Act II Scene II Blog Questions

1. When Juliet appears on her balcony, what does Romeo compare her to?

-When Juliet appears on the balcony, Romeo compares her to the sun. He says, “It is the East, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon.” Romeo describes her in such a way as if she has a sort of aura around her due to her great beauty. He also says that she is so pretty that she can light up and chase the night away with her great beauty.

2. How does Juliet “speak, yet…[say] nothing”?

-When Romeo says, “She speaks, yet she says nothing,” he is referring to her appearance. He is saying that her appearance speaks for her. Upon looking at Juliet, you can get a picture of who she really is. Romeo says, “The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars.” Romeo is describing her as a piece of art, something he could stare at for eternity and never get bored.

3. Unaware of Romeo’s presence, what does Juliet ask Romeo to say?

-Juliet asks Romeo to profound his love for her and forget his name and the feud between the Capulets and the Montagues. She says, “Deny thy father and refuse thy name, Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.” She wants her and Romeo’s love to come first rather than the eternal fighting between the two rival families. She does not care what her or Romeo’s names are, just them being happy with one another.

4. What does Juliet say about “names”; what analogy does she make to reflect irrelevant nature of names?

-Juliet says that a name is useless except for calling a person by name. She says, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” The meaning of this is that if you take a rose and rename it something like pencil, it will still have the same qualities and characteristics of the object named rose. She is saying that names have no meaning or say in what you are or what you become.

5. Juliet asks how Romeo got into her place. The orchard walls are high, and Romeo’s life would be in danger if her relatives were to find him there. What is Romeo’s responses to these questions?

-When Juliet asked why Romeo would risk his life just to come see her, he said, “With loves light wings did I o’erperch these walls, For stony limits cannot old love out.” Romeo is saying that no wall can ever keep him and his love for Juliet apart. He also goes on to say that he is not scared of any of Juliet’s kinsman finding him there. He says that he is willing to fight the kinsman for Juliet. This further shows what they are willing to do for each other.