Editor's Choice
Can you explain this exchange between Mercutio and Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet"?
Mercutio: Nay, gentle Romeo, we must have you dance.
Romeo: Not I, believe me: you have dancing shoes,
With nimble soles; I have a soul of lead
So stakes me to the ground I cannot move.
Quick answer:
The exchange from Romeo and Juliet in which Romeo says, "You have dancing shoes / with nimble soles" shows Mercutio encouraging Romeo to forget his troubles and dance. Romeo replies that while Mercutio has nothing to concern him but the nimbleness of his dancing, Romeo's soul is weighed down with unrequited love.
In act 1, scene 4, Mercutio, Romeo, Benvolio, and several of their friends arrive at the Capulet ball. Before they enter, Mercutio encourages Romeo to dance in order to lift his spirits. When Mercutio tells Romeo to dance, Romeo responds by saying,
Not I, believe me. You have dancing shoes
With nimble soles. I have a soul of lead
So stakes me to the ground I cannot move (Shakespeare 1.4.13–16).
Romeo uses a clever pun, a play on words that have the same pronunciation but entirely different meanings, by using the words "soles" and "soul." Romeo also uses a metaphor by comparing his soul to lead, which is a dull, heavy metal. Romeo is essentially telling Mercutio that he has nimble soles on the bottom of his shoes because he is in a good, enthusiastic mood. In contrast, Romeo says that his soul is similar to...
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lead, which will prevent him from enjoying the party and dancing with the ladies in attendance. Romeo's negative response corresponds to his depressed, melancholy mood because Rosaline does not love him. However, Romeo immediately dismisses his feelings for Rosaline the second he lays eyes on Juliet.
References
This very clever pun appears as Romeo, Mercutio and the other Montague men are on their way to Capulet's party in Act I, Scene 4 of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. A pun is a play on the multiple meanings of a word or two words that sound alike but have different meanings. Shakespeare was one of the greatest punsters of all time and more elaborate puns appear later in the play during the exchange between Romeo and Mercutio in Act II, Scene 4. In this scene Romeo is still depressed over his unrequited love for Rosaline and Mercutio is trying to cheer him up by convincing him that when they get to the party Romeo should dance. The pun involves the homophones soul and sole. Homophones occur when two words sound the same but have both different definitions and different spellings. Romeo claims that Mercutio has "nimble soles," meaning the bottoms of his shoes, but that he has a "soul of lead" because he is sad over his love for a girl who will not return his affection.