Rom.
Give me that mattock, and the wrenching iron.
Hold, take this letter, early in the morning
See thou deliver it to my lord and father.
Give me the light; upon thy life I charge thee,
Whate'er thou hear'st or seest, stand all aloof,
And do not interrupt me in my course.
Why I descend into this bed of death,
Is partly to behold my lady's face:
But chiefly to take thence from her dead finger
A precious ring, a ring that I must use
In dear employment, therefore hence be gone:
But if thou, jealous, dost return to pry
In what I further shall intend to do,
By heaven I will tear thee joint by joint,
And strew this hungry church-yard with thy limbs;
The time and my intents are savage, wild,
More fierce and more inexorable far
Than empty tygers, or the roaring sea.

Pet.
I will be gone Sir, and not trouble you.

Rom.
So shalt thou win my favour. Take thou that,
Live and be prosp'rous, and farewel good fellow.

Pet.
For all this same, I'll hide me hereabout;
His looks I fear, and his intents I doubt. [Exit.

Rom.
Thou detestable maw, thou womb of death,
Gorg'd with the dearest morsel of the earth;
Thus I enforce thy rotten jaws to open, [Breaking open the monument.

And in despight I'll cram thee with more food.

Par.
This is that banisht haughty Mountague
That murther'd my love's cousin; (with which grief
It is supposed the fair creature dy'd,)
And here is come to do some villanous shame
To the dead bodies: I will apprehend him.
Stop thy unhallow'd toil, vile Mountague:
Can vengeance be pursu'd further than death?
Condemned villain, I do apprehend thee;
Obey, and go with me, for thou must die.

Rom.
I must indeed, and therefore came I hither—
Good gentle youth, tempt not a desp'rate man,
Fly hence and leave me: think upon those gone,
Let them affright thee. I beseech thee, youth,
Pull not another sin upon my head,
By urging me to fury. Oh be gone!
By heav'n I love thee better than my self;
For I come hither arm'd against my self.* ^note

Par.
I do defie thy commiseration,
And apprehend thee for a felon here.

Rom.
Wilt thou provoke me? then have at thee boy. [They Fight, Paris falls.

Page.
Oh lord they fight! I will go call the watch.

Par.
Oh I am slain; if thou be merciful,
Open the tomb, lay me with Juliet.

Rom.
In faith I will: let me peruse this face—
Mercutio's kinsman! Noble County Paris!
What said my man, when my betossed soul
Did not attend him as we rode? I think
He told me Paris should have married Juliet.
Said he not so? or did I dream it so?
Or am I mad, hearing him talk of Juliet;

To think it was so? Oh give me thy hand,
One writ with me in sour misfortunes's book,
I'll bury thee in a triumphant grave.
For here lyes Juliet—Oh my love, my wife
Death that hath suckt the honey of thy breath,
Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty:
Thou art not conquer'd, beauty's ensign yet
Is crimson in thy lips, and in thy cheeks,
And death's pale flag is not advanced there.
Tybalt, ly'st thou there in thy bloody sheet?
Oh what more favour can I do to thee,
Than with that hand that cut thy youth in twain,
To sunder his that was thy enemy?
Forgive me, cousin.—Ah dear Juliet,
Why art thou yet so fair? I will believe
That unsubstantial death is amorous,
And that the lean abhorred monster keeps
Thee here in dark, to be his paramour:
For fear of that, I still will stay with thee,
And never from this palace of dim night
Depart again: come lye thou in my arms,
Here's to thy health.—Oh true apothecary!
Thy drugs are quick. Here, here will I remain,
With worms that are thy chamber-maids; oh here
Will I set up my everlasting rest;
And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars
From this world-weary'd flesh. Eyes, look your last!
Arms, take your last embrace! and lips, oh you
The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss
A dateless bargain to engrossing death!
Come bitter conduct, come unsavoury guide,
Thou desp'rate pilot, now at once run on
The dashing rocks ^{f note}my sea-sick weary bark:

Here's to my love! oh true apothecary!
Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die. Enter Friar Lawrence with lanthorn, crow, and spade.

Fri.
St. Francis be my speed, how oft to-night
Have my old feet stumbled at graves? who's there?

Pet.
Here's one, a friend, and one that knows you well.

Fri.
Bliss be upon you. Tell me, good my friend,
What torch is yond, that vainly lends his light
To grubs and eyeless sculls? as I discern,
It burneth in the Capulets monument.

Pet.
It doth so, holy Sir,
And there's my master, one you dearly love.

Fri.
Who is it?

Pet.
Romeo.

Fri.
How long hath he been there?

Pet.
Full half an hour.

Fri.
Go with me to the vault.

Pet.
I dare not, Sir.
My master knows not but I am gone hence,
And fearfully did menace me with death,
If I did stay to look on his intents.

Fri.
Stay, then I'll go alone; fear comes upon me;
O much I fear some ill unlucky thing.

Pet.
As I did sleep under this yew-tree here,
I dreamt my master and another fought,
And that my master slew him.

Fri.
Romeo!
Alack, alack, what blood is this which stains
The stony entrance of this sepulchre?
What mean these masterless and goary swords
To lie discolour'd by this place of peace?
Romeo! oh pale! who else? what Paris too?

And steep'd in blood? ah what an unkind hour
Is guilty of this lamentable chance?
The lady stirs.

Jul. [awaking.]
Oh comfortable Friar, where's my lord?
I do remember well where I should be;
And there I am; but where is Romeo?

Fri.
I hear some noise! Lady, come from that nest
Of death, contagion, and unnatural sleep;
A greater Power than we can contradict.
Hath thwarted our intents; come, come away;
Thy husband in thy bosom there lyes dead,
And Paris too—Come, I'll dispose of thee,
Among a sisterhood of holy Nuns:
Stay not to question, for the watch is coming. [Exit.

Jul.
Go, get thee hence, for I will not away.
What's here? a cup clos'd in my true love's hand?
Poison I see hath been his timeless end.
Oh churl, drink all, and leave no friendly drop
To help me after? I will kiss thy lips,
Haply some poison yet doth hang on them;
Thy lips are warm. Enter Boy and Watch.

Watch.
Lead boy, which way?

Jul.
Yea, noise?
Then I'll be brief. O happy dagger! [Finding a dagger.
^{g note}This is thy sheath, there rust and let me die. [Kills herself.

Boy.
This is the place, there where the torch doth burn.

Watch.
The ground is bloody. Search about the church-yard,
Go some of you, whom e'er you find attach.
Pitiful sight! here lies the County slain,
And Juliet bleeding, warm, and newly dead,
Who here hath lain these two days buried.

Go tell the Prince, run to the Capulets,
Raise up the Mountagues, some others search— Enter some of the watch with Romeo's man.

2 Watch.

Here's Romeo's man, we found him in the churchyard.

1 Watch.

Hold him in safety 'till the Prince comes hither.

3 Watch.
Here is a Friar that trembles, sighs and weeps:
We took this mattock and this spade from him,
As he was coming from this church-yard side.

1 Watch.
A great suspicion: stay the Friar too.

Previous section

Next section