Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare Act 2 Scene 4 PDF

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Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare line by line analysis of Act 2 Scene 4. Summary of the entire chapter broken down into sectors to ensure greater understanding. An analysis of the summary is provided to ensure complete depth of understanding of the scene as a whole...

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Romeo and Juliet Act 2 Scene 4

Line by line

Benvolio “Romeo will answer it.” Mercutio “Any man that can write may answer a letter.” -

Duels were governed by specific rules of etiquette.

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First a formal challenge was issued in the form of a letter; then if the other party accepted the challenge he was said to have “answered” it.

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This is what Benvolio meant when he said, “Romeo will answer it.”

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Mercutio knew Benvolio's intended meaning, but he joked that anyone who can write can “answer a letter”.

Mercutio “He is already dead, stabbed with a white wench’s black eye,” -

Wordplay

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Shakespeare describes Rosaline as a "white wench," which creates an alliteration on the W sound. Then, by giving that "white wench" a "black eye," he creates an antithesis, a pair of opposites.

Mercutio “Alas poor Romeo! He is already dead, stabbed with a white wench’s black eye…and is he a man to encounter (duel with) Tybalt?” -

Imagery “Alas poor Romeo!”

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Mercutio humorously describes Romeo so harmed by the effects of love that he’s in no condition to take on an angry Tybalt.

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He’s been pierced in the heart by Cupid’s arrow, shot in the ear by love songs, and stabbed by penetrating looks from his mistress' beautiful dark eyes.

Mercutio “More than prince of cats” -

Wordplay

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“Tybalt” was another word for a cat.

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In this speech Mercutio makes fun of Tybalt for being a gentleman duellist who spends a lot of time practicing the art of fencing when in actuality is unlikely to ever swing a sword with the intention of harming anyone.

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In the play, Tybalt is the butt of Mercutio’s satirical ridicule, but just a stand in for the typical pretentious, fashion-conscious young noblemen who Shakespeare saw every day in London.

Mercutio “The very butcher of a silk button, a duellist…” -

Mercutio mocks Tybalt by calling him “the very butcher of a silk button.”

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This is a reference to the most famous fencer of Shakespeare’s day who boasted that he could stab his opponent in whichever shirt button he chose.

Mercutio “…a duellist, a gentleman of the very first house, of the first and second cause.” -

Mercutio describes Tybalt as a gentleman duellist “of the very first house”, meaning that he takes lessons at the house of the most famous fencing instructor, and that he’s a gentleman duelist “of the first and second cause.”

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The causes for which one could legally issue a challenge to a duel were published as a numbered list.

Mercutio “Ah, the immortal passado! The punto reverso! The hai!” -

These were actual fencing manoeuvres, all pretentiously known by their foreign names.

Mercutio “The pox of (A plague on) such antic (bizarre), lisping, affecting phantasmic (pretentious creatures), these new tuners of accents!” -

Shakespeare continues to make fun of the young nobleman of his day through Mercutio’s mocking of Tybalt, this time satirizing their affected manner of speaking.

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By “new tuners of accents” Shakespeare means those who are putting on fake accents.

Mercutio “By Jesu, a very good blade, a very tall man, a very good whore.” -

Rather than speaking simply and directly, the young noblemen used inflated, artificial language.

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A good fellow became “a very good blade” and a brave man became “a very tall man.”

Mercutio “who stand (insist) so much on the new form that (of speaking) they cannot sit at ease on the old bench? O, their bones, their bones!” -

Double meaning “stand” “form”

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The second meaning of the term “form” is a wooden bench.

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The young trendy nobles stand so much on new benches that they cannot sit at ease on an old one – as this would hurt their tender young bones.

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There is also a pun on their "bones” referring to the fact that they use the French expression “tres bon” instead of saying “very good."

Mercutio “Without his roe, like a dried herring. Flesh, flesh, how art thou fishified!” -

Innuendo “like a dried herring”

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Mercutio jokes that Romeo has turned from flesh into fish – a dried herring to be exact.

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Herring was sold in the markets of Shakespeare’s London.

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Typically, it was dried after the roe, the eggs, were removed.

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But the term “roe” also referred to the male sperm and that’s how Mercutio’s using it when he describes Ro-meo as roe-less (after presumably having spent the night with Rosaline).

