Romeo and Juliet, Act 2 Scene 1 runs 45 lines of dialogue, spoken by 3 speakers. That is shorter than the play’s average scene length of about 123 lines. This scene is part of Act 2 of Romeo and Juliet.
Full Dialogue
Romeo ♂
Can I go forward when my heart is here?
Turn back, dull earth, and find thy centre out.
Turn back, dull earth, and find thy centre out.
Benvolio ♂
Romeo! my cousin Romeo!
Mercutio ♂
He is wise;
And, on my lie, hath stol'n him home to bed.
And, on my lie, hath stol'n him home to bed.
Benvolio ♂
He ran this way, and leap'd this orchard wall:
Call, good Mercutio.
Call, good Mercutio.
Mercutio ♂
Nay, I'll conjure too.
Romeo! humours! madman! passion! lover!
Appear thou in the likeness of a sigh:
Speak but one rhyme, and I am satisfied;
Cry but 'Ay me!' pronounce but 'love' and 'dove;'
Speak to my gossip Venus one fair word,
One nick-name for her purblind son and heir,
Young Adam Cupid, he that shot so trim,
When King Cophetua loved the beggar-maid!
He heareth not, he stirreth not, he moveth not;
The ape is dead, and I must conjure him.
I conjure thee by Rosaline's bright eyes,
By her high forehead and her scarlet lip,
By her fine foot, straight leg and quivering thigh
And the demesnes that there adjacent lie,
That in thy likeness thou appear to us!
Romeo! humours! madman! passion! lover!
Appear thou in the likeness of a sigh:
Speak but one rhyme, and I am satisfied;
Cry but 'Ay me!' pronounce but 'love' and 'dove;'
Speak to my gossip Venus one fair word,
One nick-name for her purblind son and heir,
Young Adam Cupid, he that shot so trim,
When King Cophetua loved the beggar-maid!
He heareth not, he stirreth not, he moveth not;
The ape is dead, and I must conjure him.
I conjure thee by Rosaline's bright eyes,
By her high forehead and her scarlet lip,
By her fine foot, straight leg and quivering thigh
And the demesnes that there adjacent lie,
That in thy likeness thou appear to us!
Benvolio ♂
And if he hear thee, thou wilt anger him.
Mercutio ♂
This cannot anger him: 'twould anger him
To raise a spirit in his mistress' circle
Of some strange nature, letting it there stand
Till she had laid it and conjured it down;
That were some spite: my invocation
Is fair and honest, and in his mistres s' name
I conjure only but to raise up him.
To raise a spirit in his mistress' circle
Of some strange nature, letting it there stand
Till she had laid it and conjured it down;
That were some spite: my invocation
Is fair and honest, and in his mistres s' name
I conjure only but to raise up him.
Benvolio ♂
Come, he hath hid himself among these trees,
To be consorted with the humorous night:
Blind is his love and best befits the dark.
To be consorted with the humorous night:
Blind is his love and best befits the dark.
Mercutio ♂
If love be blind, love cannot hit the mark.
Now will he sit under a medlar tree,
And wish his mistress were that kind of fruit
As maids call medlars, when they laugh alone.
Romeo, that she were, O, that she were
An open et caetera, thou a poperin pear!
Romeo, good night: I'll to my truckle-bed;
This field-bed is too cold for me to sleep:
Come, shall we go?
Now will he sit under a medlar tree,
And wish his mistress were that kind of fruit
As maids call medlars, when they laugh alone.
Romeo, that she were, O, that she were
An open et caetera, thou a poperin pear!
Romeo, good night: I'll to my truckle-bed;
This field-bed is too cold for me to sleep:
Come, shall we go?
Benvolio ♂
Go, then; for 'tis in vain
To seek him here that means not to be found.
To seek him here that means not to be found.
45 lines rendered verbatim from the dialogue corpus.
Who’s On Stage
Speaking characters in this scene
| Character | Lines | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Mercutio | 34 | 75.6% |
| Benvolio | 9 | 20.0% |
| Romeo | 2 | 4.4% |
Line distribution
The top speaker in this scene delivers 34 lines, while the scene’s average per speaker is about 15 lines.
Total speakers on stage
3 named characters speak in this scene.
Scene in Context
Position within Act 2
This is Scene 1 of 7 in Act 2 of Romeo and Juliet.
Scene length vs. play average
At 45 lines, this scene is shorter than the Romeo and Juliet average scene in Romeo and Juliet (~123 lines).
Adjacent scenes
Previous: Act 2 Scene 0 · Next: Act 2 Scene 2