Romeo & Juliet

Romeo & Juliet

Marginal Comments by bunpeiris

It all catches fire with insanely wagging tongues of a couple of slapstick cowards, minions: not at all by steel of the masters. A brawl among the bawdy & rowdy from the houses of Montague and Capulet equal in dignity, succeeds in setting ablaze an unknown ancient feud between the two merchant families. Amiable Benvolio, a cousin of Hero Romeo, true to his name, seeks to make peace. Yet, peace that he seeks, is a bridge too far. He is drawn into the fray by Fiery Tybalt, a nephew of Lord Capulet, hastening the friends & citizens of fair Verona too throwing their weight into the brawl. The Prince rushes in time to disperse the rioters. He forbids further outbreaks of violence, on pain of death. Yet the violence wouldn’t be arrested: swords are drawn, blood is spilled. In no time, that who is given to peace as well as that who is bent on the sharpest steel falls. Grace & rude will do battle within the human psyche. A frantic pace & frenzy set in: immediate banishment; wedding arrangements in great haste; burial of the fairest maiden alive; outbreak of Black Plague; a letter undelivered & returned to the sender; poison dear yet not too dear; a rival wooer in mourning; a duel at a grave.

“Then I defy you, stars” Romeo screams against the fate that he believes is thwarting his desires (5.1.24). The world has no sanctuary for him, but with Juliet in the same grave for eternity: “Well, Juliet,” he says, “I will lie with thee tonight”
The darkest night of all takes over. The most passionate hearts ever are put to the potion & dagger: double suicide of Juliet & her Romeo.

The beauty of love that is so threatened and so fragile is intensified by the brevity of the experience. A tragic outcome therefore affirms the uniqueness and pristine quality of youthful ecstasy. The flowering & fading of a joy “too rich for use, for earth too dear’ [1.5.48] does not so much condemn the unfeeling world as welcome the martyrdom of reality dying for love.
David Bevington & David Scott Kastan: Romeo & Juliet, The New Bantam Shakespeare

In spite of the tragedy, the drama never seizes to overwhelm the spectators or readers with its supremely passionate romance, no matter the form & medium in which it is witnessed, wherever the nook [imagine bunpeiris here in the south western coastal town of Mortuwa, Sri Lanka, far away from the market town of Stratford-upon-Avon, England] of the earth that one live, with its heart rending, when it’s not heartwarming, narration: it is for all times & all cosmos.

If the scene in the feast where Romeo first set his eyes upon Juliet and falls head over heels is the juiciest introduction in paying homage [“If I profane with my unworthiest hand, this holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss”(1.5.94)] to your love at first sight, the balcony scene reveals in the most delirious doctorate on the concept of Declaration of Love. No lover, who has resolved to pour out his heart to his heartthrob, should venture to do so, unless the romance of the Balcony Scene is mastered. Master the language of the master: throw the dictionary through the window to the yard & read on.

Make a move towards unraveling top layers of meanings of the words & phrases, till the inner layers of deeper meanings are revealed, so that you would fish in the richness & complexity of the Master’s streams, forever flowing. Marshal all your cognitive faculties. Muster all links with all the knowledge, i.e. fiction & real you can recall & recollect. [Even the tragic tale of Monica & her lover, Upendre who, hand in hand, jumped over the escarpment of World’s End, at the edge of Horton’s Plains, Health Triangle, Central Highlands of Sri Lanka in the early sixties.] Then go for the dictionaries, commentaries, analytical essays and critical reviews.

Romeo & Juliet [1591] is for all cosmos, for all times: Ramleela Starring Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, inspired and based on work of William Shakespeare “Romeo and Juliet’. [2013]

Balcony scene in a nutshell

Romeo leaves the feast, but not Juliet. Longing to see Juliet once again, he climbs a wall bordering the Capulet property and leaps down into the Capulet orchard. And to his delight, in no time, Juliet appears at a window close to him. Romeo compares her to the morning sun, far more beautiful than the moon it banishes. He is in two minds whether to address her, yet stay quiet.

Juliet, unaware that Romeo is in her garden, gives voice to a monologue.
She asks why Romeo must be Romeo—a Montague, and therefore an enemy to her family. She says that if he would refuse his Montague name, she would give herself to him. Or else if he is unable to forsake his name, she would forsake her surname: Capulet.

Romeo, being unable to stay quiet responds to her plea. Juliet is taken by surprise since she thought she was all alone. As to the question of Juliet how he found himself in their orchard, Romeo tells her it was with the light wings of god [allusion to traditional portrayals of Cupid as a winged boy] that he found his way in.  As to the consternation of Juliet, that he would be killed by her kinsmen, should he be caught, Romeo replies that his life coming to an end is better than being deprived of her love.
Juliet admits she feels as strongly about Romeo as he professes he loves her. Juliet confesses she would have been more reserved, but now Romeo has already overheard her, forgive her & do not deem her yielding in love to him as frivolous. Romeo begins to swear but Juliet would have none of it. Romeo reassures Juliet of his love and in return Juliet asks him to marry her. Romeo agrees and part with sweet sorrow till tomorrow.

