The Nurse finds Juliet in the deathlike trance caused by the Friar’s potion and announces Juliet’s death. Juliet’s parents and Paris join the Nurse in lamentation. Friar Lawrence interrupts them and begins to arrange Juliet’s funeral. The scene closes with an exchange of wordplay between Capulet’s servant Peter and Paris’s musicians.
NURSE , ⌜ approaching the bed ⌝
2582 Mistress! What, mistress! Juliet!—Fast, I warrant
2583 her, she—
2584 Why, lamb, why, lady! Fie, you slugabed!
2585 Why, love, I say! Madam! Sweetheart! Why, bride!—
2586 5 What, not a word?—You take your pennyworths
2587 now.
2588 Sleep for a week, for the next night, I warrant,
2589 The County Paris hath set up his rest
2590 That you shall rest but little.—God forgive me,
2591 10 Marry, and amen! How sound is she asleep!
2592 I needs must wake her.—Madam, madam, madam!
2593 Ay, let the County take you in your bed,
2594 He’ll fright you up, i’ faith.—Will it not be?
⌜ She opens the bed’s curtains. ⌝
2595 What, dressed, and in your clothes, and down
2596 15 again?
2597 I must needs wake you. Lady, lady, lady!—
2598 Alas, alas! Help, help! My lady’s dead.—
2599 O, weraday, that ever I was born!—
2600 Some aqua vitae, ho!—My lord! My lady!
⌜ Enter Lady Capulet. ⌝
LADY CAPULET
2601 20 What noise is here?
NURSE 2602 O lamentable day!
LADY CAPULET
2603 What is the matter?
NURSE 2604 Look, look!—O heavy day!
LADY CAPULET
2605 O me! O me! My child, my only life,
2606 25 Revive, look up, or I will die with thee.
2607 Help, help! Call help.
CAPULET
2608 For shame, bring Juliet forth. Her lord is come.
NURSE
2609 She’s dead, deceased. She’s dead, alack the day!
LADY CAPULET
2610 Alack the day, she’s dead, she’s dead, she’s dead.
CAPULET
2611 30 Ha, let me see her! Out, alas, she’s cold.
2612 Her blood is settled, and her joints are stiff.
2613 Life and these lips have long been separated.
2614 Death lies on her like an untimely frost
2615 Upon the sweetest flower of all the field.
NURSE
2616 35 O lamentable day!
LADY CAPULET 2617 O woeful time!
CAPULET
2618 Death, that hath ta’en her hence to make me wail,
2619 Ties up my tongue and will not let me speak.
Enter Friar ⌜ Lawrence ⌝ and the County ⌜ Paris, with
Musicians. ⌝
FRIAR LAWRENCE
2620 Come, is the bride ready to go to church?
CAPULET
2621 40 Ready to go, but never to return.—
2622 O son, the night before thy wedding day
2623 Hath Death lain with thy wife. There she lies,
2624 Flower as she was, deflowerèd by him.
2625 Death is my son-in-law; Death is my heir.
2626 45 My daughter he hath wedded. I will die
2627 And leave him all. Life, living, all is Death’s.
PARIS
2628 Have I thought ⌜ long ⌝ to see this morning’s face,
2629 And doth it give me such a sight as this?
LADY CAPULET
2630 Accursed, unhappy, wretched, hateful day!
2631 50 Most miserable hour that e’er time saw
2632 In lasting labor of his pilgrimage!
2633 But one, poor one, one poor and loving child,
2634 But one thing to rejoice and solace in,
2635 And cruel death hath catched it from my sight!
NURSE
2636 55 O woe, O woeful, woeful, woeful day!
2637 Most lamentable day, most woeful day
2638 That ever, ever I did yet behold!
2639 O day, O day, O day, O hateful day!
2640 Never was seen so black a day as this!
2641 60 O woeful day, O woeful day!
PARIS
2642 Beguiled, divorcèd, wrongèd, spited, slain!
2643 Most detestable death, by thee beguiled,
2644 By cruel, cruel thee quite overthrown!
2645 O love! O life! Not life, but love in death!
CAPULET
2646 65 Despised, distressèd, hated, martyred, killed!
2647 Uncomfortable time, why cam’st thou now
2648 To murder, murder our solemnity?
2649 O child! O child! My soul and not my child!
2650 Dead art thou! Alack, my child is dead,
2651 70 And with my child my joys are burièd.
