Mitarai Digital Folio

Romeo and Juliet, Act 2 Scene 6

37Lines 3Speakers

Romeo and Juliet, Act 2 Scene 6 runs 37 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
Friar Laurence
So smile the heavens upon this holy act,
That after hours with sorrow chide us not!
Romeo
Amen, amen! but come what sorrow can,
It cannot countervail the exchange of joy
That one short minute gives me in her sight:
Do thou but close our hands with holy words,
Then love-devouring death do what he dare;
It is enough I may but call her mine.
Friar Laurence
These violent delights have violent ends
And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,
Which as they kiss consume: the sweetest honey
Is loathsome in his own deliciousness
And in the taste confounds the appetite:
Therefore love moderately; long love doth so;
Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow.
Here comes the lady: O, so light a foot
Will ne'er wear out the everlasting flint:
A lover may bestride the gossamer
That idles in the wanton summer air,
And yet not fall; so light is vanity.
Juliet
Good even to my ghostly confessor.
Friar Laurence
Romeo shall thank thee, daughter, for us both.
Juliet
As much to him, else is his thanks too much.
Romeo
Ah, Juliet, if the measure of thy joy
Be heap'd like mine and that thy skill be more
To blazon it, then sweeten with thy breath
This neighbour air, and let rich music's tongue
Unfold the imagined happiness that both
Receive in either by this dear encounter.
Juliet
Conceit, more rich in matter than in words,
Brags of his substance, not of ornament:
They are but beggars that can count their worth;
But my true love is grown to such excess
I cannot sum up sum of half my wealth.
Friar Laurence
Come, come with me, and we will make short work;
For, by your leaves, you shall not stay alone
Till holy church incorporate two in one.
37 lines rendered verbatim from the dialogue corpus.

Who’s On Stage

Speaking characters in this scene

Character Lines Share
Friar Laurence 18 48.6%
Romeo 12 32.4%
Juliet 7 18.9%

Line distribution

The top speaker in this scene delivers 18 lines, while the scene’s average per speaker is about 12 lines.

Total speakers on stage

3 named characters speak in this scene.

Scene in Context

Position within Act 2

This is Scene 6 of 7 in Act 2 of Romeo and Juliet.

Scene length vs. play average

At 37 lines, this scene is shorter than the Romeo and Juliet average scene in Romeo and Juliet (~123 lines).

Adjacent scenes

Previous: Act 2 Scene 5 · Next: Act 3 Scene 1