You are here

All Site ContentRomeo and JulietAct 1Scene 1
Back to the Play
Rhyming Verse
Language
Act 1,
Scene 1
Lines 179b-189

An example of rhyming couplets in myShakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Act 1, Scene 1.

Benvolio

                                     At thy good heart's oppression.

Romeo

Why, such is love's transgression.
Griefs of mine own lie heavy in my breast,
Which thou wilt propagate to have it pressed
With more of thine. This love that thou hast shown
Doth add more grief to too much of mine own.
Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs —
Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes;
Being vexed, a sea nourished with lovers' tears.
What is it else? A madness most discreet,
A choking gall and a preserving sweet.

Although most of Shakepeare’s dialogue is written in blank verse, he occasionally rhymes for dramatic effect, for example when the subject is love, which is the case here. (Note the unrhymed line 187 among this group of rhyming couplets.)