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All Site ContentRomeo and JulietAct 3Scene 2
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"rearward"
Language
Act 3,
Scene 2
Lines 112-124

An explanation of the wordplay on “rearward” in Act 3, Scene 2 of myShakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

Juliet

'Tybalt is dead, and Romeo banishèd;'
That 'banishèd,' that one word 'banishèd,'
Hath slain ten thousand Tybalts. Tybalt's death
Was woe enough if it had ended there;
Or, if sour woe delights in fellowship,
And needly will be ranked with other griefs,
Why followed not, when she said 'Tybalt's dead,'
‘Thy father,’ or ‘thy mother,’ nay, or both,
Which modern lamentations might have moved?       
But with a rearward following Tybalt's death:
Romeo is "banishèd." To speak that word,
Is father, mother, Tybalt, Romeo, Juliet,
All slain, all dead — Romeo is “banishèd” –
  • "Rearward" means "rearguard," referring to the last line of soldiers in an army. Here, the rearguard would be one last assault on Juliet's feelings.
  • But rearward also sounds like rear-word, which would mean the last word spoken.