Tuesday, September 23, 2014

What is a modern translation of Romeo and Juliet, Act III Scene 2, lines 73-85?

This passage is mostly Juliet's response when she hears the news that her beloved Romeo has killed her cousin Tybalt. Most of her comments from lines 76 through 85 are contrasting Romeo's physical beauty, and her love for him, with the terrible deed he has done. She does not know, at this time, of the extenuating circumstances surrounding the slaying--i.e., that Tybalt basically provoked the fight by killing Romeo's friend Mercutio. Her response is full of oxymorons, or contradictions in terms like "beautiful tyrant," "fiend angelical," "damned saint," and "honourable villian." All of these statements are essentially bemoaning the fact that Romeo could have done a thing that could hurt her so much. Despite this outburst, her love for Romeo does not waver. Later she describes herself as a "beast" for having said these things. But we can see clearly in this passage that her love for her cousin and her family is real, and this makes her love for Romeo all the more tragic and powerful. 

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