5
Paris
Give me your torch, boy. Go stand away from me. No, put out the torch. I’d rather not been seen. Lie there under those yew trees with your ears close to the ground. That way you’ll hear if anyone comes into the churchyard or tries to dig up a grave. If you hear someone, signal me by whistling. Give me those flowers. Do as I asked you to. Go.
Page
I’m almost afraid to wait here in the churchyard, but I’ll try to be brave.
Friar John
Hello Franciscan friar! Hello brother!
Friar Laurence
That’s the voice of Friar John. Welcome from Mantua! What did Romeo say? Or if he wrote a letter, show it to me.
Romeo
Dreams often make things seem better than they are, but if I believe the dreams I’ve had, I’ll be getting good news shortly. I feel lighthearted, and I’ve been in an unusually good mood all day. I dreamed that I was dead— isn’t it strange how in dreams you can think when you’re dead? I dreamed I was dead, and then Juliet found me and kissed me, bringing me back to life. I became an emperor. Love is so wonderful that even dreams of love can bring so much joy.
[Enter Romeo’s servant, Balthasar]
Hamlet
Enough of that, now you’ll hear the rest of my tale. You remember the predicament in which I found myself.
Horatio
How could I forget, my lord?
First Gravedigger
She’s getting a Christian burial, the one who sought her own salvation?
Second Gravedigger
I’m telling you that she is. Therefore, make her grave right away. The coroner examined the case and decided that she should have a Christian burial.
First Gravedigger
How can that be, unless she drowned herself in self-defense?
Second Gravedigger
Well, that was found to be the case.
