Romeo and Juliet, Act V, Scene 1

Romeo and Juliet
Act V, Scene 1

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Shakespeare
for Scholars: Shakespeare
for Everyone Else:

Mantua. A street.
Enter ROMEO
ROMEO
If I may trust the flattering truth of sleep,
My dreams presage some joyful news at hand:
My bosom's lord sits lightly in his throne;
And all this day an unaccustom'd spirit
Lifts me above the ground with cheerful thoughts.
I dreamt my lady came and found me dead--
Strange dream, that gives a dead man leave
to think!--
And breathed such life with kisses in my lips,
That I revived, and was an emperor.
Ah me! how sweet is love itself possess'd,
When but love's shadows are so rich in joy!

Meanwhile, in the nearby town of Mantua, Shakespeare takes us right to Romeo. Romeo, you may recall, is hiding out in Mantua because he was exiled from Verona. He is talking to himself (which goes to show how dejected the guy must be). When Romeo answers, we truly become concerned.
Romeo mentions a dream he has just had. Pay attention, kiddies. In Shakespeare, dreams always come true. Romeo dreamed that his "lady" was dead. He kissed his "lady." She revived, and he became an emperor.

Enter BALTHASAR, booted
Shakespeare describes Balthasar entering, booted. Leather, perhaps? Snakeskin?

News from Verona!--How now, Balthasar!
Dost thou not bring me letters from the friar?
How doth my lady? Is my father well?
How fares my Juliet? that I ask again;
For nothing can be ill, if she be well.

BALTHASAR
Then she is well, and nothing can be ill:
Her body sleeps in Capel's monument,
And her immortal part with angels lives.
Romeo's daydream is interrupted by a familiar voice—his servant, Balthasar. The servant has ridden all of the way to Mantua to tell Romeo some news about Juliet.

I saw her laid low in her kindred's vault,
And presently took post to tell it you:
O, pardon me for bringing these ill news,
Since you did leave it for my office, sir.
Balthasar explains that he “...saw her laid low in her kindred’s vault.” Romeo is stunned.

ROMEO
Is it even so? then I defy you, stars!
He is so stunned, he ceases talking to himself, and begins to talk to the sky: “Then, I defy you, stars!” (Line 20).

Thou know'st my lodging: get me ink and paper,
And hire post-horses; I will hence to-night.

BALTHASAR
I do beseech you, sir, have patience:
Your looks are pale and wild, and do import
Some misadventure.

Romeo instructs Balthasar to hire some horses and also to get him some ink and paper. Balthasar knows that “the pen is mightier than sword,” and this worries him.

ROMEO
Tush, thou art deceived:
Leave me, and do the thing I bid thee do.
Hast thou no letters to me from the friar?

BALTHASAR
No, my good lord.

ROMEO
No matter: get thee gone,
And hire those horses; I'll be with thee straight.

Exit BALTHASAR

Well, Juliet, I will lie with thee to-night.
Let's see for means: O mischief, thou art swift
To enter in the thoughts of desperate men!

Romeo tells Balthasar to relax, and do as he was instructed.

I do remember an apothecary,--
And hereabouts he dwells,--which late I noted
In tatter'd weeds, with overwhelming brows,
Culling of simples; meagre were his looks,
Alone again, Romeo makes his way to the shop of an apothecary. “Apothecary” is a twenty-five dollar word that just means “pharmacist.”

Sharp misery had worn him to the bones:
And in his needy shop a tortoise hung,
An alligator stuff'd, and other skins
Of ill-shaped fishes; and about his shelves
A beggarly account of empty boxes,
Green earthen pots, bladders and musty seeds,
Remnants of packthread and old cakes of roses,
Were thinly scatter'd, to make up a show. Romeo describes the apothecary's shop, and it sounds like a grim place. It was dusty, and full of odds and ends, and rather depressing.

Noting this penury, to myself I said The word "penury" means "poverty." In other words, this apothecary was broke.

