Page (2 of 4) Quotes:
1 2 3 4
How we cite the quotes:
Citations follow this format: (Act.Scene.Line). Line numbers correspond to the 2008 Norton edition of the play.
| Quote #4 Holy Saint Francis, what a change is here!
Is Rosaline, whom thou didst love so dear,
So soon forsaken? young men's love then lies
Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes.
Jesu Maria, what a deal of brine
Hath wash'd thy sallow cheeks for Rosaline!
How much salt water thrown away in waste,
To season love, that of it doth not taste!
The sun not yet thy sighs from heaven clears,
Thy old groans ring yet in my ancient ears;
Lo, here upon thy cheek the stain doth sit
Of an old tear that is not wash'd off yet: (2.3.6) |
When Romeo bursts into Friar Laurence's chamber and declares his love for Juliet, the Friar points out that Romeo was all hot for Rosaline just the other day and now he says he's into Juliet. The Friar's skeptical attitude toward Romeo's impetuous love seems pretty wise. Yet, this same Friar agrees to help Romeo and Juliet get hitched just a few lines later. What's up with that?
| Quote #5 ROMEO
O, let us hence; I stand on sudden haste.
FRIAR LAURENCE
Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast
(2.3.10) |
When Romeo wants to rush off to marry Juliet, the Friar warns him to slow down emotionally, as well as physically.
| Quote #6 FRIAR LAURENCE
These violent delights have violent ends
And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,
Which as they kiss consume: the sweetest honey
Is loathsome in his own deliciousness
And in the taste confounds the appetite:
Therefore love moderately; long love doth so;
Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow
(2.6.2) |
The Friar tries (and fails) to convince Romeo to love more calmly.
