Romeo? [Advances. And that my master slew him. Fri. [Enters the Monument. [JUL. wakes and stirs. Jul. O, comfortable friar! where is my lord? I do remember well where I should be, A greater Power than we can contradict Hath thwarted our intents; come, come away: 4 The lady stirs.] In the alteration of this play now exhibited on the stage, Mr. Garrick appears to have been indebted to Otway, who, perhaps without any knowledge of the story as told by Da Porto and Bandello, does not permit his hero to die before his wife awakes: "Mar. Jun. She breathes, and stirs. “Lav. [in the tomb] Where am I? bless me! Heaven! 66 "Tis very cold, and yet here's something warm. "Mar. Fun. She lives, and we shall both be made immortal. 'Speak, my Lavinia, speak some heavenly news, "And tell me how the gods design to treat us. "Lav. O, I have slept a long ten thousand years. "What have they done with me? I'll not be us`d thus : "I'll not wed Sylla; Marius is my husband." Malone. 5 •and unnatural sleep;] Shakspeare alludes to the sleep of Juliet, which was unnatural, being brought on by drugs. Steevens. 6 Thy husband in thy bosom there lies dead;] Shakspeare has been arraigned for departing from the Italian novel, in making Romeo die before Juliet awakes from her trance; and thus losing a happy opportunity of introducing an affecting scene between these unfortunate lovers. But he undoubtedly had never read the Italian novel, or any literal translation of it, and was misled by the poem of Romeus and Juliet, the author of which departed from the Italian story, making the poison take effect on Romeo before Juliet awakes. See a translation of the original pathetick narrative at the conclusion of the play, in a note on the poem near the end. Malone. And Paris too; come, I'll dispose of thee Stay not to question, for the watch is coming;7 Come, go, good Juliet,―[Noise again] I dare stay no longer. [Exit. Jul. Go, get thee hence, for I will not away.- [Kisses him. 1 Watch. [within] Lead, boy:-Which way? Jul. Yea, noise?-then I'll be brief.-O happy dag[Snatching ROMEO's dagger.9 ger! 7 Stay not to question, for the watch is coming;] It has been objected that there is no such establishment in any of the cities of Italy. Shakspeare seldom scrupled to give the manners and usages of his own country to others. In this particular instance the old poem was his guide: Again: "The weary watch discharg'd did hie them home to sleep." "The watchmen of the town the whilst are passed by, In Much Ado about Nothing, where the scene lies at Messina, our author has also introduced Watchmen; though without suggestion from any dull poem like that referred to on the present occasion. See, however, Othello, Act I, sc. i, Vol. XVI, in which Mr. Malone appears to contradict, on the strongest evidence, the present assertion relating to there being no watch in Italy. Steevens. 80 churl! drink all; and leave no friendly drop,] The text is here made out from the quarto of 1597 and that of 1599. The first has Ah churl! drink all, and leave no drop for me! O churl! drunk all, and left no friendly drop, 9 Snatching Romeo's dagger.] So, in Painter's translation of Pierre Boisteau, Tom. II, p. 244: “Drawing out the dagger which Romeo ware by his side, she pricked herself with many blowes against the heart." Steevens. It is clear that in this and most other places Shakspeare followed the poem, and not Painter, for Painter describes Romeo's This is thy sheath; [stabs herself there rust, and let me die.1 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 churchyard: Go, some of you, who e'er you find, attach. [Exeunt some. [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 churchyard. dagger as hanging at his side; whereas the poem is silent as to the place where it hung, and our author, governed by the fashion of his own time, supposes it to have hung at Romeo's back: 1 "And then past deadly fear (for life ne had she care,) "With hasty hand she did draw out the dagger that he ware." Malone. there rust, and let me die.] is the reading of the quart● 1599. That of 1597 gives the passage thus: "I, noise? then must I be resolute. "Oh, happy dagger! thou shalt end my fear; "Rest in my bosom: thus I come to thee." The alteration was probably made by the poet, when he introduced the words, "This is thy sheath." Steevens. 