‘Good pilgrim you do wrong your hand too much’ – Juliet cleverly teases Romeo. Acknowledging that she sees him as a pilgrim but also playfully flirting with Romeo and prolonging the period of wooing. ‘And palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss’ – pun – this is a fascinating image as Juliet not only invokes religious imagery of Palm Sunday but also as a play on words that touching the statue should be sufficient (instead of using your lips). She furthers supports this by suggesting that ‘lips should be used in prayer’, as if Romeo should not be asking for a kiss. ‘Saints do not move, though grant for prayers’ sake’ She finally relents suggesting that like that statue she is unable to take this course of action. Shakespeare uses the stage directions to tell us that Romeo and Juliet kiss twice during their first meeting. This lets the audience physically see the passion of their love on the stage.
Another theme in this scene is ambiguity or multi valency. Multi valency is when something represents more than one thing at once. You kiss by the’ book’ is an example of multivalency from this scene. Multi valency is common in Shakespeare as it gives the language depth and offers multiple interpretations of the word choice. The direct meaning of ‘book’ is unclear here. Juliet is either praising Romeo for being an expert kisser or she is commenting that his kissing is book learnt e.g. something which is contrived. This interpretation would fit nicely with the idea that Romeo is inexperienced and an immature lover.
‘Away be gone; the sport is at the best’ – is a repetition of the idea introduced in Act 1 Scene 4 ‘The game was ne'er so fair, and I am done.’ The multiple meaning of the word ‘game’ and ‘sport’ is relevant here. It contrasts the duality of the presentation of love. For Benvolio, Mercutio and the Nurse, love is like a game not to be taken seriously, but for Romeo love is fatalistic and toys with his emotions. It is game that he attempts to play and has had varying success. The last theme is the use of light and dark imagery in this scene. When Romeo spoke about Rosaline, the language he used was quite dark, suggesting that the ‘love’ he felt for her was making miserable. However, when Romeo meets Juliet, his language becomes much more romantic. He uses light imagery to describe Juliet when he first sees her. “O she doth teach the torches to burn bright.” Here he is literally saying that Juliet can light up the world with her beauty. This is an example of hyperbole, which is extravagant and exaggerated language. Shakespeare is using this because he wants to show a change in Romeo’s mood. He wants the audience to realise that the love for Juliet is positive and lights up his life, unlike his love for Rosaline that was making him miserable.
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