as Malone has proved, and will be evident on comparing the play with the poem which is to be found in the Basil edition, printed by. J. J. Tourneisen, in 1802, at the end of the twenty first volume, from which I have taken the original notes of some of the most famous English commentators of our poet.

In forming the present edition, all passages offensive to delicacy, contrary to the principles of education, have been carefully omitted; at the same time all substitutional or additional phrases have been strictly avoided.

I confidently rely on the support of my colleagues by their introduction of this work to their pupils, and respectfully submit it to parents and the heads of families for their approval and patronage.

In conclusion: I have to acknowledge the valuable assistance of Mr. Wrankmore, a distinguished teacher of the English language in this city, in the revision of the proofsheets.

Leipzig

Dr. Otto Fiebig

ROMEO AND JULIET.

(1592.)

PERSONS REPRESENTED.

ESCALUS, Prince of Verona. ABRAM, Servant to Montague.
Paris, a young Nobleman, Kinsman to An Apothecary.
the prince,

Three Musicians.
MONTAGUE, Heads of two Houses at Chorus.
CAPULET, variance with each other. Boy, Page to Paris.
An old Man, Uncle to Capulet. PETER, an Officer.
Romeo, Son to Montague,
MERCUTIO, Kinsman to the Prince, and LADY MONTAGUE, Wife to Montague.
Friend to Romeo.

LADY CAPULET, Wife to Capulet. Benvolio, Nephew to Montague, and Juliet, Daughter to Capulet. Friend to Romeo.

Nurse to Juliet. TYBALT, Nephew to Lady Capulet. FRIAR LAURENCE, a Franciscan. Citizens of Verona; several Men and FRIAR John, of the same Order. Women, relations to both Houses; BALTHAZAR, Servant to Romeo. Maskers, Guards, Watchmen, and

Attendants. GREGORY, } Servants to Capulet

. SCENE, during the greater part of the Play, in Verona; once, in the

fifth Act, at Mantua.

PROLOGUE.

Two households, both alike in dignity,

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge1 break to new mutiny, ?

Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes

A pair of star-cross'd 3 lovers take their life;

1) Secret enmity, hatred.

3) The stars were supposed to in2) Insurrection and sedition in Auence fortune. - To cross, to councivil society; now applied exclusive- teract, to embarrass. ly to soldiers and seamen.

1

ROMEO AND JULIET.

Whose misadventur'd piteous overthrows1

Do, with their death, bury their parents' strife.?
The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,

And the continuance of their parents' rage,
Which, but their children's end, noughts could remove,

Is now the two hours' traffick 4 of our stage;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, 5 our toil shall strive to mend.

A C T I.

SCENE I. A Publick Place. Enter Sampson and GREGORY, armed with Swords and Bucklers. 6 SAM. Gregory, o' my word,? we'll not carry coals. 8 GRE. No, for then we should be colliers. 9 SAM. I mean, an 10 we be in choler, we'll draw.

GRE. Ay, while you live, draw your neck out of the collar.

SAM. I strike quickly, being moved.
GRE. But thou art not quickly moved to strike.
SAM. A dog of the house of Montague moves me.

GRE. To move, is - to stir; and to be valiant, is – to stand to it: therefore, if thou art mov'd, thou runn'st away.

SAM. A dog of that house shall move me to stand: I will take the wall 11 of any man of Montague's.

GRE. That shows thee a weak slave; for the weakest goes to the wall. The quarrel is between our masters, and us their men.

1) Ruin, destruction.

mit to servile offices; and thence 2) Contention in enmity, discord, secondarily, we'll not endure injuquarrel.

ries. 3) Which nothing could remove, 9) A digger of coal, one who but etc.

works in a coal mine. Collier was a 4) Labour, employment, like very ancient term of abuse. Any trade.

person, therefore, who would bear 5) Intransitively, to be wanting, to be called collier, was said to carry not to succeed.

coals. 6) A kind of shield.

10) An is old instead of if. 7) i.-e. on my word.

11) i. e. to take the upper or most Originally, We will not sub- honourable place. To compete with.

SAM. 'Tis all one, I will show myself a tyrant.

GRE. Draw thy tool:1 here comes two of the house of the Montagues.

