Home > Romeo and Juliet Text > Act V, Scene III - Page 2

FRIAR:

Saint Francis be my speed! how oft to-night
Have my old feet stumbled at graves! Who's there?

FRIAR:

Saint Francis be my speed! How often tonight
Have my old feet stumbled over graves! Who's there?
Who is it that hangs out so late among the dead?

BAL:

Here's one, a friend, and one that knows you well.

BAL:

It’s me, a friend, and one that knows you well.

FRIAR:

Bliss be upon you! Tell me, good my friend,
What torch is yond that vainly lends his light(125)
To grubs and eyeless skulls? As I discern,
It burneth in the Capels’ monument.

FRIAR:

Blessings on you! Tell me, good my friend,
What torch is over there that wastes giving his light
To grubs and eyeless skulls? As far as I can see,
It burns in the Capulet’s tomb.

BAL:

It doth so, holy sir; and there's my master,
One that you love.

BAL:

It does, holy sir; and my master is in there,
One that you love.

FRIAR:

Who is it?(130)

FRIAR:

Who is it?

BAL:

Romeo.

BAL:

Romeo.

FRIAR:

How long hath he been there?

FRIAR:

How long has he been in there?

BAL:

Full half an hour.

BAL:

A full half hour.

FRIAR:

Go with me to the vault.

FRIAR:

Go with me to the tomb.

BAL:

I dare not, sir.(135)
My master knows not but I am gone hence,
And fearfully did menace me with death
If I did stay to look on his intents.

BAL:

I dare not, sir;
My master doesn’t know anything except I’ve gone from here,
And he fearfully threatened me with death
If I stayed to look on his intentions.

FRIAR:

Stay then; I'll go alone. Fear comes upon me.
O, much I fear some ill unlucky thing.(140)

FRIAR:

Stay then; I'll go alone. Fear comes over me.
O, I’m very much afraid that some evil, unlucky thing has happened.

BAL:

As I did sleep under this yew tree here,
I dreamt my master and another fought,
And that my master slew him.

BAL:

As I was sleeping under this yew tree here,
I dreamed that my master and another fought,
And that my master killed him.

FRIAR:

Romeo!
Alack, alack, what blood is this which stains(145)
The stony entrance of this sepulchre?
What mean these masterless and gory swords
To lie discolour'd by this place of peace?

Enters the tomb.

Romeo! O, pale! Who else? What, Paris too?
And steep'd in blood? Ah, what an unkind hour(150)
Is guilty of this lamentable chance!
The lady stirs.

FRIAR:

Romeo!
For shame, for shame! Whose blood is this that stains
The stony entrance of this tomb?
What do these master-less and gory swords mean
By lying here with blood on them in this place of peace? Romeo! O, you’re pale! Who else? What, Paris too?
And you’re covered in blood? Ah, what an unlucky hour
Is guilty of this lamentable event! The lady is waking up.

Juliet rises.

JUL:

O comfortable friar! where is my lord?
I do remember well where I should be,
And there I am. Where is my Romeo?(155)

JUL:

O comfortable friar! Where is my lord?
I remember well where I should be,
And here I am. Where is my Romeo?

FRIAR:

I hear some noise. Lady, come from that nest
Of death, contagion, and unnatural sleep.
A greater power than we can contradict
Hath thwarted our intents. Come, come away.
Thy husband in thy bosom there lies dead;(160)
And Paris too. Come, I'll dispose of thee
Among a sisterhood of holy nuns.
Stay not to question, for the watch is coming.
Come, go, good Juliet. I dare no longer stay.

FRIAR:

I hear some noise. Lady. Come away from that nest
Of death, disease, and unnatural sleep.
A greater power than we can contradict
Has opposed our plans. Come, come away!
Your husband in your bosom lies dead there,
And Paris too. Come, I'll hide you
Among a sisterhood of holy nuns.
Don’t stay to question what happened, because the guard is coming.
Come, go, good Juliet. I don’t dare to stay longer.

JUL:

Go, get thee hence, for I will not away.(165)

Exit Friar.

What's here? A cup, clos'd in my true love's hand?
Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end.
O churl! drunk all, and left no friendly drop
To help me after? I will kiss thy lips.
Haply some poison yet doth hang on them(170)
To make me die with a restorative.

Kisses him.

Thy lips are warm!

JUL:

Go, get away from here, because I will not leave. What's here? A cup closed in my true love's hand?
Poison, I see, has been his timeless end.
O husband! You drank it all and Didn’t leave just a friendly drop
To help me join you? I will kiss your lips.
Maybe some poison is still on them,
To make me die by restoring me. Your lips are warm!

CHIEF WATCH:

Within.

Lead, boy. Which way?

CHIEF WATCH:

Lead, boy. Which way is it?

