Romeo and Juliet

Act 2

Modern spelling. Stage directions omitted.

Listen to Act 2. LibriVox volunteers recorded “Act 2” as one track, so it runs past this scene and includes stage directions this page leaves out. LibriVox catalog.

CHORUS

Now old desire in his deathbed 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.
Now Romeo is belov’d, and loves again,
Alike bewitched by the charm of looks;
But to his foe suppos’d he must complain,
And she steal love’s sweet bait from fearful hooks:
Being held a foe, he may not have access
To breathe such vows as lovers use to swear;
And she as much in love, her means much less
To meet her new beloved anywhere.
But passion lends them power, time means, to meet,
Tempering extremities with extreme sweet.

All of Romeo and Juliet

Opening and close

Prologue,

Act 1

Act 1, Scene 1Act 1, Scene 2Act 1, Scene 3Act 1, Scene 4Act 1, Scene 5,

Act 2

Act 2Act 2, Scene 1Act 2, Scene 2Act 2, Scene 3Act 2, Scene 4Act 2, Scene 5Act 2, Scene 6,

Act 3

Act 3, Scene 1Act 3, Scene 2Act 3, Scene 3Act 3, Scene 4Act 3, Scene 5,

Act 4

Act 4, Scene 1Act 4, Scene 2Act 4, Scene 3Act 4, Scene 4Act 4, Scene 5,

Act 5

Act 5, Scene 1Act 5, Scene 2Act 5, Scene 3

Open Romeo and Juliet in the 1623 First Folio. See its words in the cloud.

Compare a quarto passage.

Modern spelling for reading. The edition is public domain in the United States. Edition source.