O, look! Methinks I see my cousin’s ghost Seeking out Romeo, that did split his body Upon a rapier’s point. Stay, Tybalt, stay! Romeo, Romeo, Romeo, I drink to thee.” | Oh look I think I see my cousin Tybalt’s ghost.He’s looking for Romeo because Romeo Killed him with his sword. Wait Tybalt. romeo here’s a drink. i drink to you. |
| “Death lies on her like an untimely frost Upon the sweetest flower of all the field.” | Capuletsimile |
| Death is my son-in-law, Death is my heir;My daughter he hath wedded, I will die And leave him all. Life, living, all is Death’s.” | Lord Capulet |
| “Heaven and yourself Had part in this fair maid-now heaven hath all, and all the better is the maid. Your part in her you could not keep from death. But heaven keeps his part in eternal life.” | Friar Lawrence to CapuletYou had this child with the help from heaven. Now heaven has her. She is in a better place. You could not prevent her from dying someday, but heaven will give her eternal life. |
| “Is it e’en so? Then I defy you, stars!” | Romeo to Balthasar – I don’t not accept this.Characterization |
| “O mischief, thou art swift To enter in the thoughts of desperate men!” | personification Romeo |
| “The world is not thy friend, nor the world’s law;The world affords no law to make thee rich;Then be not poor, but breaks it and take this.” | Romeo to ApothecaryThe world is not your friend and neither is the law. The world doesn’t make laws to make you rich. so don’t be poor. Break the law and take this money. |
| “There is thy gold-worse poison to men’s souls, Doing more murder in the loathsome world. Than these poor compounds that thou mayst not sell, I sell thee poison: thou has sold me none.” | Romeo to ApothecaryThere is your gold. Money is the worst poison men’s souls, and commits more murders in this awful world then these poor poison that are not allowed to be sold. You have not sold me any goodbye. |
| “Thou detestable maw, thou womb of death, Gorged with the dearest morsel of the earth, Thus I enforce thy rotten jaws to open, And in despite I’ll cram thee with more food.” | RomeoRomeo says this as he forces open the Capulet crypt. It is a metaphor – the grave becomes a “maw” or mouth that eats the dead, and Romeo threatens to force more food into that mouth (suicide). |
| “O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.” | Romeo |
| “Yea, noise? Then I’ll be brief. O happy dagger! This is thy sheath;there rust, and let me die.” | JulietOh noise? Then I’ll be quick. Oh good a knife! My body will be your sheath. Rust inside my body and let me die. She stabs herself with Romeo’s dagger and dies. |
| “Capulet, Montague, See what a scourge is laid upon your hate, That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love, And I, for winking at your discords too, Have lost a brace for kinsmen. All are punished.” | Prince to Montague and Capulet; both of your houses are punished because it is from your feud that your kids murdered themselves. It’s ironic that you are mourning for them, but they died for joy in love. It’s your fault, you are to blame for the deaths. |
| “Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things; Some shall be pardoned, and some punished;For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.” | Prince |
Romeo and Juliet quotes
August 5, 2019