At the beginning of act 2, scene 1 in Romeo and Juliet, Romeo climbs over the wall of Capulet's orchard, leaving Benvolio and Mercutio to look for him. It is Mercutio, inevitably, who starts trying to lure Romeo out of hiding by speaking of Rosaline, with whom he assumes Romeo is still in love. First of all, he talks of love in the most general terms, calling upon Romeo facetiously as a lover and a poet:

Appear thou in the likeness of a sigh!
Speak but one rhyme, and I am satisfied.
Cry but "Ay me!" Pronounce but "love" and "dove."

Soon, however, he begins to talk about Rosaline specifically, referring first to her eyes and lips, then to her "fine foot, straight leg, and quivering thigh."

Benvolio is concerned that Romeo will be angry to hear his beloved so intimately described, but this, of course, is the point. Mercutio is attempting to provoke Romeo into showing himself. When his first attempt fails, he therefore becomes even more outrageous in the sexual symbolism he employs, talking about medlar trees, the fruit of which was thought to resemble certain body parts. If Romeo is listening at all, Mercutio assumes that his chivalry will force him to reveal himself to put an end to such vulgar talk about the woman he loves. However, Romeo is not listening and no longer cares for Rosaline in any case.