Friday, September 28, 2012

What is a quote from Romeo and Juliet describing Juliet's loyalty to Romeo?

There's ample evidence of Juliet's loyalty to Romeo, but the scene that strikes most at my own heart is the one in which Juliet discovers Romeo killed her cousin, Tybalt, but she decides to continue to love Romeo anyway.


This part of the story occurs in Act Three, Scene Two, and I believe it to be one of the most dimensional and realistic aspects of the narrative. Here, Juliet is dealing with both the death of a family member (one committed at the hand of another loved one) and the banishing of her husband. She must weigh these two acts and their contradictory nature; she must decide how to properly grieve Tybalt's death AND Romeo's exile without diminishing one or the other while acknowledging these events are inseparably linked. 


Juliet's Nurse reacts to this news very judgmentally, crying out that, "There's no trust, / No faith, no honesty in men." She then wishes that "Shame come to Romeo!" Juliet reacts immediately to this curse, stating,



Blistered be thy tongue


For such a wish! He was not born to shame.


Upon his brow shame is ashamed to sit,


For 'tis a throne where honor may be crowned.


Sole monarch of the universal earth.



Juliet is asserting her total loyalty here by scolding the Nurse for placing blame on Romeo. She reaffirms her belief that, despite what happened, Romeo is still a honorable husband. This quote makes it evident Juliet is prepared to stand by Romeo. 

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