Scene I

Friar Laurence's cell.

Enter Friar Laurence and County Paris.

FRIAR:

On Thursday, sir? The time is very short.

FRIAR:

On Thursday, sir? That’s very soon.

PAR:

My father Capulet will have it so,
And I am nothing slow to slack his haste.

PAR:

My father Capulet wants it that way;
And I won’t do anything to stop him from being so hasty.

FRIAR:

You say you do not know the lady's mind.
Uneven is the course; I like it not.(5)

FRIAR:

You say you don’t know what the lady thinks about this.
That’s not good; I don’t like it.

PAR:

Immoderately she weeps for Tybalt's death,
And therefore have I little talk'd of love;
For Venus smiles not in a house of tears.
Now, sir, her father counts it dangerous
That she do give her sorrow so much sway,(10)
And in his wisdom hastes our marriage
To stop the inundation of her tears,
Which, too much minded by herself alone,
May be put from her by society.
Now do you know the reason of this haste.(15)

PAR:

She weeps excessively about Tybalt's death,
And because of that, I haven’t talked a lot about love,
Because the goddess of love doesn’t smile in a house of tears.
Now, sir, her father thinks it’s dangerous
That she gives in so much to her grief;
And, in his wisdom, hurries our marriage
To stop the flood of her tears,
Which, if she does too much crying by herself,
May make her too depressed to function in society.
Now you know why we’re in a hurry.

FRIAR:

Aside.

I would I knew not why it should be slow'd.
Look, sir, here comes the lady toward my cell.

FRIAR:

I wish I knew a reason this wedding should be slowed down.
Look, sir, here the lady is coming toward my cell.

Enter Juliet.

PAR:

Happily met, my lady and my wife!

PAR:

I’m happy to see you, my lady and my wife!

JUL:

That may be, sir, when I may be a wife.

JUL:

You may call me that, sir, when I may be a wife.

PAR:

That may be must be, love, on Thursday next.(20)

PAR:

That “may be” must be, love, on next Thursday.

JUL:

What must be shall be.

JUL:

What must be shall be

FRIAR:

That's a certain text.

FRIAR:

That's for sure!

PAR:

Come you to make confession to this father?

PAR:

Have you come to make confession to this father?

JUL:

To answer that, I should confess to you.

JUL:

To answer that question, I should confess to you.

PAR:

Do not deny to him that you love me.(25)

PAR:

Don’t deny to him that you love me.

JUL:

I will confess to you that I love him.

JUL:

I will confess to you that I love him.

PAR:

So will ye, I am sure, that you love me.

PAR:

So will you confess, I am sure, that you love me.

JUL:

If I do so, it will be of more price,
Being spoke behind your back, than to your face.

JUL:

If I do so, it will be more valuable,
Being spoken behind your back than to your face.

PAR:

Poor soul, thy face is much abus'd with tears.(30)

PAR:

Poor soul, your face is very wet with tears.

JUL:

The tears have got small victory by that,
For it was bad enough before their spite.

JUL:

The tears have gotten a small victory by that,
My face was bad enough before my tears took their revenge.

PAR:

Thou wrong'st it more than tears with that report.

PAR:

You insult your face more than the tears did with that comment.

JUL:

That is no slander, sir, which is a truth;
And what I spake, I spake it to my face.(35)

JUL:

It’s not a lie, sir. It’s true.
And what I spoke, I spoke to my face.

PAR:

Thy face is mine, and thou hast sland'red it.

PAR:

Your face is mine, and you’ve lied about it.

JUL:

It may be so, for it is not mine own.
Are you at leisure, holy father, now,
Or shall I come to you at evening mass?

JUL:

What you say may be true, because my face is not mine.
Are you busy now, holy father,
Or shall I come to you at evening mass?

FRIAR:

My leisure serves me, pensive daughter, now.(40)
My lord, we must entreat the time alone.