Romeo & Juliet [1591] is for all cosmos, for all times: PHOTO: Dream wedding: Luca Ceccarelli kisses his wife Irene Lanforti after getting married at Casa di Giulietta in Verona A modern-day Romeo finally got his girl when the northern Italian city of Verona opened up the balcony where Juliet supposedly pined for her lover as a venue for weddings. 2 Jun 2009

"Shakespeare not only invented the English language, but also created human nature as we know it today" Harold Bloom

Shakespeare [Is he Seekuperuge from Hambantota?]

Balcony scene as the master narrated

JULIET

O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name;
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I'll no longer be a Capulet.

ROMEO
[Aside] Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?

JULIET
'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself.

ROMEO
I take thee at thy word:
Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized;
Henceforth I never will be Romeo.

JULIET
What man art thou that thus bescreen'd in night
So stumblest on my counsel?

ROMEO
By a name
I know not how to tell thee who I am:
My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself,
Because it is an enemy to thee;
Had I it written, I would tear the word.

JULIET
My ears have not yet drunk a hundred words
Of that tongue's utterance, yet I know the sound:
Art thou not Romeo and a Montague?

ROMEO
Neither, fair saint, if either thee dislike.

JULIET
How camest thou hither, tell me, and wherefore?
The orchard walls are high and hard to climb,
And the place death, considering who thou art,
If any of my kinsmen find thee here.

ROMEO
With love's light wings did I o'er-perch these walls;
For stony limits cannot hold love out,
And what love can do that dares love attempt;
Therefore thy kinsmen are no let to me.

JULIET
If they do see thee, they will murder thee.

ROMEO
Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye
Than twenty of their swords: look thou but sweet,
And I am proof against their enmity.

JULIET
I would not for the world they saw thee here.

ROMEO
I have night's cloak to hide me from their sight;
And but thou love me, let them find me here:
My life were better ended by their hate,
Than death prorogued, wanting of thy love.

JULIET
By whose direction found'st thou out this place?

ROMEO
By love, who first did prompt me to inquire;
He lent me counsel and I lent him eyes.

I am no pilot; yet, wert thou as far
As that vast shore wash'd with the farthest sea,
I would adventure for such merchandise.

JULIET
Thou know'st the mask of night is on my face,
Else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek
For that which thou hast heard me speak to-night
Fain would I dwell on form, fain, fain deny
What I have spoke: but farewell compliment!
Dost thou love me? I know thou wilt say 'Ay,'
And I will take thy word: yet if thou swear'st,
Thou mayst prove false; at lovers' perjuries
Then say, Jove laughs. O gentle Romeo,
If thou dost love, pronounce it faithfully:
Or if thou think'st I am too quickly won,
I'll frown and be perverse an say thee nay,
So thou wilt woo; but else, not for the world.
In truth, fair Montague, I am too fond,
And therefore thou mayst think my 'havior light:
But trust me, gentleman, I'll prove more true
Than those that have more cunning to be strange.
I should have been more strange, I must confess,
But that thou overheard'st, ere I was ware,
My true love's passion: therefore pardon me,
And not impute this yielding to light love,
Which the dark night hath so discovered.

ROMEO
Lady, by yonder blessed moon I swear
That tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops--

JULIET
O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon,
That monthly changes in her circled orb,
Lest that thy love prove likewise variable.

ROMEO
What shall I swear by?

JULIET
Do not swear at all;
Or, if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self,
Which is the god of my idolatry,
And I'll believe thee.

ROMEO
If my heart's dear love--

JULIET
Well, do not swear: although I joy in thee,
I have no joy of this contract to-night:
It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden;
Too like the lightning, which doth cease to be

Ere one can say 'It lightens.' Sweet, good night!
This bud of love, by summer's ripening breath,
May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet.
Good night, good night! as sweet repose and rest
Come to thy heart as that within my breast!

ROMEO
O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?

JULIET
What satisfaction canst thou have to-night?

ROMEO
The exchange of thy love's faithful vow for mine.

JULIET
I gave thee mine before thou didst request it:
And yet I would it were to give again.

ROMEO
Wouldst thou withdraw it? for what purpose, love?

JULIET
But to be frank, and give it thee again.
And yet I wish but for the thing I have:
My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite.

Nurse calls within
I hear some noise within; dear love, adieu!
Anon, good nurse! Sweet Montague, be true.
Stay but a little, I will come again.

Exit, above

ROMEO
O blessed, blessed night! I am afeard.
Being in night, all this is but a dream,
Too flattering-sweet to be substantial.

