See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand!
0! that I were a glove upon that hand,
That I might touch that cheek.
Jul.

Ah me!
Rom.

She speaks:
0, speak again, bright angel! for thou art
As glorious to this night, 7 being o'er my head,
As is a winged messenger of heaven
Unto the white-upturned 8 wond'ring eyes
Of mortals, that fall back to gaze on him,
When he bestrides the lazy-pacing 9 clouds,
And sails upon the bosom of the air.

Jul. O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo ? Deny thy father, and refuse thy name: Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, 10 And I 'll no longer be a Capulet.

Rom. Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this ?

Jul. 'T is but thy name, that is my enemy:
Thou art thyself though, not a Montague. 11
What 's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part 12
Belonging to a man. O! be some other name.
What is in a name? that which we call a rose,
By any other name 13 would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo callid,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes,
Without that title. — Romeo, doff 14 thy name;

a name

And for thy name, which is no part of thee,
Take all myself!

Rom. I take thee at thy word.
Call me but love, and I 'll be new baptiz'd;
Henceforth I never will be Romeo.

Jul. What man ärt thou, that, thus bescreen'd in night,
So stumblest on my counsel ? 15

Rom.
I know not how to tell thee who I am:
My name, dear saint, 16 is hateful to myself,
Because it is an enemy to thee:
Had I it written, I would tear the word.

Jul. My ears have yet not drunk a hundred words
Of thy tongue's uttering, 17 yet I know the sound.
Art thou not Romeo, and a Montague ?

Rom. Neither, fair maid, if either thee dislike.

Jul. How cam'st thou hither, tell me? and wherefore?
The orchard walls are high, and hard to climb;
And the place death, considering who thou art,
If any of my kinsmen find thee here.

Rom. With love's light wings did I o'erperch these walls;
For stony limits cannot hold love out:
And what love can do, that dares love attempt;
Therefore, thy kinsmen are no stop 18 to me.

Jul. If they do see thee, they will murder thee.

Rom. Alack! there lies more peril in thine eye,
Than twenty of their swords: look thou but sweet,
And I am proof against their enmity.

Jul. I would not for the world they saw thee here.

Rom. I have night's cloak to hide me from their eyes; And but thou love me, let them find me here: 19

? counsel = Verschwiegenheit, Geheimniss. Juliet versteht darunter ihr Selbstgespräch. 19 Die Anrede dear saint erinnert an das erste Zusammentreffen, wo Romeo als Pilger

My life were better ended by their hate,
Than death prorogued, 20 wanting of thy love.

Jul. By whose direction found'st thou out this place?

Rom. By love, that first did prompt me to inquire;
He lent me counsel, and I lent him eyes.
I am no pilot; yet, wert thou as far
As that vast 21 shore wash'd with the farthest sea,
I would adventure 22 for such merchandise.

Jul. Thou know'st the mask of night is on my face;
Else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek,
For that which thou hast heard me speak to-night.
Fain would I dwell on form, fain, fain deny
What I have spoke: but farewell compliment! 23
Dost thou love me? I know thou wilt say -- Ay;
And I will take thy word; yet, if thou swear'st,
Thou may'st prove false : at lovers' perjuries,
They say, Jove laughs. O, gentle Romeo!
If thou dost love, pronounce it faithfully:
Or if thou think’st I am too quickly won,
I 'll frown, and be perverse, and say thee nay,
So thou wilt woo; 24 but, else, not for the world.
In truth, fair Montague, I am too fond;
And therefore thou may'st think my haviour 25 light:
But trust me, gentleman, I 'll prove more true
Than those that have more cunning 26 to be strange.
I should have been more strange, I must confess,
But that thou over-heard'st, ere I was ware,
My true love's passion: therefore, pardon me;
And not impute this yielding to light love,
Which 27 the dark night hath so discovered.

20) to prorogue = aufschieben. Besser wäre mein Leben durch den Hass deiner Ver

wandten beendet, als mein Tod noch länger hinausgeschoben, wenn ich deine

Liebe entbehren soll. 21) Das Epitheton drückt hier die Gefährlichkeit solcher zu kaufmännischen Zwecken über

See unternommenen Reise aus. 22) So Q. A. – Qs. und Fol. haben I should adventure. 23) compliment ist dasselbe, was eben vorher form hiess: der äussere Anstand, die äussere

Haltung, wie Sitte und Gebrauch sie vorschreiben. 24) vorausgesetzt, dass Du dann Dich um mich bemühen, um mich werben willst. 25) So Q. A. - In Qs. und Fol. findet sich unabgekürzt behaviour, indess gebraucht Sh.