JUL:

Yea, noise? Then I'll be brief. O happy dagger!

Snatches Romeo's dagger.

This is thy sheath; there rust, and let me die.(175)

She stabs herself and falls on Romeo's body.

JUL:

Yes, noise? Then I'll be brief. O happy dagger! This is you casing. [stabs herself] Rest there, and let me die.

Enter Paris’ Boy and Watch.

BOY:

This is the place. There, where the torch doth burn.

BOY:

This is the place, over there, where the torch is burning.

CHIEF WATCH:

The ground is bloody. Search about the(180)
churchyard.
Go, some of you; whoe'er you find attach.

Exeunt some of the Watch.

Pitiful sight! here lies the County slain;
And Juliet bleeding, warm, and newly dead,
Who here hath lain this two days buried.(185)
Go, tell the Prince; run to the Capulets;
Raise up the Montagues; some others search.

Exeunt others of the Watch.

We see the ground whereon these woes do lie,
But the true ground of all these piteous woes
We cannot without circumstance descry.(190)

CHIEF WATCH:

The ground is bloody; search about the churchyard.
Go, some of you, whoever you find, arrest. Pitiful sight! Here the Count lies slain,
And Juliet bleeding, warm, and newly dead,
Who has been buried in this tomb for two days.
Go, tell the prince. Run to the Capulets,
Wake up the Montagues, some of you others, search this place. We see the ground on which these sorrows lie,
But we cannot find the true ground of all these piteous woes
Without knowing what happened.

Enter some of the Watch, with Romeo's Man Balthasar.

2. WATCH:

Here's Romeo's man. We found him in the
churchyard.

2. WATCH:

Here's Romeo's man. We found him in the churchyard.

CHIEF WATCH:

Hold him in safety till the Prince come
hither.

CHIEF WATCH:

Hold him in safety until the prince arrives.

Enter Friar Laurence and another Watchman.

3. WATCH:

Here is a friar that trembles, sighs, and weeps.(195)
We took this mattock and this spade from him
As he was coming from this churchyard side.

3. WATCH:

Here is a friar, trembling, sighing, and weeping.
We took this chisel-edged pick and this shovel from him
As he was coming from this side of the churchyard.

CHIEF WATCH:

A great suspicion! Stay the friar too.

CHIEF WATCH:

Very suspicious! Hold the friar too.

Enter the Prince and Attendants.

PRINCE:

What misadventure is so early up,
That calls our person from our morning rest?(200)

PRINCE:

What unlucky event is up so early,
That calls me from my morning's rest?

Enter Capulet, Lady Capulet, and others.

CAP:

What should it be, that they so shriek abroad?

CAP:

What’s the matter that they scream so loudly in the streets?

LADY CAPULET:

The people in the street cry ‘Romeo,’
Some ‘Juliet,’ and some ‘Paris’; and all run,
With open outcry, toward our monument.

LADY CAPULET:

The people in the street cry “Romeo,”
Some “Juliet,” and some “Paris,” and all run
With open outcries toward our tomb.

PRINCE:

What fear is this which startles in our ears?(205)

PRINCE:

What noise startles in our ears?

CHIEF WATCH:

Sovereign, here lies the County Paris slain;
And Romeo dead; and Juliet, dead before,
Warm and new kill'd.

CHIEF WATCH:

Sovereign, here lies Count Paris slain,
And Romeo dead, and Juliet, who was dead before,
No warm and newly killed.

PRINCE:

Search, seek, and know how this foul murder comes.

PRINCE:

Search, seek, and know how this foul murder happened.

CHIEF WATCH:

Here is a friar, and slaughter'd Romeo's man,(210)
With instruments upon them fit to open
These dead men's tombs.

CHIEF WATCH:

Here is a friar, and dead Romeo's man,
With instruments on him that are fit to open
These dead men's tombs.

CAP:

O heavens! O wife, look how our daughter bleeds!
This dagger hath mista'en, for, lo, his house
Is empty on the back of Montague,(215)
And it missheathed in my daughter's bosom!

CAP:

O heaven! O wife, look how our daughter bleeds!
This dagger has been mistaken, for, behold, his empty
Case is on the back of Montague,
And it’s misplaced in my daughter's bosom!

LADY CAPULET:

O me! this sight of death is as a bell
That warns my old age to a sepulchre.

LADY CAPULET:

O me! this sight of death is as a bell
That warns my old age to a tomb.

Enter Montague and others.

PRINCE:

Come, Montague; for thou art early up
To see thy son and heir more early down.(220)

PRINCE:

Come, Montague; because you are up early
To see your son and heir taken down even earlier.

MON:

Alas, my liege, my wife is dead to-night!
Grief of my son's exile hath stopp'd her breath.
What further woe conspires against mine age?

