Hello and welcome to "Read it and (Don't) Weep," the podcast that will help you breeze through your high school literature classes. Are you tired of struggling to understand the themes and characters in classic works of literature? Well, I’ve got you covered! I am your host, Jackey Taggart, and I taught high school English for almost 20 years. 

Join me each episode as I dive into the world of high school literature and break down the essential elements of each work. From Shakespeare to Steinbeck, I'll cover it all. My goal is to give you valuable insights and analysis on some of the most popular high school literary texts, as well as tips and tricks for acing your tests and essays.  Let’s start reading!

Hello and welcome back!  In this episode, we will discuss Act 2, Scene 3 and 4 in Romeo and Juliet.  In scene 3,  the audience meets the last major character, Friar Lawrence.  He is an important character in the rest of the play, so you will want to pay special attention to this character.  If you have not yet read up to this point in the play, it would be a good idea to get caught up with your reading and listen to my other episodes before continuing.

Act 2, Scene 3

Act 2, Scene 3 opens with Friar Lawrence’s soliloquy.  Remember, a soliloquy is a speech given by a character on stage alone.  The purpose of a soliloquy is for the character to convey their inner thoughts out loud, so the audience understands their motivations. Now, Friar Lawrence’s soliloquy is written in rhyming couplets, so you will notice each set of poetic lines rhyme.  Not only does it sound pleasing, but it also reflects Friar Lawrence’s character.  No, he is not a Dr. Seuss character.  In fact, Friar Lawrence is a very intelligent and reflective character, and his use of rhymed verse emphasizes these traits.

So, what is he saying in this soliloquy? Well, he opens by commenting that night is turning into day, to give the audience a time reference.  It is early in the morning, right at sunrise the morning after the Capulet party where Romeo and Juliet met and fell madly in love. He is in his greenhouse or garden area picking weeds and herbs.  As he works, he becomes very philosophical. He says, “The earth that’s nature’s mother is her tomb;” meaning the earth gives life and also takes it back in death.  It reminds me of the Christian ideology in the Book of Genesis, “you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”  He also talks about the many benefits plants have for human life and the unique qualities of many of the herbs in the garden, when used correctly. However, we need to be careful because anything, if not used properly, can become harmful.  The final lines of his soliloquy are important, “Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied, / And vice sometimes by action dignified.”  What is he saying?  Well, sometimes, even good things can become bad if used inappropriately just like bad things can be made good through certain actions.  

So, what is the audience supposed to take away from this soliloquy?  Well, just as plants have the power to heal or harm, so do humans’ actions and intentions. Do you agree or disagree with Friar Lawrence’s observations? Jot down your ideas in your reading journal so you can come back to your thoughts later in the play.  These lines will be important. 

Back to the action.  After Friar Lawrence’s soliloquy, Romeo comes in to visit Friar Lawrence, and Friar Lawrence immediately notices that he's been up all night. He draws the conclusion that Romeo has been with Rosaline, so at some point in the past, Romeo has talked to Frair Lawrence about his feelings towards Rosaline.  This is important to note as it shows the close relationship between the two characters.  

Romeo tells Friar Lawrence that he is no longer in love with Rosaline, “I had forgotten that name and that name’s woe,” and he tells Friar Lawrence that he in love with “the fair daughter of rich Capulet” or Juliet.

Friar Lawrence is surprised by Romeo’s sudden change of heart. He questions Romeo as it was only recently Romeo was heartbroken over Rosaline.  Finally! Someone who agrees with me that Romeo seems to fall in and out of love faster than a Tik Tok goes viral.  Friar Lawrence thinks that Romeo is just in love with the idea of love, not Juliet, which kind of makes sense given how quickly Romeo’s feelings seem to switch from one young lady to another. 

But Romeo says, “No, I love her, and she loves me, and we want to get married. What are you doing this afternoon?  Can you perform the ceremony?”  Wow! That was fast! They met last night (while Romeo was pining for another) and they will marry by tonight. They are not wasting any time! No long engagements in Verona!

Now, Friar Lawrence does not immediately agree, but after some thought, he agrees to marry Romeo and Juliet. He hopes that their union might serve to end the feud between their parents. He says, "For this alliance may so happy prove / To turn your households' rancor to pure love." Before the scene ends, Friar Lawrence offers Romeo some advice, saying, "Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast." What does he mean? He is telling Romeo to calm his horses and slow down.  You don’t need to rush.  Note the foreshowing here that Romeo will not follow Friar Lawrence’s advice and tragedy will strike due to his hasty decisions.