Re-enter JULIET, above
JULIET
Three words, dear Romeo, and good night indeed.
If that thy bent of love be honourable,
Thy purpose marriage, send me word to-morrow,
By one that I'll procure to come to thee,
Where and what time thou wilt perform the rite;
And all my fortunes at thy foot I'll lay
And follow thee my lord throughout the world.

Nurse
[Within] Madam!

JULIET
I come, anon.--But if thou mean'st not well,

I do beseech thee--

Nurse
[Within] Madam!

JULIET
By and by, I come:
To cease thy suit, and leave me to my grief:
To-morrow will I send.

ROMEO
So thrive my soul--

JULIET
A thousand times good night!

Exit, above

ROMEO
A thousand times the worse, to want thy light.
Love goes toward love, as schoolboys from their books,
But love from love, toward school with heavy looks.

Retiring
Re-enter JULIET, above

JULIET
Hist! Romeo, hist! O, for a falconer's voice,
To lure this tassel-gentle back again!
Bondage is hoarse, and may not speak aloud;
Else would I tear the cave where Echo lies,
And make her airy tongue more hoarse than mine,
With repetition of my Romeo's name.

ROMEO
It is my soul that calls upon my name:
How silver-sweet sound lovers' tongues by night,
Like softest music to attending ears!

JULIET
Romeo!

ROMEO
My dear?

JULIET
At what o'clock to-morrow
Shall I send to thee?

ROMEO
At the hour of nine.

JULIET
I will not fail: 'tis twenty years till then.
I have forgot why I did call thee back.

ROMEO
Let me stand here till thou remember it.

JULIET
I shall forget, to have thee still stand there,
Remembering how I love thy company.

ROMEO
And I'll still stay, to have thee still forget,
Forgetting any other home but this.

JULIET
'Tis almost morning; I would have thee gone:
And yet no further than a wanton's bird;
Who lets it hop a little from her hand,
Like a poor prisoner in his twisted gyves,
And with a silk thread plucks it back again,
So loving-jealous of his liberty.

ROMEO
I would I were thy bird.
JULIET
Sweet, so would I:
Yet I should kill thee with much cherishing.
Good night, good night! parting is such
sweet sorrow,
That I shall say good night till it be morrow.

Exit above

ROMEO
Sleep dwell upon thine eyes, peace in thy breast!
Would I were sleep and peace, so sweet to rest!
Hence will I to my ghostly father's cell, His help to crave, and my dear hap to tell.

Exit

Notes
Wherefore art thou Romeo?: ‘Why are you a member of the Montaue family?’ Juliet is already aware that this will be a barrier to their love
She wishes that Romeo could renounce his parentage, or if that cannot be, and yet he loves her, that she could renounce her own.
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague: ‘What you are really like has nothing to do with the fact that you are a Montague.’
Owes: owns
doff: remove (as one takes off clothes).
counsel: private thoughts
if either thee dislike: ‘if either is displeasing to you’
And the place death: ‘being found here would be fatal for you.’
Love makes a man hold enough to attempt anything that is possible however dangerous.
sweet: affectionate, gracious
And but: so long as
prorogued: put off, delayed
I am no pilot… farthest sea: Romeo here uses an image that would spring naturally  to the minds of the Elizabethans in an age when great voyages of exploration were taking place, he says that, though not an experienced sailor, he would undertake a voyage to the end of the world if Juliet were his prize.
Thou knowest the mask of night is on my face… …….which the dark night hath so discovered
This whole speech gives us a vivid & sympathetic picture of a young girl, very much in love, wh is afraid of her behavior being too light but who is nevertheless anxious to make her love known.
Fain would I dwel on form: ‘I should like to behave in a proper lady-like fashion.’
but farewell complement!: but away with the restraints of formality.’
lovers’ perjuries: lovers’ lies
Jove: The King of the gods used various disguises in his amorous adventures
too fond: too foolish
Light: wanton, frivolous. Maidens who yielded too easily were referred to as ’light’.
Cunning to be strange: skill at seeming distant, aloof
My true love’s passion. ……….. yielding to light love: Do not believe that my showing my feelings is due to being too easy, or lacking seriousness.
Light Love: love lacking in the weightiness of truth and sincerity. 
inconstant moon….changes in her circled orb: The moon is thought inconstant because it visibly waxes and wanes.
Or, if thou wilt, swear…. God of my idolatry: ‘I am like a heathen (i.e non-Christian) worshipper and you are my idol.’
Well, do not swear. Although I joy in thee………….. Come to thy heart as that within my breast: Is Juliet worried by the suddenness of their love? Or is this already a shadow of what is to come?
This bud of love…..when we next meet: Their love which isn’t yet developed, may become mature by their next meeting
And yet I would it were to give again: I wish I could give it to you again
frank: generous
afeard: afraid
bent: inclination, feeling

Romeo & Juliet [1591] is for all cosmos, for all times: Ramleela Starring Ranveer Singh and
Deepika Padukone, inspired and based on work of William Shakespeare “Romeo and Juliet’. [2013]

To be continued. bunpeiris

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