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All Site ContentRomeo and JulietAct 2Scene Prologue
Back to the Play
Conventions of Love Poetry
Metaphor
Act 2,
Scene Prologue
Lines 1-14

An explanation of the conventions of love poetry as seen in the Act 2 prologue of myShakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

[A single actor (referred to as a chorus) comes to the front of the stage to deliver this introductory prologue to the second act.]

Chorus

Now old desire doth in his death-bed lie,
And young affection gapes to be his heir;
That fair for which love groaned for and would die,
With tender Juliet matched is now not fair.
Now Romeo is beloved and loves again,
Alike bewitchèd by the charm of looks;
But to his foe supposed he must complain,
And she steal love's sweet bait from fearful hooks.
Being held a foe, he may not have access
To breathe such vows as lovers use to swear;               
And she as much in love, her means much less
To meet her new belovèd anywhere.
But passion lends them power, time means to meet,
Temp'ring extremities with extreme sweet.
[Exit]

In these lines, Shakespeare employs conventions from traditional love poetry:

  • In the traditional metaphor of love as war, Juliet is Romeo's "foe supposed," his assumed enemy.
  • The traditional suitor must complain to his beloved how much he's suffering without her.
  • In another metaphor, Juliet is compared to a fish trying to steal the bait without getting caught on the hook. A traditional interpretation based on the conventions of love poetry is that she's trying to get Romeo's attentions without giving in to sex. But there's another interpretation implied by their specific situation: that Juliet is trying to get Romeo's affection while avoiding the dangers posed by their families' animosity.