Romeo and Juliet
by William Shakespeare
Table of Contents
Act 2
Act II: Prologue
Act II’s prologue is in sonnet form. It talks about Romeo and Juliet falling in love, not neglecting to address that Romeo quickly fell out of love with Rosaline. The prologue also discusses the trials that Romeo and Juliet will face. Act II’s prologue is actually somewhat controversial. It is frequently not included when the play is performed, and there is speculation that it was written by a different author sometime after Shakespeare originally penned Romeo and Juliet. However, it is not fair to dismiss the prologue as wholly superfluous; it distinguishes Romeo’s feelings for Rosaline from his feelings for Juliet, and it contributes to an air of suspense.
Act II: Scene 1
This scene occurs in the Capulet’s orchard or gardens after the masquerade. Romeo is hoping to catch a glimpse of Juliet. Romeo hears his friends Mercutio and Benvolio coming toward him. They tease him about Rosaline, and Romeo hides from his friends, crossing over the wall into the orchard. Benvolio convinces Mercutio to leave Romeo alone, and the two of them leave. While the scene has very little action, it is symbolic of the distance that Romeo is putting between himself and his friends, who are representative of the Montague family. Furthermore, Mercutio uses very highly sexualized language in his teasing of Romeo, and Romeo’s use of the wall to separate himself from his friends also symbolically separates his feelings for Juliet, which he considers to be a very spiritual form of love, from their base descriptions of lust.
Act II: Scene 2
Romeo goes to find Juliet. She is standing at her bedroom window, unaware that he is standing underneath him. She speaks about her love for Romeo, and, standing underneath her, he gets to hear what she is actually thinking about him. She laments that their families are feuding and wishes that he had another name. He then reveals that he has been listening. He offers to get rid of his name. They talk about their love...
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