Mercutio “…counterfeit fairly (positively) last night” Romeo “Good morrow to you both, what counterfeit did I give you?” Mercutio “The slip, sir, the slip – can you not conceive (understand)?” -

Wordplay “counterfeit”

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Mercutio sets Romeo up for a pun on the word “counterfeit.

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Romeo thinks that Mercutio is accusing him of having given them a counterfeit coin the evening before.

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But to give someone the counterfeit (counter-feint) can also mean to give them the slip, to duck out on them, and that’s what Mercutio is actually accusing Romeo of doing when he hopped over the wall into Juliet’s Garden last night.

Romeo “… and in such a case as mine a man may strain courtesy (forget his manners)” Mercutio “That’s as much as to say, such a case as yours constrains a man to ow in the hams.” Romeo “Meaning, to curtsy (bend in respect)” -

Innuendo “such a case as yours constrains a man to ow in the hams.”

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“When Romeo says that his case may “strain courtesy”, it sounds as if he’s saying that his case may “con-strain curtsy”, require a curtsy, a bending of the legs (or a “bow in the hams'' as Mercutio puts it).

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Romeo probably did not get Mercutio’s innuendo.

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"Case" is slang for the female genitalia, and a bowing of the hams (the thigh and buttocks) is the motion a man makes when having sexual intercourse.

Mercutio “Thou hast most kindly hit it” -

Innuendo / Ambiguity

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Mercutio’s statement that Romeo has “hit it” yields two interpretations:

A) He’s made the connection between “courtesy” and “curtsy”. B) He’s slept with Rosaline.

Mercutio “Nay (indeed), I am the very pink (flower) of courtesy” Romeo “Pink for flower?” Mercutio “Right” -

Wordplay “pink”

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“Pink” was another word for flower. Mercutio’s expression “the very pink of courtesy” means “the very height of courtesy.”

Romeo “Why, then is my pump (shoe) well flowered” -

Innuendo

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Romeo’s shoes, his pumps, are decorated with small holes called pinking. And since pink means flower, one could say that his pumps are well flowered.

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Mercutio gets the sexual innuendo – Romeo’s “pump” is well flowered because he has used it to de-flower many a young maiden.

Mercutio “Well said. Follow me (with) this jest now till thou hast worn out thy pump (so) that when the single sole of it is worn the jest may remain after the wearing – solely singular” -

Wordplay “solely singular”

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Mercutio begins by telling Romeo to follow along (“follow me this jest [joke] now”)

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And then he continues as if Romeo were to physically follow him until he has worn out the soles of his lightweight dancing shoes, his pump (“till thou hast worn out thy pump (so) that when the single sole of it is worn”)

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Romeo is now left holding the jest, which Mercutio describes as being “solely singular.”

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The descriptive phrase “solely singular” has a double meaning.

A) In one sense the jest has been left alone, “singular,” by the sole which has been worn away – it has been left sole-ly ... singular B) In a second sense, Mercutio is saying that his jest is totally unusual. -

Romeo then picks up on this second meaning and makes a stinging jest of his own. (“O single-soled jest, solely singular for the singleness.”

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He agrees that Mercutio’s “single-soled jest” is totally unusual but it’s unusual for its simpleness – ouch!

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Although Romeo may call Mercutio’s jest simple, trying to decipher these witticisms is making our heads spin, and Mercutio must feel the same way because he now calls on Benvolio to step in and stop this war of wits between him and Romeo.

Romeo “Switch (whip) and spurs, switch and spurs; or I’ll cry ‘a match’ (game over)” -

Metaphors “switch and spurs”

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Romeo compares their competition of wits to a horse race, urging Mercutio to keep spurring on his wit, otherwise Romeo will declare himself the winner.

Mercutio “…for thou hast more of the wild goose in one of thy wits than, I am sure, I have in my whole five…” -

Sometimes the word “wits” refers to the five external senses (healing, sight, touch, feel, smell), but here it’s referring to five internal wits such as good reasoning and judgement.

