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All Site ContentRomeo and JulietAct 3Scene 2
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"cockatrice"
Allusion
Act 3,
Scene 2
Lines 43-51

An explanation of the allusion to a “cockatrice” in Act 3, Scene 2 of myShakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

Juliet

What devil art thou that dost torment me thus?
This torture should be roared in dismal hell.
Hath Romeo slain himself? Say thou but 'Ay,'
And that bare vowel 'I' shall poison more
Than the death-darting eye of cockatrice.
I am not I if there be such an 'I,'
Or those eyes shut that make thee answer 'Ay.'
If he be slain, say 'Ay,' or if not, 'No.'                                   
Brief sounds determine of my weal or woe.

A cockatrice is a mythological beast, particularly popular in Elizabethan England, that could kill something just by looking at it — hence its "death-darting eye."