Page:Romeo and Juliet (1917) Yale.djvu/42

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30
The Tragedy of

ACT SECOND

PROLOGUE

[Enter] Chorus.

Chor. Now old desire doth in his death-bed lie,
And young affection gapes to be his heir;
That fair for which love groan'd for and would die,
With tender Juliet match'd, is now not fair.
Now Romeo is belov'd and loves again, 5
Alike bewitched by the charm of looks,
But to his foe suppos'd he must complain,
And she steal love's sweet bait from fearful hooks: 8
Being held a foe, he may not have access
To breathe such vows as lovers use to swear;
And she as much in love, her means much less
To meet her new-beloved any where: 12
But passion lends them power, time means, to meet,
Tempering extremity with extreme sweet.

[Exit.]


Scene One

[A Lane by the wall of Capulet's Orchard]

Enter Romeo alone.

Rom. Can I go forward when my heart is here?
Turn back, dull earth, and find thy centre out.

[He climbs the wall, and leaps down within it.]

Enter Benvolio with Mercutio.

Ben. Romeo! my cousin Romeo! Romeo!


6 Alike: i.e., both he and she
10 use: are accustomed to

S. d. Orchard: garden
2 dull earth; cf. n.