You are here

Cultural Reference
Cultural Reference
Act 2,
Scene 6
Lines 16-17

A reference to the material stairs were made of in London in myShakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 6.

Friar Laurence

Here comes the lady. O, so light a foot
Will ne'er wear out the everlasting flint.

This metaphor is perhaps a bit muddled. Most stairs in stone buildings in Europe are built of relatively soft limestone which will eventually wear away with foot traffic, whereas flint is an extremely hard rock. It would have made more sense if Friar Laurence had said that Juliet’s foot was so light it would not wear out the limestone.