MON:

For pity’s sake, my lord, my wife died tonight.
Grief of my son's exile has killed her.
What additional sorrow conspires against my old age?

PRINCE:

Look, and thou shalt see.

PRINCE:

Look, and you’ll see.

MON:

O thou untaught! what manners is in this,(225)
To press before thy father to a grave?

MON:

O you stupid boy! What kind of manners is it
To go to a grave before your father?

PRINCE:

Seal up the mouth of outrage for a while,
Till we can clear these ambiguities
And know their spring, their head, their true descent;
And then will I be general of your woes(230)
And lead you even to death. Meantime forbear,
And let mischance be slave to patience.
Bring forth the parties of suspicion.

PRINCE:

Seal up the murder scene,
Until we can clear these questions,
And know how they began, who started it, and other details.
And then I will be in charge of your sorrows,
And lead you even to death. In the meantime, do nothing,
And let the investigation be do patiently.
Bring out the suspects.

FRIAR:

I am the greatest, able to do least,
Yet most suspected, as the time and place(235)
Doth make against me, of this direful murder;
And here I stand, both to impeach and purge
Myself condemned and myself excus'd.

FRIAR:

I am the greatest, able to do least,
Yet most suspected, as the time and place
Cast suspicion on me as guilty of this sad murder;
And here I stand, both to accuse and free
Myself, condemned and myself excused.

PRINCE:

Then say at once what thou dost know in this.

PRINCE:

Then tell what you know about all of this.

FRIAR:

I will be brief, for my short date of breath(240)
Is not so long as is a tedious tale.
Romeo, there dead, was husband to that Juliet;
And she, there dead, that Romeo's faithful wife.
I married them; and their stol'n marriage day
Was Tybalt's doomsday, whose untimely death(245)
Banish'd the new-made bridegroom from this city;
For whom, and not for Tybalt, Juliet pin'd.
You, to remove that siege of grief from her,
Betroth'd and would have married her perforce
To County Paris. Then comes she to me(250)
And with wild looks bid me devise some mean
To rid her from this second marriage,
Or in my cell there would she kill herself.
Then gave I her (so tutored by my art)
A sleeping potion; which so took effect(255)
As I intended, for it wrought on her
The form of death. Meantime I writ to Romeo
That he should hither come as this dire night
To help to take her from her borrowed grave,
Being the time the potion's force should cease.(260)
But he which bore my letter, Friar John,
Was stay'd by accident, and yesternight
Return'd my letter back. Then all alone
At the prefixed hour of her waking
Came I to take her from her kindred's vault;(265)
Meaning to keep her closely at my cell
Till I conveniently could send to Romeo.
But when I came, some minute ere the time
Of her awaking, here untimely lay
The noble Paris and true Romeo dead.(270)
She wakes; and I entreated her come forth
And bear this work of heaven with patience;
But then a noise did scare me from the tomb,
And she, too desperate, would not go with me,
But, as it seems, did violence on herself.(275)
All this I know, and to the marriage
Her nurse is privy; and if aught in this
Miscarried by my fault, let my old life
Be sacrific'd, some hour before his time,
Unto the rigour of severest law.(280)

FRIAR:

I will be brief, for I don’t have enough breath to
This tedious tale.
Romeo, there dead, was husband to that Juliet;
And she, there dead, was Romeo's faithful wife.
I married them; and their secret wedding day
Was Tybalt's doomsday, whose untimely death
Banished the new-made bridegroom from this city,
For whom Juliet pined, and not for Tybalt.
You, to remove that siege of grief from her,
Engaged and would have married her against her will,
To Count Paris. Then she comes to me,
And with wild looks, asks me to devise some means
To get her of this second marriage,
Or right there, in my cell, she would kill herself.
Then gave I her, according to my craft with herbs,
A sleeping potion; which took effect
As I intended, for it made her
Seem dead. In the meantime, I wrote to Romeo
That he should come home, this bad night,
To help to take her from her borrowed grave,
At the time that the potion would wear off.
But the man who carried my letter, Friar John,
Was delayed by accident, and last night
Returned my letter to me. Then all alone
At the prearranged hour of her waking up,
I came to take her from her relative's tomb,
Intending to keep her close at my cell
Until I could easily send for Romeo.
But when I got here, some minutes before the time
Of her waking up, here the noble Paris
Lay and true Romeo, both untimely dead.
She wakes up, and I entreated her come with me,
And bear this work of heaven with patience.
But then a noise scared me away from the tomb;
And she, too desperate, would not go with me,
But, as it seems, did violence to herself.
This is all I know, and her nurse knows
About the marriage. And if any of this
Went wrong through my fault, let my old life
Be sacrificed, some hour before its time,
Under the rigor of the severest law.