Romeo and Juliet Group

Question:

aarontoh
aarontoh
Student
High School - 9th Grade

"Parting is such sweet sorrow"--what does Juliet mean?

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Posted by aarontoh on Thursday July 12, 2007 at 12:23 AM and tagged with juliet, quotes, romeo and juliet.

Answers:


  1. cmcqueeney Teacher
    High School - 11th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    Romeo and Juliet are desperate to be together, but at this point in the play (Act II, sceneii), they have not come up with a plan to spend their lives together as they would wish.  Juliet says this line as she is saying goodbye to Romeo.  The oxymoron "sweet sorrow" is created by the combination of Juliet being sad to leave Romeo, which is the 'sorrow' part, yet excited by the idea of seeing him again, which is the sweetness she refers to.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/shakespeare-quotes/good-night-good-...

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    Posted by cmcqueeney on Thursday July 12, 2007 at 1:01 AM


  2. sagetrieb Teacher
    Doctorate

    Poets have long been fascinated by the concept of dialectical emotions--that to be truly happy, one must first be deeply sad; to enjoy the delights of food, one must first experience hunger.  So it is with Juliet's situation. Saying goodbye to Romeo triggers deep sadness, but that sadness also reminds her of her love for hm, and for this reason it is sweet. Saying goodbye also initiates her anticipation of seeing him again, which gives htat emotion a pleasant tingle.  Remember, too, that for Shakespeare "sweet" meant not necessary "pleasing," but also "not offensive," which tempers the romantic meaning of the phrase just a bit.

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    Posted by sagetrieb on Thursday July 12, 2007 at 4:52 AM


  3. mickey2bailey Teacher
    High School - 9th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    This is taking place in the famous balcony scene, Act II, Scene 2.  Romeo nd Juliet have been conversing all night long and they have made an agreement that Romeo will send word tomorrow about when and where they should be married.  She feels sorrow and sadness that they need to say goodbye, but on the other hand what is to come is sweet and beautiful when they shall be together again.

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    Posted by mickey2bailey on Tuesday August 21, 2007 at 8:57 PM

  4. tankstar
    tankstar Student
    High School - 9th Grade

    Her and Romeo were departing and she was saying that leaving eachother was sorrow, but the sweet part about it was that they were going to see eachother the next morning.

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    Posted by tankstar on Thursday March 20, 2008 at 5:18 PM

  5. richierock
    richierock

    Juliet is referring to the pain that lovers have faced  since time began. She is overjoyed at loving Romeo and amazed at how much it hurts her to have to leave him, the paradox is that without her deep feelings for him parting would not be difficult.

    It is therefore delightful that parting can hurt so much.

     

     

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    Posted by richierock on Thursday January 8, 2009 at 11:47 AM

  6. outkast
    outkast

    The "sorrow" of leaving a person that you are in love with is temepered by the richness of the emotions that the parting engenders!

     

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    Posted by outkast on Tuesday October 13, 2009 at 4:32 AM