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All Site ContentRomeo and JulietAct 1Scene 1
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As is the bud bit with the envious worm
Simile
Act 1,
Scene 1
Lines 146-150

This simile compares Romeo to a flower bud that is being eaten away by a worm in myShakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Act 1, Scene 1.

Montague

As is the bud bit with an envious worm
Ere he can spread his sweet leaves to the air
Or dedicate his beauty to the sun.
Could we but learn from whence his sorrows grow,
We would as willingly give cure as know.

In this simile, Lord Montague compares his son to a flower bud that is being eaten away from the inside by a canker worm (moth larvae). Just as one does not know what pest is inside the flower bud, Lord Montague does not know what’s eating away at his son, threatening to destroy him before he blossoms into full manhood.