ROMEO & JULIET

by William Shakespeare

ACT II – Scene II

This act sets up the complication of the play.  By the end of the act, all the characters are clearly defined and the consequences of the clash between love and hate begin to be felt.  The reader is positioned to feel great sympathy for the main characters and a sense of alarm about what is to come.

-              Romeo hides in Capulet’s orchard

-              There he finds Juliet and they express their love to each other

-              Friar Laurence agrees to marry the two lovers

-              Tybalt sends a change to Rome

-              The Nurse helps Juliet to get married secretly

-              Romeo and Juliet meet at Friar Laurence’s cell so that they can be married.

In scene II Capulet’s orchard (the balcony scene) is the most famous scene of this play and contains some of the more recognisable and memorable passages, as well as one of the most famous romantic scenes in English literature.  Much of this has to do with the build-up of Act I and the language that is so skilfully used by Shakespeare.  He describes the blossoming of Romeo and Juliet’s romance.  The scene takes place at night, showing the way Romeo and Juliet’s love exists in a peaceful, quiet world away from the existing violence between their families during the day.  Throughout the play, their love grows at night – making reference to the forbidden nature of their relationship.  During the day the two are forced to be apart to avoid being discovered by the Capulet kinsmen.

Romeo dismisses Mercutio’s comments and talks aloud of his love for Juliet.  Juliet, unaware of Romeo’s presence in the garden, appears outside on the balcony and professes her love of Romeo.  This is when the famous quote, “O Romeo, Romeo!  Wherefore art thou Romeo?” appears at line 33.  She is in love with Romeo but very much distressed by the fact that he is a Montague.  Rome shows himself to Juliet and with much dramatic language he courts her.

The perfection of this scene is only over shadowed by the fears of the two young lovers.  Romeo fears that the conflict between their families will stand in the way of their love, and Juliet fears for Romeo’s life, worried that if he is discovered in her garden by a Capulet, he will be killed. 

The scene ends and they agree to be married in the morning.  Juliet promises to send Nurse as the go-between and Romeo leaves to find Father Laurence.