Enter ABRAM and BALTHAZAR. SAM. My naked weapon is out; quarrel, I will back thee. GRE. How? turn thy back, and run? SAM. Fear me not. GRE. No, marry:2 I fear thee! SAM. Let us take the law of our sides; let them begin.

GRE. I will frown as I pass by; and let them take it as they list.

Sam. Nay, as they dare. I will bite my thumb at them;5. which is a disgrace to them, if they bear it.

ABR. Do you bite your thumb at us, sir ?
SAM. I do bite my thumb, sir.
ABR. Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?
SAM. Is the law on our side, if I say-ay?6
GRE. No.

SAM. No, sir; I do not bite my thumb at you, sir: but I bite my thumb, sir.

GRE. Do you quarrel, sir?
ABR. Quarrel, sir? no, sir.

SAM. If you do, sir, I am for you; I serve as good a man as you.

ABR. No better.
Sam. Well, sir.

Enter BENVOLIO, at a distance. GRE. Say better; here comes one of my master's kinsmen.7

1) Tool, from the French outil, | gers, expressing a fig for you. Nares, any instrument of manual operation, in his Glossary, quotes the following familiarly for sword.

passage from the Rules of Civility, 2) An obsolete term of assevera- Transl. from the French 1678: 'Tis no tion, derived from the practice of less disrespectful to bite the nail of swearing by the Virgin Mary. your thumb, by way of scorn and dis

3) To express displeasure by con- dain, and drawing your nail from tracting the face to wrinkles; to between your teeth, to tell them you make grimaces.

value not this what they can do. 4) i. e. not only so; not this alone, 6) i. e. yes, yea, truly, certainly, a intimating that something is to be word expressing an affirmative anadded by way of amplification. swer to a question. This word is al

5) This was an insult. The thumb ways written I, in the old editions in this action represented a fig, or of Shakspeare. Thence the negafico, an act of contempt by placing tive nay, no. the thumb between two of the fin 7) Kin, kind, genus, race,

rela

you do.

SAM. Yes, better, sir.
ABR. You lie.

SAM. Draw, if you be men. Gregory, remember thy swashing blow. 1

[They fight: BEN. Part, fools; put up your swords; you know not what

[Beats down their Swords.

Enter TYBALT.
TYB. What, art thou drawn2 among these heartless

hinds? 3
Turn thee, Benvolio, look upon thy death.

Ben. Í do but keep the peace; put up thy sword,
Or manage it to part these men with me.

TYB. What, drawn, and talk of peace? I hate the word,
As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee;
Have at thee, 4 coward.

(They fight. Enter several Partizans of both Houses, who join the Fray;5 then enter

Citizens with Clubs.
Cit. Clubs, 6 bills,” and partizans! strike! beat them

down!
Down with the Capulets! down with the Montagues!

Enter CAPULET, in his Gown; and LADY CAPULET.
CAP. What noise is this? — Give me my long sword, ho!

tion; thence kinsman, kinswoman, one 3) Hind, obsolete instead of domes-
of the same family, one related by tic, servant.
blood. The eyes of the servant 4) i. e. defend yourself. To have at
may be directed the way he sees Ty- (legitimate, but vulgar) means to
balt coming, and in the mean time, assail

, to enter into competition, make
Benvolio, nephew to Montague, en- trial with.
ters on the opposite side.

5) Fray, combat, contest, quarrel, 1) To swash, to make a great or is used to express any fighting of blustering noise. Steevens says, that two or more persons; but the word to swash seems to have meant to be is now deemed inelegant for affray a bully, to be noisily valiant. Bar- which the sense seems to refer to rett says, that “to swash is to make a the French effrayer, whilst others noise with swords against tergats.” derive it from fracas, a great crash. In the Southern States of America, 6) In any public affray, the cry swash or swosh (impulse of water was Clubs! Clubs! by way of calling flowing with violence) is a name for persons with clubs (heavy sticks) given to a narrow sound or channel to part the combatants, as they now of water lying within a sand-bank, or call Police! between that and the shore. Many 7) A kind of pike or halbert, forsuch are found on the shores of the merly carried by the English inCarolinas.

fantry, and afterwards the usual 2) i. e. have you unsheathed your weapon of watchmen. sword etc.

1