Which brings us to the end of Act 2, Scene 3.The wedding is planned, and life seems to be going great for Romeo and Juliet.   Will it continue? We shall see. 

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Act 2, Scene 4

In Act 2, Scene 4 , Benvolio and Mercutio are looking for Romeo. He didn't come home last night, and they had checked for him. Mercutio thinks that he spent the whole night out pining over Rosaline. Remember, they have absolutely no idea that Romeo has met and fallen in love with Juliet, so they're still teasing him about Rosaline.

They also reveal that Tybalt has sent a letter to Romeo's father, Lord Montague, challenging Romeo to a duel. Remember how angry Tybalt was back in Act 1, Scene 5,that Romeo, a Montague, crashed the party?  It is not surprising given his anger at the party or towards his uncle Lord Capulet when he told Tybalt to leave Romeo alone, that Tybalt just couldn’t drop the issue. He has challenged Romeo to a duel.  Now, this isn’t something to take lightly as duels were to the death. 

Mercutio is very concerned. Tybalt is highly skilled with a sword, and Romeo is distracted by love. However, Mercutio being Mercutio, he still makes fun of Tybalt’s swordsmanship skills.  

When they finally meet each other, Mercutio greets Romeo with a "Bonjour," and says, "You ditched us last night, where'd you go?" Romeo says, "Oh, sorry, didn't mean to, had something more important to do.” They continue to joke around, calling each other girly girls, and teasing each other. Mercutio and Benvolio are happy, Romeo is back to what they see as normal Romeo. Mercutio says, "Finally, lovesick Romeo's gone, and we have normal, happy-go-lucky, fun Romeo back." He's changed; he's light-hearted; he's happy.

Now this is important, and Shakespeare does this for a good reason. He is showing the audience another side of Romeo.  Up until this point, the audience has only seen Romeo as a lovesick fool.  In this scene, joking with Mercutio, the audience sees a funnier, more laid-back Romeo who can joke around and stand up for himself. He humanizes Romeo giving his character more depth. 

As they're finishing up with their fun banter, the Nurse enters. Remember, the Nurse has been sent to get a message from Romeo, but she walks in on Romeo with Mercutio and Benvolio. So, the Nurse finds herself the target of Mercutio’s rude and vulgar jokes, suggesting a romantic connection between the Nurse and Romeo.

Finally, Mercutio and Benvolio leave, and the nurse is clearly upset and offended.  She warns Romeo about mistreating Juliet.  Romeo quickly apologies saying he acted foolishly because he was with his friends.  

Once everything is calm, Romeo explains the plan to the Nurse. Juliet is to ask her parents for permission to go to see Friar Lawrence for confession this afternoon. At this time, they will be secretly married. The Nurse is to wait out in the orchard for Romeo's servant to bring a rope ladder. The Nurse will take the rope ladder up to Juliet's balcony and drop it down so that later that night, Romeo can climb up ladder into Juliet's room, and they can consummate the marriage.

The Nurse is excited but reminds Romeo that Juliet was supposed to marry Paris, but now she “see a toad, a very toad, as see him."  The Nurse says Juliet is not interested in marrying Paris anymore; she' wants to marry Romeo. As the scene ends, Romeo and the Nurse depart to prepare for their upcoming nuptials. 

Before ending this episode, I want you to think about this for a minute.  Have you ever snuck out of the house to do something behind your parents’ back? What happened when they found out?  Were they upset? Probably, and I am assuming that you did not run off and get married.  How do you think Juliet’s parents are going to respond?  It is not like they can keep this a secret forever! Take a few minutes to jot your ideas down in your reading journal.  You may want to include specific details from the text to support your response.

Thanks for listening to this episode of Read it and (Don’t) Weep. Be sure to subscribe to the show so you will be notified when new episodes are released. If you liked today’s show, please leave a review so others can discover my show.  If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, drop me an email at readitanddontweep@gmail.com, or reach out to me on social media. I would love to hear from you. The links are in the show notes.  

Thank you for listening.  I am Jackey Taggart and remember to Read It and Don’t Weep. 

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