Romeo and Juliet - Act 4 - Scene 5

SCENE V. Juliet's chamber.

    Enter Nurse

Nurse

    Mistress! what, mistress! Juliet! fast, I warrant her, she:
    Why, lamb! why, lady! fie, you slug-a-bed!
    Why, love, I say! madam! sweet-heart! why, bride!
    What, not a word? you take your pennyworths now;
    Sleep for a week; for the next night, I warrant,
    The County Paris hath set up his rest,
    That you shall rest but little. God forgive me,
    Marry, and amen, how sound is she asleep!
    I must needs wake her. Madam, madam, madam!
    Ay, let the county take you in your bed;
    He'll fright you up, i' faith. Will it not be?

    Undraws the curtains
    What, dress'd! and in your clothes! and down again!
    I must needs wake you; Lady! lady! lady!
    Alas, alas! Help, help! my lady's dead!
    O, well-a-day, that ever I was born!
    Some aqua vitae, ho! My lord! my lady!

    Enter LADY CAPULET

LADY CAPULET

    What noise is here?

Nurse

    O lamentable day!

LADY CAPULET

    What is the matter?

Nurse

    Look, look! O heavy day!

LADY CAPULET

    O me, O me! My child, my only life,
    Revive, look up, or I will die with thee!
    Help, help! Call help.

    Enter CAPULET

CAPULET

    For shame, bring Juliet forth; her lord is come.

Nurse

    She's dead, deceased, she's dead; alack the day!

LADY CAPULET

    Alack the day, she's dead, she's dead, she's dead!

CAPULET

    Ha! let me see her: out, alas! she's cold:
    Her blood is settled, and her joints are stiff;
    Life and these lips have long been separated:
    Death lies on her like an untimely frost
    Upon the sweetest flower of all the field.

Nurse

    O lamentable day!

LADY CAPULET

    O woful time!

CAPULET

    Death, that hath ta'en her hence to make me wail,
    Ties up my tongue, and will not let me speak.

    Enter FRIAR LAURENCE and PARIS, with Musicians

FRIAR LAURENCE

    Come, is the bride ready to go to church?

CAPULET

    Ready to go, but never to return.
    O son! the night before thy wedding-day
    Hath Death lain with thy wife. There she lies,
    Flower as she was, deflowered by him.
    Death is my son-in-law, Death is my heir;
    My daughter he hath wedded: I will die,
    And leave him all; life, living, all is Death's.

PARIS

    Have I thought long to see this morning's face,
    And doth it give me such a sight as this?

LADY CAPULET

    Accursed, unhappy, wretched, hateful day!
    Most miserable hour that e'er time saw
    In lasting labour of his pilgrimage!
    But one, poor one, one poor and loving child,
    But one thing to rejoice and solace in,
    And cruel death hath catch'd it from my sight!

Nurse

    O woe! O woful, woful, woful day!
    Most lamentable day, most woful day,
    That ever, ever, I did yet behold!
    O day! O day! O day! O hateful day!
    Never was seen so black a day as this:
    O woful day, O woful day!

PARIS

    Beguiled, divorced, wronged, spited, slain!
    Most detestable death, by thee beguil'd,
    By cruel cruel thee quite overthrown!
    O love! O life! not life, but love in death!

CAPULET

    Despised, distressed, hated, martyr'd, kill'd!
    Uncomfortable time, why camest thou now
    To murder, murder our solemnity?
    O child! O child! my soul, and not my child!
    Dead art thou! Alack! my child is dead;
    And with my child my joys are buried.

FRIAR LAURENCE

    Peace, ho, for shame! confusion's cure lives not
    In these confusions. Heaven and yourself
    Had part in this fair maid; now heaven hath all,
    And all the better is it for the maid:
    Your part in her you could not keep from death,
    But heaven keeps his part in eternal life.
    The most you sought was her promotion;
    For 'twas your heaven she should be advanced:
    And weep ye now, seeing she is advanced
    Above the clouds, as high as heaven itself?
    O, in this love, you love your child so ill,
    That you run mad, seeing that she is well:
    She's not well married that lives married long;
    But she's best married that dies married young.
    Dry up your tears, and stick your rosemary
    On this fair corse; and, as the custom is,
    In all her best array bear her to church:
    For though fond nature bids us an lament,
    Yet nature's tears are reason's merriment.

CAPULET

    All things that we ordained festival,
    Turn from their office to black funeral;
    Our instruments to melancholy bells,
    Our wedding cheer to a sad burial feast,
    Our solemn hymns to sullen dirges change,
    Our bridal flowers serve for a buried corse,
    And all things change them to the contrary.

FRIAR LAURENCE

    Sir, go you in; and, madam, go with him;
    And go, Sir Paris; every one prepare
    To follow this fair corse unto her grave:
    The heavens do lour upon you for some ill;
    Move them no more by crossing their high will.

    Exeunt CAPULET, LADY CAPULET, PARIS, and FRIAR LAURENCE

First Musician

    Faith, we may put up our pipes, and be gone.

Nurse

    Honest goodfellows, ah, put up, put up;
    For, well you know, this is a pitiful case.

    Exit

First Musician

    Ay, by my troth, the case may be amended.

    Enter PETER

PETER

    Musicians, O, musicians, 'Heart's ease, Heart's
    ease:' O, an you will have me live, play 'Heart's ease.'

First Musician

    Why 'Heart's ease?'

PETER

    O, musicians, because my heart itself plays 'My
    heart is full of woe:' O, play me some merry dump,
    to comfort me.

First Musician

    Not a dump we; 'tis no time to play now.

PETER

    You will not, then?

First Musician

    No.

PETER

    I will then give it you soundly.

First Musician

    What will you give us?

PETER

    No money, on my faith, but the gleek;
    I will give you the minstrel.

First Musician

    Then I will give you the serving-creature.

PETER

    Then will I lay the serving-creature's dagger on
    your pate. I will carry no crotchets: I'll re you,
    I'll fa you; do you note me?

First Musician

    An you re us and fa us, you note us.

Second Musician

    Pray you, put up your dagger, and put out your wit.

PETER

    Then have at you with my wit! I will dry-beat you
    with an iron wit, and put up my iron dagger. Answer
    me like men:
    'When griping grief the heart doth wound,
    And doleful dumps the mind oppress,
    Then music with her silver sound'--
    why 'silver sound'? why 'music with her silver
    sound'? What say you, Simon Catling?

Musician

    Marry, sir, because silver hath a sweet sound.

PETER

    Pretty! What say you, Hugh Rebeck?

Second Musician

    I say 'silver sound,' because musicians sound for silver.

PETER

    Pretty too! What say you, James Soundpost?

Third Musician

    Faith, I know not what to say.

PETER

    O, I cry you mercy; you are the singer: I will say
    for you. It is 'music with her silver sound,'
    because musicians have no gold for sounding:
    'Then music with her silver sound
    With speedy help doth lend redress.'

    Exit

First Musician

    What a pestilent knave is this same!

Second Musician

    Hang him, Jack! Come, we'll in here; tarry for the
    mourners, and stay dinner.

    Exeunt

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