Alas, that love, whose view is muffled still,
Should without eyes see pathways to his will (1.1.)
Romeo begins the play in love with Rosaline, but his language in these opening scenes shows us that his first love is less mature than the love he will develop for Juliet. This couplet combines two ideas that were already clichés in Shakespeare’s day: “love is blind” and “love will find a way.” The clichéd expressions and obvious rhymes which Romeo uses to express his love for Rosaline would have been ridiculous to a contemporary audience, and Benvolio and Mercutio repeatedly make fun of them.
My only love sprung from my only hate,
Too early seen unknown, and known too late!
Prodigious birth of love is it to me
That I must love a loathed enemy. (1.5.)
Juliet speaks these lines after learning that Romeo is a Montague. The language of Romeo and Juliet insists that opposites can never be entirely separated: the lovers will never be allowed to forget that they are also enemies. Significanly, that Juliet blames herself for seeing Romeo “too early.” Everything in this play happens too early: we learn what will happen at the end in the opening lines, Juliet is married too young, and Romeo kills himself moments before Juliet wakes. In Romeo and Juliet, love is a force which can—and does—move too fast.
With love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls,
For stony limits cannot hold love out (2.2.)
Juliet wants to know how Romeo got into the walled garden of the Capulet house: these lines are his response. For Romeo, true love is a liberating force. Love gives him not just wings, but “light wings” and the power to overcome all “stony limits.” Romeo answers Juliet’s serious and practical question with a flight of romantic fantasy. Throughout the play, Juliet is more grounded in the real world than Romeo. For her, the freedom that love brings is the freedom to leave her parents’ house and to have sex.
My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite. (2.2.)
Here Juliet describes her feelings for Romeo. Like Romeo, Juliet experiences love as a kind of freedom: her love is “boundless” and “infinite.” Her experience of love is more openly erotic than Romeo’s: her imagery has sexual undertones. Juliet is always more in touch with the practicalities of love—sex and marriage—than Romeo, who is less realistic. Where Romeo draws on the conventional imagery of Elizabethan love poetry, Juliet’s language in these lines is original and striking, which reflects her inexperience, and makes her seem very sincere.
FAQs
My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep; the more I give to thee, The more I have, for both are infinite.
What is the famous line from Romeo and Juliet? ›
O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? (I.ii.) This line may be one of the most frequently quoted, and frequently misunderstood, lines in all of Shakespeare.
What are three direct quotes from Romeo? ›
Romeo
- O me, what fray was here? ...
- I fear too early, for my mind misgives; ...
- These lines express Romeo's first impression of Juliet. ...
- But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? ...
- With love's light wings did I o'erperch these walls, ...
- O sweet Juliet. ...
- Let's talk; it is not day. ...
- I defy you, stars!
But, soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. And none but fools do wear it, cast it off. It is my lady, O, it is my love!
What are 2 quotes from Romeo and Juliet about love? ›
Romeo, perhaps Shakespeare's most famous lover, also describes Love this way: “Alas that love, whose view is muffled still, / Should without eyes see pathways to his will” (Romeo and Juliet, 1.1). “Love comforteth like sunshine after rain.”
What is the most romantic line in Shakespeare? ›
by Editorial
- Thou art wise as thou art beautiful. — A Midsummer Night's Dream. ...
- I do love nothing in the world so well as you. — Much Ado About Nothing. ...
- So is mine eye enthrallèd to thy shape. ...
- What, with my tongue in your tail? ...
- By the roses of the spring, ...
- I do love you more than words can wield the matter,
"I gave thee mine before thou didst request it." Romeo requests that Juliet declares her love for him and Juliet simply replies that she has already done so. This shows how loving and passionate she is, as she has given her love and heart to Romeo. Juliet is headstrong when she refuses to marry Paris.
What is the best love and hate quote from Romeo and Juliet? ›
My only love sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late! Prodigious birth of love it is to me, That I must love a loathed enemy.
What did Romeo say before he died? ›
Here's to my love. O true apothecary, Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.
What did Juliet say before she died? ›
Hoping she might die by the same poison, Juliet kisses his lips, but to no avail. Hearing the approaching watch, Juliet unsheathes Romeo's dagger and, saying, “O happy dagger, / This is thy sheath,” stabs herself (5.3. 171).
Key Quotations
- Romeo: 'Here's much to do with hate, but more with love. ...
- Mercutio: 'If love be rough with you, be rough with love; prick love for pricking, and you beat love down.'
- Romeo: 'Is she a Capulet? ...
- Juliet: 'My only love sprung from my only hate! ...
- Romeo: 'But, soft! ...
- Juliet: 'O Romeo, Romeo!
At the end of the quotation from Shakespeare, place parentheses, in which you put three numbers, separated by periods. The first number is the act, the second is the scene, and the third the line numbers quoted, the first one and the last one, separated by dash.
What quote shows Romeo wants to marry Juliet? ›
I'll tell thee as we pass, but this I pray, That thou consent to marry us today.
What are examples of love in Romeo and Juliet? ›
Unrequited Love: Romeo for Rosaline, Paris for Juliet. Romantic Love: Romeo and Juliet. Parental Love: Lord and Lady Capulet for Juliet - Lord and Lady Montague for Romeo - Nurse for Juliet. Friendship: Romeo and Benvolio - Romeo and Mercutio - Romeo and Friar Laurence - Nurse and Juliet.
What does Romeo say to Juliet? ›
Romeo promises Juliet that he loves her: "Lady, by yonder blessed moon I swear / That tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops." Juliet cautions him not to swear by the moon since it is always changing, and she is seeking a constant love.
What is a love quotation? ›
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep your eyes close.
What does Romeo say about love in Act 1 Scene 1? ›
With a touch of sadness, Romeo tells Benvolio that he is in love with Rosaline, but that she does not return his feelings and has in fact sworn to live a life of chastity. Benvolio counsels Romeo to forget her by gazing at other beauties, but Romeo contends that the woman he loves is the most beautiful of all.
What are the quotes about love and hate in Romeo and Juliet? ›
My only love sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late! Prodigious birth of love it is to me, That I must love a loathed enemy.
What is a quote from Romeo and Juliet about love and death? ›
14 Do thou but close our hands with holy words, Then love-devouring death do what he dare, It is enough I may but call her mine. 15 From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; Whose misadventur'd piteous overthrows Doth with their death bury their parents' strife.
