3 Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet - In English

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23-11-2009
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Pagina 142
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LOVE
TOPIC
PREDICTIONS
3
1
Have a quick look at the text.
How do you know it is written in
verse? How do you know it is a
dialogue? Have you read other
texts of this type?
Millions of tourists visit Verona not only for its beauty but
also because it is the setting of one of the most famous
love stories of all times.
The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet was written by William
Shakespeare (Stratford-on-Avon 1564-1616) in the closing
years of the 16th century. The unhappy story of the two
young lovers has remained in Europe’s collective
imagination and memory since when it was first put on
stage by Shakespeare as a tragedy in 1595.
Look out! In shakespeare’s times ‘thou’ was the second person singular
pronoun, corresponding to ‘tu’, ‘thee’ to ‘te’, and ‘thy’ and ‘thine’
respectively possessive adjective and pronoun ‘tuo’. The second person
of the present tense ended -st, -est or -t, like in ‘wilt’ and ‘need’st’.
Many of the words in the passage are archaic.
Romeo and Juliet
TRACK
23
It is the dawn of Romeo and Juliet’s wedding night. Romeo must leave because, as he is banished,
he risks death if he is found in Verona. But Juliet does not want him to leave.
ACT 3, Scene V, Juliet’s Chamber
Juliet: Wilt thou be gone? It is not yet near day:
It was the nightingale, and not the lark,
That pierced1 the fearful hollow2 of thine ear;
Nightly she sings on yon3 pomegranate tree:
5
Believe me, love, it was the nightingale.
4
Romeo: It was the lark, the herald of the morn ,
No nightingale: look, love, what envious streaks5
Do lace6 the severing7 clouds in yonder8 east:
Night’s candles are burnt out, and jocund day
10
Stands tiptoe9 on the misty10 mountain tops:
I must be gone and live, or stay and die.
Juliet: Yon light is not daylight, I know it, I;
It is some meteor that the sun exhales11,
To be to thee this night a torch-bearer12,
15
And light thee on thy way to Mantua13
Therefore stay yet; thou need’st14 not to be gone.
Romeo: Let me be taken, let me be put to death;
I am content, so thou wilt15 have it so.
I’ll say yon grey is not the morning’s eye,
20
’Tis but16 the pale reflex of Cynthia’s17 brow,
nor that is not the lark, whose notes do beat
the vaulty18 heaven so high above our heads:
I have more care to stay than will to go:
Come death, and welcome! Juliet wills it so.
142
Giulietta: Vuoi andar via? Non è ancora giorno.
È stato l’usignolo, e non l’allodola,
a ferire la cavità del tuo orecchio impaurito;
ogni notte canta su quell’albero di melograno;
credimi, amore, è stato l’usignolo.
Romeo: È stata l’allodola, l’araldo del mattino,
non l’usignolo: guarda, amore, quali invidiose strisce
colorano le nubi fuggitive laggiù a oriente:
le candele della notte sono spente, e il giorno gioioso
si alza in punta di piedi sulle cime delle montagne
brumose.
Devo andar via e vivere, o restare e morire.
Giulietta: Quella luce laggiù non è il giorno, io lo so, io;
è una qualche meteora che il sole emana,
per farti da portatore di torcia sulla via di Mantova;
perciò resta ancora: non è necessario che tu vada via.
Romeo: Che mi prendano, che mi mettano a morte;
sono contento se tu vuoi che sia così.
Dirò che quel grigiore laggiù non è l’occhio del mattino,
non è che il pallido riflesso della fronte di Cinzia;
e che non è l’allodola, le cui note colpiscono
la volta del cielo così in alto sopra le nostre teste:
ho più desiderio di restare che volontà di andare via:
vieni, morte, sei benvenuta! Giulietta vuole così.
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Pagina 143
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1 The dialogue is based on the contrast between Juliet’s wish to keep Romeo with her and
Romeo’s obligation to go and save his life. Fill in the chart below with their different views.
Juliet
Romeo
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2 Juliet denies that it is the light of day that they begin to perceive. What explanation does she
find to say so?
3 What does Romeo say to convince Juliet that it is the morning?
4 What can Romeo decide to do?
5 As Juliet insists that it is early for him to leave, what does Romeo say that he will do?
ORGANIZING THOUGHT
1 The nightingale sings during the night, the lark begins singing
at dawn. Why does Juliet deny that it is the lark that is singing?
2 Juliet says “the fearful hollow of thine ear” to Romeo.
a) Is the ear that is “fearful” or is it Romeo?
b) What is Juliet’s intention in saying so?
3 In much the same way Romeo mentions the “envious streaks”
in the east. How can the streaks be envious?
4 “Night’s candles are burnt out”. What do they stand for?
5 Focus on “jocund day/Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain
tops”. What does that mean? Choose from among the following
interpretations.
A The joyous day is beginning to appear on the mountains.
B The joyous day is still too low on the horizon.
C The joyous day is like a man on top of a mountain.
CRITICAL THINKING
12 torch-bearer: a servant
illuminating the road with
a torch.
13 Mantua: Mantova.
14 need’st: it is not necessary
for you.
15 wilt: (archaic) will.
16 ’Tis but: it is only.
17 Cynthia: the goddess of the
moon.
18 vaulty: shaped as a dome.
NOTES
1 pierced: penetrated, hurt.
2 hollow: cavity.
3 yon: (also ‘yonder’) over there.
4 morn: morning.
5 streaks: lines.
6 do lace: decorate.
7 severing: fugitive.
8 yonder: see footnote 3.
9 tiptoe: on his toes.
10 misty: covered with fog.
11 exhales: emanates,
evaporates.
1 Is the language of the dialogue realistic?
Give reasons.
2 Which line best expresses Romeo’s love?
3 What will Juliet’s reaction be to Romeo’s
decision? Write the lines she might say
and check them with what Shakespeare
wrote (check the missing lines on the
Internet).
143
MEMORIES AND EXPERIENCES
5
GLOBAL UNDERSTANDING