Act 2, Scene 4 Flashcards
Alas, poor Romeo, he is already dead: stabb’d with / a white wench’s black eye; run through the era with / a love-song
Whilst Mercutio is talking about Romeo and Rosaline, his statements are equally applicable to the relationship between Romeo and Juliet. The juxtaposition between the lexical field of death (‘dead’’, ‘stabb’d’, ‘black’) and that of love (‘white’, ‘love-song’) highlights the fragility of their relationship. Whilst the tone is jovial, his words are foreshadowing of Romeo’s death as the result of his lover. According to Mercutio, love is a madness. The phrase ‘he is already dead’ implies that since Romeo is so lovesick, he has no chance of fighting and winning against Tybalt
Thou hast more of he wild goose in one of thy / wits than, I am sure, I have in my whole five
Their familiar tone is highlighted by the use of the personal pronouns ‘thou’ and ‘thy’. The banterous line evidences the clear mastery that Romeo has over words and characterises him as an educated character. However, when contrasted with Romeo’s foolish actions throughout the play, it makes Romeo’s intellect seem invalid. This creates the image of Romeo as a rational person who has been overridden by his emotions and passions
The gentlewoman is young; / and, therefore, if you should deal double with her, / truly it were an ill thing […] and very weak dealing
The Nurse’s protective statement highlights her care for Juliet as well as reinforcing the pervasive statement that Romeo is a foolish youngster who may lead Romeo astray (away from a good match). The use of the adjective ‘ill’ and ‘weak’ creates this image of deficiency, depicting Romeo as a false lover and therefore a lesser human being who saps others of their health. It also highlights Juliet’s vulnerability as a the adjective ‘young’ connotes fragility and tenderness
Doth not rosemary and Romeo / begin both with a letter
The Nurse mentions the parallels between Romeo and rosemary, highlighting Romeo’s feminine nature by associating him with traditional female imagery of flowers. Rosemary is a symbol associated with love, fitting for Romeo, but also lust which may lead the audience to question Romeo’s sincerity. Romeo, like rosemary, represents a combination of selfless love and selfish lust. Rosemary is also a mourning flower so the Nurse is unknowingly foreshadowing the tragic end of the affair.
More than Prince of Cats. O, he’s the courageous captain of compliments: he fights as you sing prick-song, keeps time, distance and proportion: / thus afflicted with these strange flies, these fashion-mongers, these pardon-mes
Mercutio is shown to actually respect Tybalt, especially for his fighting skill and ‘Prince of Cats’ implies that he is a very skilled fighter, extremely nimble and may even have 9 lives. However, he is shown to have a strong dislike for the new French fashion, speech and manner that is coming to England whilst Tybalt praises and embodies it
Out upon you, what a man are you?
The Nurse gets annoyed at Mercutio for his rude comments about her which leads her to question what kind of man he is as men should be respectful to women
If you be he, sir, I desire some confidence with you
The Nurse requires a conference with Romeo but mixes up her words to instead say ‘confidence’. The Nurse often mixes up her words throughout this scene and it may be to highlight her lower status within society and therefore lower intelligence. However, it could also be that since they are discussing such a scandalous subject (Juliet eloping without her father’s permission), she is purposely mixing up some words as to prevent anyone who may over hear, figure out what they are talking about and spread gossip around the city as that would completely ruin Juliet’s chances at a good match (the County Paris) if this falls through
