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All Site ContentRomeo and JulietAct 2Scene 2
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"a wanton's bird"
Metaphor
Act 2,
Scene 2
Lines 178-185

An explanation of Juliet’s comparison to a “wanton’s bird” in Act 2, Scene 2 of myShakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

Juliet

'Tis almost morning, I would have thee gone;
And yet no farther than a wanton's bird,
Who lets it hop a little from his hand,
Like a poor prisoner in his twisted gyves,
And with a silk thread plucks it back again,
So loving-jealous of his liberty.

Romeo

I would I were thy bird.

Juliet

                                      Sweet, so would I,
Yet I should kill thee with much cherishing.

Juliet compares her desire to control Romeo's whereabouts to a spoiled child who has a pet bird tied by a thread like a prisoner in shackles.