Reading Notes

Scene 1: Romeo's inability to reveal his love of a Capulet heightens his isolation. By leaping the wall surrounding the Capulet orchard, Romeo physically separates himself from Mercutio and Benvolio--- a separation that reflects the distance he feels from society, his friends, and his family. Romeo previously wallowed in a "prison, kept without food" as his unrequited love for Rosaline withered from lack of reciprocation. Having joked at Romeo's Petrarchan miseries earlier in the play, Mercutio now adds a more cutting edge to his barbs. He calls to Romeo using physical and sexual innuendo to describe the female allure. So, I think for Mercutio, love is a conquest. 

Scene 2: The scene contains some of the more recognizable and memorable passages in all of Shakespeare. Here, in the famous balcony scene, Romeo and Juliet reveal their love to each other, and at Juliet's suggestion, they plan to marry.

Scene 5: The speed with which the lovers met, fell in love, and agree to marry is now contrasted with the way in which the hours appear to lengthen for Juliet as she waits for news. The emphasis on the passing of time evokes Juliet's parting lines to Romeo from the balcony in Scene 2, when he promised to send word to her the next day: "'Tis twenty years till then."

Scene 6: I think the wedding scene is notable for its brevity and pervasive atmosphere of impending doom. Romeo believes that not even death can counteract the pleasure he feels in marrying Juliet. This speech reflects both the impetuous and tragic nature of Romeo's love. Although he is unhesitating in his desire to be married to Juliet, Romeo's challenge to fate is prophetic and full of dramatic irony.