Doing more murders in this loathsome world, Than these poor compounds that thou may'st not sell: I sell thee poison, thou hast sold me none. John. Holy Franciscan friar! brother, ho! Lau. This same should be the voice of friar Welcome from Mantua: What says Romeo? Lau. Unhappy fortune! by my brotherhood, John. Brother, I'll go and bring it thee.[ Exit. Lau. Now must I to the monument alone; Within these three hours will fair Juliet wake; She will beshrew me much, that Romeo Hath had no notice of these accidents: But I will write again to Mantua, And keep tier at my cell till Romeo come; Poor living corse, closed in a dead man's toinb! ment belonging to the Capulets. [Exit. Fair Juliet, that with angels dost remain, The boy gives warning, something doth ap Enter ROMEO and BALTHASAR with a Torch, Mattock, &c. Rom. Give me that mattock, and the wrench. ing iron. Hold, take this letter; early in the morning But if thou, jealous, dost return to pry The time and my intents are savage-wild; Bal. I will be gone, sir, and not trouble you. Live, and be prosperous; and farewell, good Bal. For all this same, I'll hide me hereabout; His looks I fear, and his intents I doubt. [Retires. Rom. Thou detestable maw, thou womb of death, SCENE III. A Church-Yard; in it a Monu-Gorged with the dearest morsel of the earth, Enter PARIS, and his Page, bearing Flowers and a Torch. Par. Give me thy torch, boy: Hence, and And, in despite, I'll cram thee with more food! stand aloof; Yet put it out, for I would not be seen. Sweet tomb, that in thy circuit doth contain * i. e., On a trivial or idle subject. Par. This is that banish'd haughty Montague, [grief, That murder'd my love's cousin;-with which It is supposed the fair creature died,— And here is come to do some villanous shame To the dead bodies: I will apprehend him. [Advances. Stop thy unhallow'd toil, vile Montague; Rom. I must, indeed; and therefore came I hither. Good gentle youth, tempt not a desperate man, Fly hence and leave me;-think upon these gone; ti. e., Action of importance. Let them affright thee.-I beseech thee, youth. Rom. Wilt thou provoke me? then have at Open the tomb, lay me with Juliet. [Dies. Rom. In faith, I will :-Let me peruse this face; Mercutio's kinsman, noble county Paris:- Arms, take your last embrace! and lips, O you Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on The dashing rocks thy sea-sick weary bark! Here's to my love!-[Drinks.] O, true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die. [Dies. Enter at the other end of the Church-yard, Friar LAURENCE, with a Lantern, Crow, and Spade. Fri. Saint Francis be my speed! how oft to-night [there! Have my old feet stumbled at graves ?-Who's Who is it that consorts, so late, the dead? Bal. 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 To grubs, and eye-less sculls? as I discern, Bal. Who is it? Romeo. [Advances. too? [Enters the Monument. I do remember well where I should be, Of death, contagion, and uunatural sleep; I refuse to do as thou conjurest me to do, i. e., depart. + The allosion is to a louvre or turret full of windows, by means of which ancient halls, &c., are illumit ated. Presence-chamber. § Conductor. Jul. Go, get thee hence, for I will not away[hand? What's here? a cup, closed in my true love's Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end :-O 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, To make me die with a restorative. [Kisses him. Thy lips are warm! [way? I Watch. [Within.] Lead, boy:-Which Jul. Yea, noise?-then I'll be brief,-O happy dagger! [Snatching Romeo's Dagger. This is thy sheath ; [Stabs herself.] there rust, and let me die. [Falls on Romeo's Body, and dies. Enter Watch, with the Page of Paris. Page. This is the place; there, where the torch doth burn. 1 Watch. The ground is bloody;-Search about the church-yard: Go, some of you, who e'er you find, attach. [Exeunt some. Pitiful sight! here lies the county slain;And Juliet bleeding; warm, and ewly dead, Who here hath lain these two days buried.Go, tell the prince,-run to the Capulets,Raise up the Montagues,-some others search; [Exeunt other Watchmen. We see the ground whereon these woes do lie; But the true ground of all these piteous woes, We cannot without circumstance descry. Enter some of the Watch, with BALTHASAR. 2 Watch. Here's Romeo's man, we found him in the church-yard. 1 Watch. Hold him in safety, till the prince Enter another Watchman, with Friar 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. Enter the Prince and Attendants. Prince. What misadventure is so early up, That calls our person from our morning's rest? Enter CAPULET, Lady CAPULET, and Others. Cap. What should it be, that they so shriek abroad? [Romeo. La. Cap. The people in the street crySome-Juliet, and some-Paris; and all run, With open outcry toward our monument. Prince. What fear is this, which startles in our ears? [Paris slain; 1 Watch. Sovereign, here lies the county And Romeo dead; and Juliet, dead before, Warm and new kill'd. Prince. Search, seek, and know how this foul murder comes. [Romeo's man; 1 Watch. Here is a friar, and slaughter'd With instruments upon them, fit to open i.e., The scabbard. These dead men's tombs. Cap. O, heavens!