2 Raise up the Montagues, some others search;-] Here seems to be a rhyme intended, which may be easily restored: "Raise up the Montagues. Some others, go. "We see the ground whereon these woes do lie, "We cannot without circumstance descry" Johnson. It was often thought sufficient, in the time of Shakspeare, for the second and fourth lines in a stanza, to rhyme with each other. It were to be wished that an apology as sufficient could be of fered for this Watchman's quibble between ground, the earth, and ground, the fundamental cause. Steevens. i Watch. Hold him in safety, till the prince come hither. Enter another Watchman, with Friar LAURENCE. 3 Watch. Here is a friar, that trembles, sighs, and weeps: We took this mattock and this spade from him, Prince. What misadventure is so early up, Enter CAPULET, Lady CAPULET, and Others. Cap. What should it be, that they so shriek abroad?3 La. Cap. The people in the street cry-Romeo, Some-Juliet, and some-Paris; and all run, With open outcry, toward our monument. Prince. What fear is this, which startles in our ears? 1 Watch. Sovereign, here lies the county Paris slain; And Romeo dead; and Juliet, dead before, Warm and new kill'd. Prince. Search, seek, and know how this foul murder comes. 1 Watch. Here is a friar, and slaughter'd Romeo's man; With instruments upon them, fit to open These dead men's tombs. Cap. O, heavens!-O, wife! look how our daughter bleeds! This dagger hath mista’en,-for, lo! his house Is empty on the back of Montague,— And is mis-sheathed in my daughter's bosom.5 3 -that they so shriek abroad?] Thus the folio and the undated quarto. The quarto of 1599 has-that is so shriek abroad. Malone. 4 What fear is this, which startles in our ears?] The old copies read-in your ears. The emendation was made by Dr. Johnson. 5 This dagger hath mista’en,-for, lo! his house Is empty on the back of Montague, Malone. And is mis-sheathed in my daughter's bosom.] The modern editors (contrary to the authority of all the ancient copies, and without attention to the disagreeable assonance of sheath and sheathed, which was first introduced by Mr. Pope) read: "This dagger hath mista'en; for, lo! the sheath "The point mis-sheathed in my daughter's bosom." La. Cap. O me! this sight of death is as a bell, That warns my old age to a sepulchre. Enter MONTAGUE and Others. Prince. Come, Montague; for thou art early up, To see thy son and heir more early down. Mon. Alas, my liege, my wife is dead to-night;" Grief of my son's exile hath stopp'd her breath: What further woe conspires against mine age? The quarto, 1597, erroneously, 66 - this dagger hath mistooke; "For (loe) the back is empty of yong Montague, If we do not read-it instead of is, Capulet will be made to say-The scabbard is at once empty on the back of Montague, and sheathed in Fuliet's bosom. Shakspeare quaintly represents the dagger as having mistaken its place, and "it mis-sheathed, i. e. "mis-sheathed itself” in the bosom of Juliet. The quarto, 1609, and the folio, 1623, offer the same reading, except that they concur in giving is instead of it. It appears that the dagger was anciently worn behind the back. So, in The longer thou livest the more Fool thou art, 1570: "Thou must weare thy sword by thy side, Again, in Humor's Ordinarie, &c. an ancient collection of satires, no date: "See you the huge bum dagger at his backe?" The epithet applied to the dagger, shows at what part of the back it was worn. Steevens. The words, "for, lo! his house is empty on the back of Montague," are to be considered as parenthetical. In a former part of this scene we have a similar construction. My reading [is] is that of the undated quarto, that of 1609, and the folio. Malone. 6 -for thou art early up, &c.] This speech (as appears from the following passage in The Second Part of the Downfall of Robert Earl of Huntingdon, 1601) has something proverbial in it: "In you, i' faith, the proverb 's verified, "You are early up, and yet are ne'er the near." Steevens. 7 Alas, my liege, my wife is dead to-night;] After this line the quarto, 1597, adds, "And young Benvolio is deceased too." But this, I suppose, the poet rejected, on his revision of the play, as unnecessary slaughter. Steevens. The line, which gives an account of Benvolio's death, was proBably thrown in to account for his absence from this interesting scene. Ritson. |