Romeo and Juliet (12 page)

THE MOST EX
cellent and lamentable

Tragedie, of
Romeo
and
Iuliet
.

Therefore if thou art moued thou runist away.

I will take the wall of any man or maide of A founta. gues.

Grego.
That shewes thee a weake flaue,for the weakest goes to the wall.

Samp.
Tis true, & therfore women being the weaker vessels are euer thrust to the walhthcrfore I wil push
Mountagues
men from the wall, and thrus his maides to the wall.

Greg. The quarell is betweene our maisters , and vs their men.

 

Samp. Tis all one,I mill shew my selfe a tyrant,when I haue fought with the men, I will beclull witli the wiides, I will cut off their heads.

A 3 Grego. The

[
Dramatis Personae

Chorus
Escalus, Prince of Verona
Paris, a young count, kinsman to the Prince
Montague
Capulet
An old man, of the Capulet family
Romeo, son to Montague
Mercutio, kinsman to the Prince and friend to Romeo
Benvolio, nephew to Montague and friend to Romeo
Tybalt, nephew to Lady Capulet
Balthasar, servant to Romeo
Peter, servant to Juliet’s nurse
Abram, servant to Montague
An Apothecary
Three Musicians
An Officer
Lady Montague, wife to Montague
Lady Capulet, wife to Capulet
Juliet, daughter to Capulet
Nurse to Juliet
Citizens of Verona, Gentlemen and Gentlewomen of both
houses, Maskers, Torchbearers, Pages, Guards, Watch-
men, Servants, and Attendants

Scene:
Verona; Mantua]

[
Enter Chorus.
]

 

Chorus.
Two households, both alike in dignity,°
¹
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,°
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-crossed° lovers take their life;
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife.
The fearful passage of their death-marked love,
And the continuance of their parents’ rage,
Which, but their children’s end, naught could
remove,
Is now the two hours’ traffic of our stage;°
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

[
Exit.
]

[ACT 1

 

Sampson.
Gregory, on my word, we’ll not carry coals.°

Gregory.
No, for then we should be colliers.°

Sampson.
I mean, and° we be in choler, we’ll draw.°

Gregory.
Ay, while you live, draw your neck out of collar.

Sampson.
I strike quickly, being moved.

Gregory.
But thou art not quickly moved to strike.

Sampson.
A dog of the house of Montague moves me.

Gregory.
To move is to stir, and to be valiant is to stand. Therefore, if thou art moved, thou run’st away.

Sampson.
A dog of that house shall move me to stand. I will take the wall° of any man or maid of Montague’s.

Gregory.
That shows thee a weak slave; for the weakest goes to the wall.°

Sampson.
’Tis true; and therefore women, being the weaker vessels, are ever thrust to the wall.° Therefore I will push Montague’s men from the wall and thrust his maids to the wall.

Gregory.
The quarrel is between our masters and us their men.

Sampson.
’Tis all one. I will show myself a tyrant. When I have fought with the men, I will be civil with the maids—I will cut off their heads.

Gregory.
The heads of the maids?

Sampson.
Ay, the heads of the maids or their maiden-heads. Take it in what sense thou wilt.

Gregory.
They must take it in sense that feel it.

Sampson.
Me they shall feel while I am able to stand; and ’tis known I am a pretty piece of flesh.

Gregory.
’Tis well thou art not fish; if thou hadst, thou hadst been Poor John.° Draw thy tool!° Here comes two of the house of Montagues.

Enter two other Servingmen
[
Abram and Balthasar
].

Sampson.
My naked weapon is out. Quarrel! I will back thee.

Gregory.
How? Turn thy back and run?

Sampson.
Fear me not.

Gregory.
No, marry.° I fear thee!

Sampson.
Let us take the law of our sides;° let them begin.

Gregory.
I will frown as I pass by, and let them take it as they list.

Sampson.
Nay, as they dare. I will bite my thumb° at them, which is disgrace to them if they bear it.

Abram.
Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?

Sampson.
I do bite my thumb, sir.

Abram.
Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?

Sampson.
[
Aside to Gregory
] Is the law of our side if I say ay?