FRIAR:

I’m not busy now, nervous daughter.
My lord, we must be alone now.

PAR:

God shield I should disturb devotion!
Juliet, on Thursday early will I rouse ye.
Till then, adieu, and keep this holy kiss.

Exit.

PAR:

God forbid that I should interrupt religion!
Juliet, I’ll wake you up early on Thursday early.
Until then, goodbye, and keep this holy kiss.

JUL:

O, shut the door! and when thou hast done so,(45)
Come weep with me—past hope, past cure, past help!

JUL:

O, shut the door! And when you have closed it,
Come weep with me. I am past hope, past cure, past help!

FRIAR:

Ah, Juliet, I already know thy grief;
It strains me past the compass of my wits.
I hear thou must, and nothing may prorogue it,
On Thursday next be married to this County.(50)

FRIAR:

Ah, Juliet, I already know why you are upset.
It pushes me beyond my ability to think.
I hear that you must, and nothing can prevent it,
Be married to this count on next Thursday.

JUL:

Tell me not, friar, that thou hear'st of this,
Unless thou tell me how I may prevent it.
If in thy wisdom thou canst give no help,
Do thou but call my resolution wise
And with this knife I'll help it presently.(55)
God join'd my heart and Romeo's, thou our hands;
And ere this hand, by thee to Romeo seal'd,
Shall be the label to another deed,
Or my true heart with treacherous revolt
Turn to another, this shall slay them both.(60)
Therefore, out of thy long-experienc'd time,
Give me some present counsel; or, behold,
'Twixt my extremes and me this bloody knife
Shall play the umpire, arbitrating that
Which the commission of thy years and art(65)
Could to no issue of true honour bring.
Be not so long to speak. I long to die
If what thou speak'st speak not of remedy.

JUL:

Don’t tell me, friar, that you heard about this,
Unless you can tell me how I can prevent it.
If, in your wisdom, you can’t help me,
Only say that my solution is a wise one,
And right now, with this knife, I'll help solve it.
God joined my heart and Romeo's. You joined our hands;
And before this hand, sealed by you to Romeo's,
Shall commit another sin,
Before my true heart turns to another man in an evil revolt
This hand shall kill them both.
Therefore, from your many years of experience in these matters,
Give me some advice now, or, look,
Between my will to go the limit and me, this bloody knife
Shall play the umpire, deciding the problem
That your many years’ experience
Could bring to an honorable resolution.
Don’t take long to speak. I want to die,
If what you’re going to say is not a solution to this problem.

FRIAR:

Hold, daughter. I do spy a kind of hope,
Which craves as desperate an execution(70)
As that is desperate which we would prevent.
If, rather than to marry County Paris,
Thou hast the strength of will to slay thyself,
Then is it likely thou wilt undertake
A thing like death to chide away this shame,(75)
That cop’st with death himself to scape from it;
And, if thou dar'st, I'll give thee remedy.

FRIAR:

Stop, daughter. I do see a kind of hope,
Which requires a plan as desperate
As that event we want to prevent.
If, rather than to marry Count Paris
You have the strength of will to kill yourself,
Then is it likely you will try
Something like death to chase this shame away,
Something that will cover you with death himself, to escape from it?
And, if you will take the dare, I'll give you the solution.

JUL:

O, bid me leap, rather than marry Paris,
From off the battlements of yonder tower,
Or walk in thievish ways, or bid me lurk(80)
Where serpents are; chain me with roaring bears,
Or shut me nightly in a charnel house,
O'ercover'd quite with dead men's rattling bones,
With reeky shanks and yellow chapless skulls;
Or bid me go into a new-made grave(85)
And hide me with a dead man in his shroud —
Things that, to hear them told, have made me tremble —
And I will do it without fear or doubt,
To live an unstain'd wife to my sweet love.