'An if a man did need a poison now,
Whose sale is present death in Mantua,
Here lives a caitiff wretch would sell it him.'
O, this same thought did but forerun my need;
And this same needy man must sell it me.
As I remember, this should be the house.
Still searching for the pharmacist, Romeo recalls thinking that this might be the sort of place where one might purchase poison, if ever the need should arise. (How many of us have had just those thoughts when we drove past a Walgreen’s?)

Being holiday, the beggar's shop is shut.
What, ho! apothecary!

Romeo arrives at the place, but the door is locked. It is some holiday (or perhaps there is a pharmacists’ convention going on?) Romeo knocks on the pharmacist’s door.

Enter Apothecary
APOTHECARY
Who calls so loud?

ROMEO
Come hither, man. I see that thou art poor:
Hold, there is forty ducats: let me have
A dram of poison, such soon-speeding gear
As will disperse itself through all the veins
That the life-weary taker may fall dead
And that the trunk may be discharged of breath
As violently as hasty powder fired
Doth hurry from the fatal cannon's womb.

The apothecary answers, but he refuses to sell the poison.

APOTHECARY
Such mortal drugs I have; but Mantua's law
Is death to any he that utters them.
The apothecary points out that the punishment for selling a poison like this would be death.

ROMEO
Art thou so bare and full of wretchedness,
And fear'st to die? famine is in thy cheeks,
Need and oppression starveth in thine eyes,
Contempt and beggary hangs upon thy back;
The world is not thy friend nor the world's law;
The world affords no law to make thee rich;
Then be not poor, but break it, and take this.

APOTHECARY
My poverty, but not my will, consents.

ROMEO
I pay thy poverty, and not thy will.

Romeo reminds the poor man that he is offering a lot of gold, and that the “law” has never been kind to the poor man.

APOTHECARY
Put this in any liquid thing you will,
And drink it off; and, if you had the strength
Of twenty men, it would dispatch you straight.

ROMEO
There is thy gold, worse poison to men's souls,
Doing more murders in this loathsome world,
Than these poor compounds that thou mayst not sell.
I sell thee poison; thou hast sold me none.
Farewell: buy food, and get thyself in flesh.

The apothecary finally gives Romeo the poison, and takes the gold.

Come, cordial and not poison, go with me
To Juliet's grave; for there must I use thee.

Exeunt

Romeo leaves, without even waiting for a receipt.