Rom. Lady, by yonder blessed moon I vow, 28
That tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops, -

Jul. O! swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon,
That monthly changes in her circled orb,
Lest that thy love prove likewise variable.

Rom. What shall I swear by ?
Jul.

Do not swear at all;
Or, if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self,
Which is the god of my idolatry,
And I 'll believe thee.
Rom.

If my heart's dear love —
Jul. Well, do not swear. Although I joy in thee,
I have no joy of this contract 29 to-night:
It is too rash, too unadvis'd, too sudden;
Too like the lightning, which doth cease to be, .
Ere one can say, it lightens. Sweet, 30 good night!
This bud of love, by summer's ripening breath,
May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet.
Good night, good night! as sweet repose and rest
Come to thy heart, as that 31 within my breast !

Rom. O! wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied ?
Jul. What satisfaction 32 canst thou have to-night?
Rom. The exchange of thy love's faithful vow for mine.

Jul. I gave thee mine before thou didst request it;
And yet I would it were to give again.

Rom. Would'st thou withdraw it? for what purpose, love?

Jul. But to be frank , 33 and give it thee again.
And yet I wish but for the thing I have.
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.

[Nurse calls within. 34

25) So Qs. und Fol. – Die Hgg. setzen mit Q. A. swear, obwohl die Steigerung des vow

zu swear in Juliet's Antwort im Sinne des Dichters erscheint. Auch nachher gebraucht

Romeo das Wort vow. – Die Fol. lässt blessed vielleicht zufälliger Weise aus. 29) Sh. betont contract bald auf der ersten, bald auf der letzten Sylbe. 30 sweet ist die Anrede an Romeo, und nicht mit good night zu verbinden. Ebenso

redet sie ihn in derselben Scene noch einmal an: Sweet, so would I. 31) scil. as to that heart within my breast. 53 satisfaction wie unsatisfied ist doppelsinnig = Befriedigung, und = Beruhigung durch

Gewissheit. 33) frank = freigebig. — Auf diesen Sinn des Wortes bezieht sich auch das folgende my [Excit.

I hear some noise within : Dear love, adieu! –
Anon, good nurse! —— Sweet Montague, be true.
Stay but a little, I will come again.

Rom. ( blessed blessed night! I am afeard,
Being in night, all this is but a dream,
Too flattering-sweet to be substantial.

Re-enter JULIET, above.
Jul. Three words, dear Romeo, and good night, indeed. 35
If that thy bent of love be honourable,
Thy purpose marriage, send me word to-morrow,
By one that I 'll procure to come to thee,
Where, and what time, thou wilt perform the rite; 36
And all my fortunes at thy foot I 'll lay,
And follow thee my lord throughout the world.

Nurse. [Within.] Madam.

Jul. I come, anon. - But if thou mean'st not well,
I do beseech thee, —

Nurse. [Within.] Madam.
Jul.

By and by; I come. —
To cease thy strife, 37 and leave me to my grief:
To-morrow will I send.
Rom.

So thrive my soul, 38 -
Jul. A thousand times good night!

Rom. A thousand times the worse, 39 to want thy light. -
Love goes toward love, as school-boys from their books;
But love from love, toward 40 school with heavy looks.

Re-enter Juliet, above.
Jul. Hist! Romeo, hist! – 0, for a falconer's voice,
To lure this tassel-gentle 41 back again!

35) Wenn sie diese drei Worte gesprochen hat, soll er in der That mit Gute Nacht! ver

abschiedet, nicht länger festgehalten werden. 36) rite hier = marriage rite, in Bezug auf das vorhergehende marriage. 37) So Qs. u. Fol., von Malone in suit verändert, wahrscheinlich weil die entsprechende Stelle

bei Brooke lautet: and now your Juliet you beseeks || To cease your suit and suffer

her to live among her likes. — Strife ist hier ein angestrengtes Ringen um einen Preis. 38) Diese Betheuerung ist aus dem vorhergehenden: but if thou mean'st not well, etwa so

zu ergänzen: as I mean well. 39) scil. night. Statt der tausend Mal gewünschten guten Nacht wird Romeu eine tausend

Mal schlechtere haben, weil Juliet's Licht fehlt. 40) scil, as school-boys go toward etc. 41) tassel-gentle, aus tercel-gentle entstellt, das Männchen des weiblichen falcon-gentle

= Edelfalke. Juliet möchte wie ein Falkonier seinen Falken, so den Romeo, der sich schon eine Strecke entfernt hat, mit ihrer Stimme zurücklocken, wagt aber in ihrer Abbängigkeit (bondage) nicht so laut zu rufen.