It is too rash, too unadvis’d, too sudden,hasty, acting before judgment can catch up
Romeo and Juliet
Act 2
William Shakespeare · Mountaineers 10th–12th
Copywork
Well, do not swear. Although I joy in thee,I have no joy of this contract tonight;It is too rash, too unadvis’d, too sudden,Too like the lightning, which doth cease to beEre 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 restCome to thy heart as that within my breast.
Juliet stops Romeo's oath and then, inside the same speech, repeats "good night" three times and imagines a flower at their next meeting. Read your copy aloud and mark the images of lightning and bud. What changes between them, and how does the repeated "good night" sound beside both?
Discussion
Narration Retell Act II in order, from the Chorus to the Friar's cell, and say what time of day it is at each step.
- The Chorus says Romeo, "held a foe," "may not have access" to Juliet, but "passion lends them power, time means, to meet." What kind of scenes does that set you up to expect, and what does it leave unsaid? Plot structure
- Juliet stops Romeo's oath as "too rash, too unadvis’d, too sudden," then asks him to send word of marriage tomorrow. What is she after in each moment? Character
- Juliet says the orchard walls are "high and hard to climb" and her kinsmen "will murder thee." Romeo answers with love's power and "night’s cloak." What does the exchange show about how each of them sees the danger? Inference
- Friar Lawrence says the match "may so happy prove" as to "turn your households’ rancour to pure love." How do you weigh that reason against what he says earlier in the scene about young men's love? Moral reasoning
- Juliet waits three hours, and the Nurse answers her with aching bones and "Where is your mother?" What does the comedy of this delay do to your feeling about Juliet's hurry? Tone
- Romeo says no sorrow can "countervail the exchange of joy" that one minute with Juliet gives. The Friar answers, "Therefore love moderately." Whose view of joy do you find wiser? Theme
Make a Connection Tell about a time you wanted something so much that you did not want to wait.
Vocabulary
- rash
- repose
Good night, good night. As sweet repose and rest Come to thy heart as that within my breast.
restful calm- inconstant
O swear not by the moon, th’inconstant moon,
always changing, not to be relied on- perjuries
At lovers’ perjuries, They say Jove laughs.
broken oaths, promises sworn and not kept- idolatry
Which is the god of my idolatry,
worship given to something that is not God- rancour
To turn your households’ rancour to pure love.
long-held bitterness- chide
I pray thee chide me not, her I love now
to scold- moderately
Therefore love moderately: long love doth so;
within limits, not to excess
Critical thinking
- The Nurse warns Romeo against a "fool’s paradise," then answers his plan for a wedding that afternoon with "Well, she shall be there." Write a thesis on what becomes of her warning, use two of her lines, answer one objection, and revise.
- At dawn the Friar says "Virtue itself turns vice being misapplied." Write a thesis on what rule his herb speech sets out, use two lines from it, answer one objection, and revise.
- Benvolio says of Romeo, "Blind is his love, and best befits the dark"; Mercutio answers, "If love be blind, love cannot hit the mark." Write a thesis using both lines on how the friends read Romeo's love, answer one objection, and revise.