JUL:

O, tell me to jump from off the battlements of
That tower over there, rather than marry Paris.
Or tell me to be a sneaky, dishonest thief, or tell me to hide out
Where serpents are. Chain me in a cage with roaring bears.
Or lock me up every night in a house where dead bodies are kept,
Cover me completely with dead men's rattling bones,
With smoky-smelling legs and yellow skulls without a body,
Or tell me to get into a new-made grave,
And hide myself with a dead man in his shroud,
Things that, when I heard about them, made me tremble,
And I will do it without fear or doubt,
To live an pure wife to my sweet love.

FRIAR:

Hold, then. Go home, be merry, give consent(90)
To marry Paris. Wednesday is to-morrow.
To-morrow night look that thou lie alone;
Let not the nurse lie with thee in thy chamber.
Take thou this vial, being then in bed,
And this distilled liquor drink thou off;(95)
When presently through all thy veins shall run
A cold and drowsy humour; for no pulse
Shall keep his native progress, but surcease;
No warmth, no breath, shall testify thou liv'st;
The roses in thy lips and cheeks shall fade(100)
To paly ashes, thy eyes’ windows fall
Like death when he shuts up the day of life;
Each part, depriv'd of supple government,
Shall, stiff and stark and cold, appear like death;
And in this borrowed likeness of shrunk death(105)
Thou shalt continue two-and-forty hours,
And then awake as from a pleasant sleep.
Now, when the bridegroom in the morning comes
To rouse thee from thy bed, there art thou dead.
Then, as the manner of our country is,(110)
In thy best robes uncovered on the bier
Thou shalt be borne to that same ancient vault
Where all the kindred of the Capulets lie.
In the mean time, against thou shalt awake,
Shall Romeo by my letters know our drift;(115)
And hither shall he come; and he and I
Will watch thy waking, and that very night
Shall Romeo bear thee hence to Mantua.
And this shall free thee from this present shame,
If no inconstant toy nor womanish fear(120)
Abate thy valour in the acting it.

FRIAR:

Stay, then. Go home, be merry, and agree
To marry Paris. Tomorrow is Wednesday.
Tomorrow night make sure you sleep alone.
Don’t let your nurse sleep with you in your bedroom.
You take this vial, then get in bed,
And drink all of this distilled liquor.
Then, quickly, a cold feeling that will make you drowsy
Will run through all your veins, because your pulse
Will not be the way it always is, but stops.
No warmth, no breath, shall testify you are alive,
The roses in your lips and cheeks will fade
To pale ashes. Your eyelids will close,
Like death, when he closes the last day of life;
Each part of your body, deprived of blood,
Shall look like death, stiff and stark and cold.
And, in this borrowed likeness of death that is reduced,
You will remain for forty-two hours,
And then awake as if you just had a pleasant sleep.
Now, when the bridegroom comes in the morning
To wake up from your bed, there you are, dead.
Then, as it is the custom of our country,
You will be carried to that same ancient tomb
Where all the relatives of the Capulets lie,
In your best robes, seen by all, on the funeral bier,
In the meantime, before you wake up,
I will write to Romeo to let him know our plan,
And he’ll come here. And he and I
Will watch you wake up, and that very night
Romeo take you there, to Mantua.
And this plan will prevent your committing the sin of bigamy,
Unless a trivial reason or womanish fear
Gives you second thoughts in carrying out the plan..

JUL:

Give me, give me! O, tell not me of fear!

JUL:

Give it to me! Give it to me! O, don’t tell me about fear!

FRIAR:

Hold! Get you gone, be strong and prosperous
In this resolve. I'll send a friar with speed
To Mantua, with my letters to thy lord.(125)

FRIAR:

Stop it. Get going. Stay strong and fortunate
In your determination. I'll send a friar to Mantua
Quickly, with my letters to Romeo.

JUL:

Love give me strength! and strength shall help afford.
Farewell, dear father.

JUL:

Love give me strength! And strength shall gives us help.
Farewell, dear father.

Exeunt.