Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet

By William Shakespeare.

Table of Contents

1. Titlepage
2. Imprint
3. Dramatis Personae
4. Romeo and Juliet
   1. Prologue
   2. Act I
      1. Scene I
      2. Scene II
      3. Scene III
      4. Scene IV
      5. Scene V
   3. Act II
      1. Prologue
      2. Scene I
      3. Scene II
      4. Scene III
      5. Scene IV
      6. Scene V
      7. Scene VI
   4. Act III
      1. Scene I
      2. Scene II
      3. Scene III
      4. Scene IV
      5. Scene V
   5. Act IV
      1. Scene I
      2. Scene II
      3. Scene III
      4. Scene IV
      5. Scene V
   6. Act V
      1. Scene I
      2. Scene II
      3. Scene III
5. Colophon
6. Uncopyright

Imprint

This ebook is the product of many hours of hard work by volunteers for Standard Ebooks, and builds on the hard work of other literature lovers made possible by the public domain.

This particular ebook is based on a transcription produced for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and on digital scans available at the HathiTrust Digital Library.

The writing and artwork within are believed to be in the U.S. public domain, and Standard Ebooks releases this ebook edition under the terms in the CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. For full license information, see the Uncopyright at the end of this ebook.

Standard Ebooks is a volunteer-driven project that produces ebook editions of public domain literature using modern typography, technology, and editorial standards, and distributes them free of cost. You can download this and other ebooks carefully produced for true book lovers at standardebooks.org.

Dramatis Personae

• Escalus, prince of Verona

• Paris, a young nobleman, kinsman to the prince

• Montague and Capulet, heads of houses at variance with each other

• An old man, cousin to Capulet

• Romeo, son of Montague

• Mercutio, kinsman to the prince, and friend to Romeo

• Benvolio, nephew to Montague, and friend to Romeo

• Tybalt, nephew to Lady Capulet

• Friar Laurence, Franciscan

• Friar John, Franciscan

• Balthasar, servant to Romeo

• Sampson, servant to Capulet

• Gregory, servant to Capulet

• Peter, servant to Juliet’s nurse

• Abraham, servant to Montague

• An apothecary

• Three musicians

• Page to Paris; another page; an officer

• Lady Montague, wife to Montague

• Lady Capulet, wife to Capulet

• Juliet, daughter to Capulet

• Nurse to Juliet

• Citizens of Verona; several men and women, relations to both houses; maskers, guards, watchmen, and attendants

• Chorus

Scene: Verona; Mantua.

Romeo and Juliet

Prologue

Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life; Whose misadventured piteous overthrows Do with their death bury their parents’ strife. The fearful passage of their death-mark’d love, And the continuance of their parents’ rage, Which, but their children’s end, nought could remove, Is now the two hours’ traffic of our stage; The which if you with patient ears attend, What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

Act I

Scene I

Verona. A public place.

	Enter Sampson and Gregory, of the house of Capulet, armed with swords and bucklers.
Sampson	Gregory, o’ my word, we’ll not carry coals.
Gregory	No, for then we should be colliers.
Sampson	I mean, an we be in choler, we’ll draw.
Gregory	Ay, while you live, draw your neck out o’ the collar.
Sampson	I strike quickly, being moved.
Gregory	But thou art not quickly moved to strike.
Sampson	A dog of the house of Montague moves me.
Gregory	To move is to stir; and to be valiant is to stand: therefore, if thou art moved, thou runn’st away.
Sampson	A dog of that house shall move me to stand: I will take the wall of any man or maid of Montague’s.
Gregory	That shows thee a weak slave; for the weakest goes to the wall.
Sampson	True; and therefore women, being the weaker vessels, are ever thrust to the wall: therefore I will push Montague’s men from the wall, and thrust his maids to the wall.
Gregory	The quarrel is between our masters and us their men.
Sampson	’Tis all one, I will show myself a tyrant: when I have fought with the men, I will be cruel with the maids, and cut off their heads.
Gregory	The heads of the maids?
Sampson	Ay, the heads of the maids, or their maidenheads; take it in what sense thou wilt.
Gregory	They must take it in sense that feel it.
Sampson	Me they shall feel while I am able to stand: and ’tis known I am a pretty piece of flesh.
Gregory	’Tis well thou art not fish; if thou hadst, thou hadst been poor John. Draw thy tool; here comes two of the house of the Montagues.
Sampson	My naked weapon is out: quarrel, I will back thee.
Gregory	How! turn thy back and run?
Sampson	Fear me not.
Gregory	No, marry; I fear thee!
Sampson	Let us take the law of our sides; let them begin.
Gregory	I will frown as I pass by, and let them take it as they list.
Sampson	Nay, as they dare. I will bite my thumb at them; which is a disgrace to them, if they bear it.
	Enter Abraham and Balthasar.
Abraham	Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?
Sampson	I do bite my thumb, sir.
Abraham	Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?
Sampson	Aside to Gregory. Is the law of our side, if I say ay?
Gregory	No.
Sampson	No, sir, I do not bite my thumb at you, sir, but I bite my thumb, sir.
Gregory	Do you quarrel, sir?
Abraham	Quarrel sir! no, sir.
Sampson	If you do, sir, I am for you: I serve as good a man as you.
Abraham	No better.
Sampson	Well, sir.
Gregory	Say “better:” here comes one of my master’s kinsmen.
Sampson	Yes, better, sir.
Abraham	You lie.
Sampson	Draw, if you be men. Gregory, remember thy swashing blow. They fight.
	Enter Benvolio.
Benvolio	Part, fools! Put up your swords; you know not what you do. Beats down their swords.
	Enter Tybalt.
Tybalt	What, art thou