Wonder, awe, and admiration

Shakespeare's cabinets of curiosity

pp. 85-95

in: Adam M. Cohen, Wonder in Shakespeare, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2012

Abstract

Romeo's response to the news of Juliet's apparent death at the beginning of the fifth act of Romeo and Juliet has long been considered curious. Balthasar tells Romeo that Juliet's body 'sleeps in Capel's monument,/And her immortal part with angels lives." Balthasar adds that he was an eyewitness to her death, noting that he 'saw her laid low in her kindred's vault" (5.1.18-20). Romeo defies the stars, the symbols of his fortune, and asks for ink, paper, and horses, telling Balthasar that he will leave that night. Alone, he states matter-of-factly that he will "lie " with Juliet "tonight." "Let's see for means," he says to himself, and quickly crafts a plan (5.1.34-35).