 | Romeo and Juliet |  |
SCENE V.
The Monastery.Enter Friar Lawrence and Romeo.
Fri.
Romeo come forth, come forth thou fearful man,
Affliction is enamour'd of thy parts;
And thou art wedded to calamity.
Rom.
Father, what news? what is the prince's doom?
What forrow craves acquaintance at my hand,
That I yet know not?
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Too familiar
Is my dear son with such sour company,
I bring thee tidings of the prince's doom.
Rom.
What less than death can be the prince's doom?
Fri,
A gentler judgment vanish'd from his lips,
Not body's death, but body's banishment.
Rom.
Ha! banishment! be merciful, say death;
For exile hath more terror in his look,
Much more than death: Do not say banishment;
'Tis death mis-term'd calling death banishment;
Thou cut'st my head off with a golden ax,
And smil'st upon the stroke that murders me.
Fri.
O deadly sin! O rude unthankfulness!
Thy fault our law calls death, but the kind prince
Taking thy part hath push'd aside the law,
And turn'd that black word death to banishment,
This is meer mercy, and thou seest it not.
Rom.
'Tis torture, and not mercy: heav'n is here
Where Juliet lives. There's more felicity
In carrion-flies, than Romeo: they may seize
On the white wonder of dear Juliet's hand,
And steal immortal blessings from her lips;
But Romeo may not, he is banished!
O father, hadst thou no strong poison mixt,
No sharp-ground knife, no present means of death,
But banishment to torture me withal.
Fri.
Fond mad-man, hear me speak.
I'll give thee armour to bear off that word,
Adversity's sweet-milk, philosophy,
To comfort thee tho' thou art banished.
Rom.
Yet banished? hang up philosophy:
Unless philosophy can make a Juliet,
It helps not it prevails not, talk no more—
Fri.
Let me dispute with thee of thy estate.
Rom.
Thou canst not speak of what thou dost not feel:
Wert thou as young as I, Juliet thy love,
An hour but married, Tibalt murthered:
Doting like me, and like me banished;
Then might'st thou speak, then might'st thou tear thy hair,
And fall upon the ground as I do now,
Taking the measure of an unmade grave.
[Throwing himself on the ground.
Fri.
Arise, one knocks; good Romeo, hide thyself.
[Knock within.
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Not I, unless the breath of heart-sick groans,
Mist-like, infold me from the search of eyes.
Fri.
Hark how they knock—Romeo, arise.
Who's there?
Thou wilt be taken—stay a while—stand up;
[Knocks.
Run to my study—By and by—God's will;
What wilfulness is this!—I come, I come.
[Knock.
Who knocks so hard? whence come you? what's your will?
Nurse
[within.]
Let me come in, and you shall know my errand:
I come from lady Juliet.
Fri.
Welcome then.
Enter Nurse.
Nurse.
O holy Friar, oh tell me, holy Friar,
Where is my lady's lord? where's Romeo?
Fri.
There, on the ground, with his own tears made drunk.
Nurse.
O he is even in my mistress's case,
Just in her case: O Juliet, Juliet!
Rom.
Speak'st thou of Juliet? how is it with her?
Since I have stain'd the childhood of our joy
With blood,
Where is she? how does she? what says she?
Nurse.
O she says nothing, Sir, but weeps and weeps,
And now falls on her bed, and then starts up,
And Tibalt cries, and then on Romeo calls,
And then down falls again.
Rom.
As if that name
Shot from the deadly level of a gun
Did murder her. Tell me, Friar, tell me,
In what vile part of this anatomy
Doth my name lodge? tell me, that I may sack
The hateful mansion.
Fri.
Hold thy desperate hand:
Art thou a man? thy form cries out, thou art;
Thy tears are womanish, thy wild acts note
Th'unreasonable fury of a beast.
Thou hast amaz'd me. By my holy order,
I thought thy disposition better-temper'd.
Hast thou slain Tibalt? wilt thou slay thyself?
And slay thy lady too, that lives in thee?
What, rouse thee, man, thy Juliet is alive,
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Ascend her chamber, hence and comfort her:
But look thou stay not 'till the watch be set,
For then thou can'st not pass to Mantua,
Where thou shalt live, 'till we can find a time
To blaze your marriage, reconcile your friends,
Beg pardon of thy prince, and call thee back
With twenty hundred thousand times more joy,
Than thou went'st forth in lamentation.
Go before, nurse; commend me to thy lady,
And bid her hasten all the house to rest,
Romeo is coming.
Nurse.
O lord, I could have staid here all night long
To hear good counsel: oh, what learning is!
My lord, I'll tell my lady you will come.
Rom.
Do so, and bid my sweet prepare to chide.
Nurse.
Here, Sir, a ring she bid me give you, Sir:
Hie you, make haste, for it grows very late.
Rom.
How well my comfort is reviv'd by this!
Fri.
Sojourn in Mantua; I'll find out your man,
And he shall signify from time to time
Every good hap to you that chances here:
Give me thy hand, 'tis late, farewel, good-night.
Rom.
But that a joy, past joy, calls out on me,
It were a grief, so soon to part with thee.
[Exeunt.
| Romeo and Juliet | |