Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Stage history; Theater -- England
Romeo goes direct from Capulet's orchard to Friar Lawrence's cell to make
confession of his "deare hap." He loves now in earnest, and love teaches
him to brave all dangers, and even to face matrimony; and his virtuous
mood wins for him the good-will of the Friar, who sees in the alliance of
the two houses their reconciliation. In the poem and novel both the lovers
avow a similar disinterested motive to justify their union, but the mind
of reason never enters the heart of love, and Shakespeare, in their case,
wisely omits this bit of sophistry. The advance of the love episode must
move side by side with the quarrel episode, so in the next scene we hear
of Romeo receiving a challenge from Tybalt. The Irving-version omits most
of the good-natured banter between Romeo and Mercutio, which is all
telling comedy if spoken lightly and quickly. The Nurse enters, and
Mercutio and Benvolio set off for Montague's house, where they propose
dining. The incident that follows must have been very irritating to the
Elizabethan Puritans, who complained of the corruption of morals begot in
"the chapel of Satan" by witnessing the carrying and recarrying of letters
by laundresses "to beguile fathers of their children." Here more excellent
comedy is omitted in the Irving-version, including the Nurse's allusion to
Paris as being "the properer man" of the two, and her naive question,
"Doth not Rosemarie and Romeo begin both with a letter?" The Nurse had
overheard Juliet talk about "Rosemarie and Romeo." Later on we see
rosemary strewed over the body of the apparently dead Juliet.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account