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All Site ContentRomeo and JulietAct 2Scene 2
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"the cave where Echo lies"
Allusion
Act 2,
Scene 2
Lines 156b-165

An explanation of the allusion to Echo in Act 2, Scene 2 of myShakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

Juliet

                              A thousand times good night!
[Exit, above]

Romeo

A thousand times the worse, to want thy light.
Love goes toward love, as schoolboys from their books,
But love from love, toward school with heavy looks.
[Romeo retiring slowly. Re-Enter Juliet, above]

Juliet

Hist, Romeo, hist! O, for a falc'ner's voice                  
To lure this tassel-gentle back again!
Bondage is hoarse, and may not speak aloud;
Else would I tear the cave where Echo lies,
And make her airy tongue more hoarse than mine,
With repetition of my 'Romeo.'

According to Greek mythology, Echo was a beautiful nymph who consorted with Zeus, king of the gods. But when Zeus' wife found out, she punished Echo by limiting her speech to repeating the last few words she heard. Echo is often portrayed as living in an isolated cave.