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Shakespeare for Scholars:	Shakespeare for Everyone Else:
Mantua. A street. Enter ROMEO ROMEO If I may trust the flattering truth of sleep, My dreams presage some joyful news at hand: My bosom's lord sits lightly in his throne; And all this day an unaccustom'd spirit Lifts me above the ground with cheerful thoughts. I dreamt my lady came and found me dead-- Strange dream, that gives a dead man leave to think!-- And breathed such life with kisses in my lips, That I revived, and was an emperor. Ah me! how sweet is love itself possess'd, When but love's shadows are so rich in joy!	Meanwhile, in the nearby town of Mantua, Shakespeare takes us right to Romeo. Romeo, you may recall, is hiding out in Mantua because he was exiled from Verona. He is talking to himself (which goes to show how dejected the guy must be). When Romeo answers, we truly become concerned. Romeo mentions a dream he has just had. Pay attention, kiddies. In Shakespeare, dreams always come true. Romeo dreamed that his "lady" was dead. He kissed his "lady." She revived, and he became an emperor.
Enter BALTHASAR, booted	Shakespeare describes Balthasar entering, booted. Leather, perhaps? Snakeskin?
News from Verona!--How now, Balthasar! Dost thou not bring me letters from the friar? How doth my lady? Is my father well? How fares my Juliet? that I ask again; For nothing can be ill, if she be well. BALTHASAR Then she is well, and nothing can be ill: Her body sleeps in Capel's monument, And her immortal part with angels lives.	Romeo's daydream is interrupted by a familiar voice—his servant, Balthasar. The servant has ridden all of the way to Mantua to tell Romeo some news about Juliet.
I saw her laid low in her kindred's vault, And presently took post to tell it you: O, pardon me for bringing these ill news, Since you did leave it for my office, sir.	Balthasar explains that he “...saw her laid low in her kindred’s vault.” Romeo is stunned.
ROMEO Is it even so? then I defy you, stars!	He is so stunned, he ceases talking to himself, and begins to talk to the sky: “Then, I defy you, stars!” (Line 20).
Thou know'st my lodging: get me ink and paper, And hire post-horses; I will hence to-night. BALTHASAR I do beseech you, sir, have patience: Your looks are pale and wild, and do import Some misadventure.	Romeo instructs Balthasar to hire some horses and also to get him some ink and paper. Balthasar knows that “the pen is mightier than sword,” and this worries him.
ROMEO Tush, thou art deceived: Leave me, and do the thing I bid thee do. Hast thou no letters to me from the friar? BALTHASAR No, my good lord. ROMEO No matter: get thee gone, And hire those horses; I'll be with thee straight. Exit BALTHASAR Well, Juliet, I will lie with thee to-night. Let's see for means: O mischief, thou art swift To enter in the thoughts of desperate men!	Romeo tells Balthasar to relax, and do as he was instructed.
I do remember an apothecary,-- And hereabouts he dwells,--which late I noted In tatter'd weeds, with overwhelming brows, Culling of simples; meagre were his looks,	Alone again, Romeo makes his way to the shop of an apothecary. “Apothecary” is a twenty-five dollar word that just means “pharmacist.”
Sharp misery had worn him to the bones: And in his needy shop a tortoise hung, An alligator stuff'd, and other skins Of ill-shaped fishes; and about his shelves A beggarly account of empty boxes, Green earthen pots, bladders and musty seeds, Remnants of packthread and old cakes of roses, Were thinly scatter'd, to make up a show.	Romeo describes the apothecary's shop, and it sounds like a grim place. It was dusty, and full of odds and ends, and rather depressing.
Noting this penury, to myself I said	The word "penury" means "poverty." In other words, this apothecary was broke.
'An if a man did need a poison now, Whose sale is present death in Mantua, Here lives a caitiff wretch would sell it him.' O, this same thought did but forerun my need; And this same needy man must sell it me. As I remember, this should be the house.	Still searching for the pharmacist, Romeo recalls thinking that this might be the sort of place where one might purchase poison, if ever the need should arise. (How many of us have had just those thoughts when we drove past a Walgreen’s?)
Being holiday, the beggar's shop is shut. What, ho! apothecary!	Romeo arrives at the place, but the door is locked. It is some holiday (or perhaps there is a pharmacists’ convention going on?) Romeo knocks on the pharmacist’s door.
Enter Apothecary APOTHECARY Who calls so loud? ROMEO Come hither, man. I see that thou art poor: Hold, there is forty ducats: let me have A dram of poison, such soon-speeding gear As will disperse itself through all the veins That the life-weary taker may fall dead And that the trunk may be discharged of breath As violently as hasty powder fired Doth hurry from the fatal cannon's womb.	The apothecary answers, but he refuses to sell the poison.
APOTHECARY Such mortal drugs I have; but Mantua's law Is death to any he that utters them.	The apothecary points out that the punishment for selling a poison like this would be death.
ROMEO Art thou so bare and full of wretchedness, And fear'st to die? famine is in thy cheeks, Need and oppression starveth in thine eyes, Contempt and beggary hangs upon thy back; The world is not thy friend nor the world's law; The world affords no law to make thee rich; Then be not poor, but break it, and take this. APOTHECARY My poverty, but not my will, consents. ROMEO I pay thy poverty, and not thy will.	Romeo reminds the poor man that he is offering a lot of gold, and that the “law” has never been kind to the poor man.
APOTHECARY Put this in any liquid thing you will, And drink it off; and, if you had the strength Of twenty men, it would dispatch you straight. ROMEO There is thy gold, worse poison to men's souls, Doing more murders in this loathsome world, Than these poor compounds that thou mayst not sell. I sell thee poison; thou hast sold me none. Farewell: buy food, and get thyself in flesh.	The apothecary finally gives Romeo the poison, and takes the gold.
Come, cordial and not poison, go with me To Juliet's grave; for there must I use thee. Exeunt	Romeo leaves, without even waiting for a receipt.