Romeo “Thou wast never with me for any thing when thou wast not there for the goose.” -

Romeo says the only thing in which you surpass me is stupidity

Mercutio “Nay, if our wits run the wild goose chase, I have done; for thou hast more of the wild goose in one of thy wits than…” – Romeo “I stretch it out, for that …. Goose” -

This line begins another long series of wordplay based on the word “goose,” which is even more obscure than the "solely singular jest" wordplay earlier in the scene.

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Characteristics of geese:

A) In a string of geese walking in a line no matter how difficult a path the lead goose takes, every subsequent goose follows exactly in its footsteps.

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This gave rise to a popular horse race in Shakespeare’s day called a Wild Goose Chase in which the first rider sets a difficult course while the second rider tries to keep up while following the exact same line.

B) Geese are notoriously unintelligent C) They are rather mean by nature -

Romeo has just urged Mercutio to keep up their battle of wits by using the metaphor of a horse race (“switch and spurs, switch and spurs; or I’ll cry a match”

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Mercutio presumes that Romeo is referring to a wild goose chase, and since they are having a contest of wits, it follows that it will be their jests that will be running the race. If that’s the case, Mercutio says, then he’s going to lose

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According to Mercutio’s reasoning, the racer that is more like a goose is going to win a Wild Goose Chase, and Romeo has five times as much goose, or stupidity, in his wits as Mercutio has in his (“for thou hast more of the wild goose in one of thy wits than, I am sure, I have in my whole five”)

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Mercutio then asks if he has stayed even with Romeo in their race of wits with his clever goose jest

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Romeo says that Mercutio is never “even” with him in anything except when it comes to geese, or stupidities.

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At this point, Romeo has essentially called Mercutio a stupid goose, so Mercutio pretends to be a goose and threatens to bite Romeo. But since “goose” is another name for a prostitute, Mercutio decides to take on that role and playfully gives Romeo a nip on the ear (“I will bite thee by the ear for that jest”)

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Playing along with Mercutio in the role of a prostitute, Romeo laughingly cites the proverb “good goose, bite not”

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Mercutio, pretending to have taken a bite out of Romeo, describes his wit as a “sharp sauce”

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Romeo responds with a sexual innuendo, referencing the proverb: “sweet meat must have a sour sauce”

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Mercutio then uses a metaphor of cheveril to imply that Romeo has stretched his wit pretty thin. Cheveril is a very soft leather which is stretched out for making gloves. (“O here’s a wit of cheveril that stretches from an inch narrow to an ell broad.”)

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Making one last goose jest, Romeo turns Mercutio’s comment into another sexual innuendo, playing on the word “it” (“I stretch it out, for that word 'broad’ which added to the goose proves thee far and wide a broad goose.”)

Mercutio “Why, is not this better now than groaning for love? Now art thou sociable, now art thou Romeo, now art thou what thou art (are) by art (ability) as well as by nature; for this drivelling (chattering) love is like a great natural (fool) that runs, lolling (drooling), up and down to hide his bauble (charm) in a hole” -

Wordplay on the word art

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Used 5 times, four times to mean “are”, and then once meaning “ability”.

Mercutio “love is like a great natural (fool) that runs, lolling up and down to hide his bauble (toy) in a hole” -

Innuendo

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Mercutio compares someone in love to a mentally disabled person playing with a bauble, a toy.

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But in Shakespeare’s time a bauble was also the name for the staff carried by the court clown who often used it for making obscene gestures. So, in his metaphor, Mercutio is comparing love to a fool running “up and down to hide his bauble in a hole”.

Mercutio “thou desirest me to stop in my tale against the hair.” Benvolio “Thou wouldst else (otherwise) have made thy tale large.” -

Innuendo

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Mercutio accuses Benvolio of wanting him to "stop" his "tale against the hair", against his inclination.

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But there is also a sexual innuendo in this phrase. The "tale" is a term for the male genitalia, to "stop" evokes the image of a stopper being placed in the hole of a barrel of beer (penis inserted into a vigina), and the "hair" refers to the female genitalia.

Mercutio “I would have made it short. For I was come to the whole depth of my tale; and meant, indeed, to occupy the argument (subject) no longer” -

Innuendo

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Literally, Mercutio means something like, "I would have made my pronouncement short, because I had come to the end of it, and didn't intend to discuss the subject any longer."

