Key Quotes From Act 4 Flashcards
“Daughter” - Friar Laurence
When Friar Laurence speaks to Romeo, they often refer to each other as ‘father’ and ‘son’, where now he calls Juliet ‘daughter’.
These nouns suggest a compassionate, loving, potential (fatherly) relationship between Romeo, Juliet and Friar Laurence, caring for them and their fates.
There is also a feeling that his religious role is echoed in the choice of words.
“Come weep with me; past hope, past cure, past help!” - Juliet
Juliet is very upset about the idea of having to marry Paris. When she is alone with Friar Laurence, she begs for him to help.
She repeatedly uses the adjective ‘past’ to emphasise the sense of hopelessness she feels.
“I have learn’d me to repent the sin of disobedient opposition.” - Juliet
When Juliet returns to her parents, she pretends that she is happy to marry Paris.
In quote, she admits that disobeying her father was a ‘sin’. She implies that she went to Friar Laurence to seek forgiveness for being ‘disobedient’.
“Farewell! God knows when we shall meet again.” - Juliet
After Lady Capulet and the Nurse leave Juliet’s bedchamber, she says goodbye to them both.
In this quite, she says that only ‘God knows’ when she will see them again - she knows that she will not see them again during her lifetime, but rather that she will only be with them in the afterlife.
“What If it be poison, which the friar subtly hath minister’d to have me dead.” - Juliet
Juliet worries about her fate, as she is about to take a mysterious potion and cannot be completely certain about what will happen once she does.
She wonders if Friar Laurence has actually given her ‘poison’ so that she will die and avoid getting into trouble for marrying her and Romeo.
She is very anxious until she decides to trust him and take the potion. This also causes the audience to feel great amounts of sympathy for Juliet.