Gregory.
[
Aside to Sampson
] No.

Sampson.
No, sir, I do not bite my thumb at you, sir; but I bite my thumb, sir.

Gregory.
Do you quarrel, sir?

Abram.
Quarrel, sir? No, sir.

Sampson.
But if you do, sir, I am for you. I serve as good a man as you.

Abram.
No better.

Sampson.
Well, sir.

Gregory.
Say “better.” Here comes one of my master’s kinsmen.

Sampson.
Yes, better, sir.

Abram.
You lie.

Sampson.
Draw, if you be men. Gregory, remember thy swashing° blow.
They fight.

Benvolio.
Part, fools! Put up your swords. You know not what you do.

Tybalt.
What, art thou drawn among these heartless hinds?° Turn thee, Benvolio; look upon thy death.

Benvolio.
I do but keep the peace. Put up thy sword, Or manage it to part these men with me.

Tybalt.
What, drawn, and talk of peace? I hate the word As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee. Have at thee, coward! [
They fight.
]

Enter
[
an Officer, and
]
three or four Citizens with clubs or partisans.

Officer.
Clubs, bills, and partisans!° Strike! Beat them down! Down with the Capulets! Down with the Montagues!

Capulet.
What noise is this? Give me my long sword, ho!

Lady Capulet.
A crutch, a crutch! Why call you for a sword?

Capulet.
My sword, I say! Old Montague is come And flourishes his blade in spite° of me.

Montague.
Thou villain Capulet!—Hold me not; let me go.

Lady Montague.
Thou shalt not stir one foot to seek a foe.

Prince.
Rebellious subjects, enemies to peace,
Profaners of this neighbor-stainèd steel—
Will they not hear? What, ho! You men, you beasts,
That quench the fire of your pernicious rage
With purple fountains issuing from your veins!
On pain of torture, from those bloody hands
Throw your mistempered° weapons to the ground
And hear the sentence of your movèd prince.
Three civil brawls, bred of an airy word
By thee, old Capulet, and Montague,
Have thrice disturbed the quiet of our streets
And made Verona’s ancient citizens
Cast by their grave beseeming° ornaments
To wield old partisans, in hands as old,
Cank’red with peace, to part your cank’red° hate.
If ever you disturb our streets again,
Your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace.
For this time all the rest depart away.
You, Capulet, shall go along with me;
And, Montague, come you this afternoon,
To know our farther pleasure in this case,
To old Freetown, our common judgment place.
Once more, on pain of death, all men depart.

Exeunt
[
all but Montague, his Wife, and Benvolio
].

Montague.
Who set this ancient quarrel new abroach?°
Speak, nephew, were you by when it began?

Benvolio.
Here were the servants of your adversary
And yours, close fighting ere I did approach.
I drew to part them. In the instant came
The fiery Tybalt, with his sword prepared;
Which, as he breathed defiance to my ears,
He swung about his head and cut the winds,
Who, nothing hurt withal,° hissed him in scorn.
While we were interchanging thrusts and blows,
Came more and more, and fought on part and
part,°
Till the Prince came, who parted either part.

Lady Montague.
O, where is Romeo? Saw you him
today?
Right glad I am he was not at this fray.

Benvolio.
Madam, an hour before the worshiped sun
Peered forth the golden window of the East,
A troubled mind drave me to walk abroad;
Where, underneath the grove of sycamore
That westward rooteth from this city side,
So early walking did I see your son.
Towards him I made, but he was ware° of me
And stole into the covert of the wood.
I, measuring his affections by my own,
Which then most sought where most might not be
found,°
Being one too many by my weary self,
Pursued my humor not pursuing his,°
And gladly shunned who gladly fled from me.

Montague.
Many a morning hath he there been seen,
With tears augmenting the fresh morning’s dew,
Adding to clouds more clouds with his deep sighs;
But all so soon as the all-cheering sun
Should in the farthest East begin to draw
The shady curtains from Aurora’s° bed,
Away from light steals home my heavy° son
And private in his chamber pens himself,
Shuts up his windows, locks fair daylight out,
And makes himself an artificial night.