-O, wife! look how our daughter bleeds! This dagger hath mista'en,-for lo! his house* To see thy son and heir more early down. night; [breath: Grief of my son's exile hath stopp'd her What further woe conspires against mine age? Prince. Look, and thou shalt see. [this, Mon. O thou untaught! what manners is in To press before thy father to a grave? Prince. Seal up the mouth of outrage for a Till we can clear these ambiguities, [while, And know their spring, their head, their true descent; And then will I be general of your woes, Fri. I am the greatest, able to do least, death [city; Banish'd the new-made bridegroom from this For whom, and not for Tybalt, Juliet pined. You-to remove that siege of grief from her, Betroth'd, and would have married her perforee, To county Paris :-Theu comes she to me; And, with wild looks, bid me devise some means To rid her from this second marriage, But, when I came, (some minute ere the time man. Prince. We still have known thee for a holy [this? Where's Romeo's man? what can he say in Bal. I brought my master news of Juliet's death; And then in post he came from Mantua, Where is the county's page, that raised the And bid me stand aloof, and so I did: And, by and by, my master drew on him; Prince. This letter doth make good the Their course of love, the tidings of her death: Cap. O, brother Montague, give me thy band: Cap. As rich shall Romeo by his lady lie; The sur for sorrow will not show his head: For never was a story of more woe, Than this of Juliet and her Romeo. [Exeunt. * Mercutio and Paris. This play is one of the most pleasing of our author's performances. The scenes are busy and various, the incidents numerous and important, the catastrophe irresistibly affecting, and the process of the action carried on with such probability, at least with such congruity to popular opinions, as tragedy requires. Here is one of the few attempts of Shakspeare to exhibit the conversation of gentlemen, to represent the airy sprightliness of juvenile elegance. Mr. Dryden mentions a tradition, which might easily reach his time, of a declaration made by Shakspeare, that he was obliged to kill Mercutio in the third Act, lest he should have been killed by him. Yet he thinks him no such formidable person, but that he might have lived through the play, and died in his bed, without danger to the poet. Dryden well knew, had he been in quest of truth, in a pointed sentence, that more regard is commonly had to the words than the thought, and that it is very seldom to be rigorously understood. Mercutio's wit, gaiety, and courage, will always procure him friends that wish him a longer life; but his death is not precipitated, he has lived out the time allotted him in the construction of the play; nor do I doubt the ability of Shakspeare to have continued his existence, though some of his sallies are perhaps out of the reach of Dryden; whose genius was not very fertile of merriment, nor ductile to humour, but acute, argumentative, comprehensive, and sublime. The Nurse is one of the characters in which the author delighted: he has, with great subtilty of distinction, drawn her at once loquacious and secret, obsequious and insolent, trusty and dishonest. His comic scenes are happily wrought, but his pathetic strains are always polluted with some unexpected depravations. His persons, however distressed, have a conceit left them in their misery, a miserable conceit.-JOHNSON. HAMLET, PRINCE OF DENMARK. CLAUDIUS, king of Denmark. Persons represented. FRANCISCO, a soldier. HAMLET, Son to the former, and nephew to REYNALDO, servant to Polonius. the present, king. POLONIUS, lord chamberlain. VOLTIMAND, CORNELIUS, ROSENCRANTZ, A Priest. A Captain. An Ambassador. GERTRUDE, queen of Denmark, and mother of Hamlet. OPHELIA, daughter of Polonius. Lords, Ladies, Officers, Soldiers, Players. Grave-diggers, Sailors, Messengers, and other Attendants. Scene-Elsinore. Fran. Nay, answer me: stand, and unfold Touching this dreaded sight, twice seen of us; Yourself. Ber. Hor. Friends to this ground. And liegemen to the Dane. O, farewell, honest soldier: Fran. Give you good night. Mar. Who hath relieved you? Fran. Give you good night. Mar. Ber.. Bernardo hath my place. Erit FRANCISCO. Holla! Bernardo! What, is Horatio there? Hor. Say. Therefore I have entreated him, along Where now it burns, Marcellus and myself, Mar. Peace, break thee off; look, where Mar. A piece of him. + Conquers. |