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But in a ruder sense, he's once again punning on "tale" as the male genitalia, and "argument" as the female.

Romeo “A sail, a sail!” -

“A sail” was the cry made by a lookout who sights a ship coming over the horizon, which is what the nurse and servant resemble from a distance.

Mercutio “Tis no less, I tell you, for the bawdy (indecent) hand of the dial is now upon the prick of noon.” -

Double meaning

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The round dial represents the female genitalia, while "hand" is the male genitalia, standing upright at the 12 o'clock position.

Romeo “One gentlewoman, that God hath made, for himself to mar (ruin)” -

Allusion

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This phrase alludes to both the Biblical idea of man being made in God's own image, and the proverbial expression "make or mar" (to make something better, or to destroy it).

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Mercutio means that he is a man that God made to harm others, but the Nurse misinterprets him, thinking Mercutio means that he is a man God made so that he, God, could harm him.

Romeo “I can tell you; but young Romeo will be older when … for fault (lack) of a worse.” -

Romeo teases the Nurse for referring to him as the "young" Romeo.

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He acknowledges being "young" Romeo for lack of a worse adjective, thus inverting the normal phrase, "for fault (lack) of a better".

Mercutio “Yea, is the worst well? Very well took, I’ faith, wisely, wisely.” -

Wordplay

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Mercutio is making fun of the nurse’s choice of words.

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She should have said, “You speak well” instead of saying “You say well.”

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What Romeo literally said was the word “worse”. Mercutio asks if the word “worst” means well. Then by asking “is the worst well?” he acts as if the nurse has said something “well” taken, even wise.

Nurse “If you be he, sir, I desire some confidence with you.” Benvolio “She will indite him to some supper.”

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The nurse, who is not the most educated person in the world, commits a malapropism here. She uses the wrong word, but one that sounds like the word she intended.

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What the Nurse meant to say was, "I desire some conference with you," meaning she wants to speak to Romeo.

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Benvolio makes fun of her by intentionally committing another malapropism: he says that the nurse is going to "indite" Romeo to supper" instead of "invite" him.

Mercutio “A bawd, a bawd, a bawd! Soho!” -

A bawd is a pimp or a madam who buys clients for her prostitutes.

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Since the nurse is Juliet’s overseer and has come to see Romeo, Mercutio is jokingly pretending she’s acquiring Romeo for Juliet (as it turns out, he’s not too far off the mark).

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But bawd is also another name for a hare, a rabbit, and “Soho” is the call which a hunter makes to alert the other hunters when he’s flushed out a hare.

Mercutio “No hare (rabbit) sir, unless a hare, sir, in a Lenten pie, that is something stale and hoar (moldy) ere it be spent (consumed)” -

Lent is a forty day period leading up to Easter when Catholics give up luxuries such as meat.

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Mercutio is imagining a rabbit pie which someone has prepared ahead of time to be eaten secretly during Lent. But the meat in the pie is not likely to last forty days and will become moldy (hoar) before it is eaten.

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The word “hoar” also means grey with age, generally referring to someone’s hair, thus linking the grey hair on the nurse’s and servant’s heads with the mold on the top of the Lenten pie.

Romeo “A gentleman, nurse, that loves to hear himself talk, and will speak more in a minute than he will stand (listen) to in a month.” -

The nurse’s use of the word “ropery” suggests to Romeo another word which is an appropriate description of Mercutio – rope-ripe.

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It refers to someone who speaks too much and uses overly elaborate language. (It jokingly stems from the fact that this type of person is so irritating that they are fit to be hung.)

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Romeo implies that Mercutio will speak more in a minute than he will “stand to” in a month.

Nurse “An (if he) a speak any thing against me, I’ll take him down – an a (even if he) were lustier (more arrogant) than he is – and twenty such jacks (rude fellows); and if I cannot, I’ll find those that shall. Scurvy (Despicable) knave! I am none of his flirt-gills (loose women); I am none of his skains-mates (rascally friends).” -

Direct meaning: If he says anything against me, I'll bring him down, even if he were more arrogant than he is, and accompanied by twenty other rascals just like him. And if I can’t do it, I'll find someone that can. Bastard! I’m not one of his floozies. [To Peter] And you just stand by, too, while every...