In act 2, what do the first 4 lines of the chorus mean?

Expert Answers

An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

Act 2 begins with

"Now old desire doth in his death-bed lie,
And young affection gapes to be his heir;
That fair for which love groan'd for and would die,
With tender Juliet match'd, is now not fair."

The love Romeo had for Rosaline "old desire" is now gone. He has completely forgotten about her and how he felt for her. She has been replaced by Juliet. "Young affection" is now his love for Juliet. The "love groan'd for and would die" again refers to Rosaline and her beauty compared to Juliet's is the "is now not fair." He has realized that Rosaline was nothing to cry over. Juliet is everything to him now.

See eNotes Ad-Free

Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts.

Get 48 Hours Free Access
Approved by eNotes Editorial Team