FRIAR LAWRENCE
2652 Peace, ho, for shame! Confusion’s ⌜ cure ⌝ lives not
2653 In these confusions. Heaven and yourself
2654 Had part in this fair maid. Now heaven hath all,
2655 And all the better is it for the maid.
2656 75 Your part in her you could not keep from death,
2657 But heaven keeps his part in eternal life.
2658 The most you sought was her promotion,
2659 For ’twas your heaven she should be advanced;
2660 And weep you now, seeing she is advanced
2661 80 Above the clouds, as high as heaven itself?
2662 O, in this love you love your child so ill
2663 That you run mad, seeing that she is well.
2664 She’s not well married that lives married long,
2665 But she’s best married that dies married young.
2666 85 Dry up your tears, and stick your rosemary
2667 On this fair corse, and, as the custom is,
2668 And in her best array, bear her to church,
2669 For though ⌜ fond ⌝ nature bids us all lament,
2670 Yet nature’s tears are reason’s merriment.
CAPULET
2671 90 All things that we ordainèd festival
2672 Turn from their office to black funeral:
2673 Our instruments to melancholy bells,
2674 Our wedding cheer to a sad burial feast,
2675 Our solemn hymns to sullen dirges change,
2676 95 Our bridal flowers serve for a buried corse,
2677 And all things change them to the contrary.
FRIAR LAWRENCE
2678 Sir, go you in, and, madam, go with him,
2679 And go, Sir Paris. Everyone prepare
2680 To follow this fair corse unto her grave.
2681 100 The heavens do lour upon you for some ill.
2682 Move them no more by crossing their high will.
⌜ All but the Nurse and the Musicians ⌝ exit.
⌜ FIRST MUSICIAN ⌝
2683 Faith, we may put up our pipes and be gone.
NURSE
2684 Honest good fellows, ah, put up, put up,
2685 For, well you know, this is a pitiful case.
⌜ FIRST MUSICIAN ⌝
2686 105 Ay, ⌜ by ⌝ my troth, the case may be amended.
⌜ Nurse ⌝ exits.
PETER 2687 Musicians, O musicians, “Heart’s ease,”
2688 “Heart’s ease.” O, an you will have me live, play
2689 “Heart’s ease.”
⌜ FIRST MUSICIAN ⌝ 2690 Why “Heart’s ease?”
PETER 2691 110 O musicians, because my heart itself plays “My
2692 heart is full.” O, play me some merry dump to
2693 comfort me.
⌜ FIRST MUSICIAN ⌝ 2694 Not a dump, we. ’Tis no time to play
2695 now.
PETER 2696 115 You will not then?
⌜ FIRST MUSICIAN ⌝ 2697 No.
PETER 2698 I will then give it you soundly.
⌜ FIRST MUSICIAN ⌝ 2699 What will you give us?
PETER 2700 No money, on my faith, but the gleek. I will give
2701 120 you the minstrel.
⌜ FIRST MUSICIAN ⌝ 2702 Then will I give you the
2703 serving-creature.
PETER 2704 Then will I lay the serving-creature’s dagger on
2705 your pate. I will carry no crochets. I’ll re you, I’ll fa
2706 125 you. Do you note me?
⌜ FIRST MUSICIAN ⌝ 2707 An you re us and fa us, you note us.
SECOND ⌜ MUSICIAN ⌝ 2708 Pray you, put up your dagger and
2709 put out your wit.
⌜ PETER ⌝ 2710 Then have at you with my wit. I will dry-beat
2711 130 you with an iron wit, and put up my iron dagger.
2712 Answer me like men.
⌜ Sings. ⌝ 2713 When griping griefs the heart doth wound
2714 ⌜ And doleful dumps the mind oppress, ⌝
2715 Then music with her silver sound—
2716 135 Why “silver sound”? Why “music with her silver
2717 sound”? What say you, Simon Catling?
⌜ FIRST MUSICIAN ⌝ 2718 Marry, sir, because silver hath a
2719 sweet sound.
PETER 2720 Prates.—What say you, Hugh Rebeck?
SECOND ⌜ MUSICIAN ⌝ 2721 140 I say “silver sound” because musicians
2722 sound for silver.
PETER 2723 Prates too.—What say you, James Soundpost?
THIRD ⌜ MUSICIAN ⌝ 2724 Faith, I know not what to say.
PETER 2725 O, I cry you mercy. You are the singer. I will say
2726 145 for you. It is “music with her silver sound” because
2727 musicians have no gold for sounding:
⌜ Sings. ⌝ 2728 Then music with her silver sound
2729 With speedy help doth lend redress.
He exits.
⌜ FIRST MUSICIAN ⌝ 2730 What a pestilent knave is this same!
SECOND ⌜ MUSICIAN ⌝ 2731 150 Hang him, Jack. Come, we’ll in
2732 here, tarry for the mourners, and stay dinner.
⌜ They ⌝ exit.