The Love Sonnet

1. The Love Sonnet Act I, Scene v

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74RXlBuQC_g Here is Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 version of Romeo and Juliet’s first meeting. Can you summarise what happens?

3. What do these mean? What idea do they have in common? • Profane • Saint • Pilgrim • Shrine • Palmer TO ABUSE SOMETHING SACRED. (ALSO, AS IN BAD OR “PROFANE” LANGUAGE) PERSON WHO DIED AND WAS OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZED BY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AS HOLY. CATHOLICS BELIEVE A PERSON CAN ASK THE SAINT TO SPEAK FOR HIM/HER TO GOD TO GRANT A PRAYER PERSON WHO TRAVELS TO A HOLY PLACE OUT OF DEVOTION TO A GOD OR SAINT PLACE WHERE PILGRIMS VISIT FOR PRAYER AND TO WORSHIP A SAINT. OFTEN A STATUE OF THE SAINT OR A RELIC (BIT OF CLOTH, BONE, OR BODY PART) BELONGING TO THE SAINT IS THERE PERSON WEARING TWO CROSSED PALM LEAVES AS A SIGN OF PILGRIMMAGE TO THE HOLY LAND (KNOWN TODAY AS ISRAEL)

4. The Love Sonnet RomeoIf I profane with my unworthiest hand This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss JulietGood pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much Which mannerly devotion shows in this; For saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch And palm to palm is holy palmer’s kiss. RomeoHave not saints lips, and holy palmers too? JulietAy, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer. RomeoO, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair. JulietSaints do not move, though grant for prayers’ sake. RomeoThen move not, while my prayer’s effect I take.

5. Task • Write down any rhyming words at the end of the lines when Romeo and Juliet are talking. • How many lines are there? The rhyming words signal the end of a line. • Assign each rhyming pair a letter. Hand/ stand = a. Write out the rhyme scheme. • Now go back to the prologue. Any similarities?

6. Rhyme scheme • ababcdcdefefgg

7. The play’s Prologue also is a single sonnet of the same rhyme scheme as Romeo and Juliet’s shared sonnet. If you remember, the Prologue sonnet introduces the play, and, through its description of Romeo and Juliet’s eventual death, also helps to create the sense of fate that permeates Romeo and Juliet. The shared sonnet between Romeo and Juliet therefore creates a formal link between their love and their destiny. With a single sonnet, Shakespeare finds a means of expressing perfect love and linking it to a tragic fate.

8. Romeo: If I profane with my unworthiest hand 93 This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: 94             My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand 95             To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss. 96 Summary:Romeo decides he wants to kiss Juliet’s hand to show her how much he likes her. To do so, he takes her hand in his, and he explains that his hand is obviously not as worthy as hers. In fact, she is so worthy, she is like a what? (Look at line 94) METAPHOR: Juliet is a ___________.

9. Romeo: If I profane with my unworthiest hand 93 This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: 94             My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand 95             To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss. 96 Summary: Romeo says that if by touching her he has “profaned” her hand—if he has made it less holy—then he is willing to kiss her hand, to make up for his unworthy touch. Romeo’s metaphor to describe his lips: Romeo’s lips = ___________ ___________ ___________

10. Romeo: If I profane with my unworthiest hand 93 This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: 94             My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand 95             To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss. 96 In line 94, Romeo uses a metaphor to describe the kiss he will give Juliet’s hand. What two words are the other half of this metaphor? Romeo’s kiss on her hand = ___________ ___________

11. Juliet: Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much 97           Which mannerly devotion shows in this; 98           For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do 99 touch And palm to palm is holy palmer’s kiss. 100 Summary: Juliet accepts the compliment that plays along with Romeo, calling him by a new name. What words does she use to describe him in line 97? _______ ______

12. Juliet: Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much 97           Which mannerly devotion shows in this; 98           For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do 99 touch And palm to palm is holy palmer’s kiss. 100 Summary: But Juliet isn’t going to give in that easily to Romeo or his word play. Rather than saying, “No, you can’t kiss me,” she plays hard to get: “Oh, you’ve been too mean to your hand by saying it’s the ‘unworthiest.’” She says that even pilgrims can touch the hands of a saint (imagine a pilgrim rubbing the hand of a statue as he prays; that often happened at shrines and still does today). In other words, he could touch her hand, and their two palms together would be like a holy palmer’s (a pilgrim’s) prayer because pilgrims put two hands together to pray. Does she want to be kissed? Why or why not?

13. Romeo: Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too? 101 Juliet: Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer. 102 Summary: Romeo, not to be argued out of kissing Juliet, asks, “Don’t saints and pilgrims have lips, too?” She gets the metaphors he’s using.

14. Romeo: Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too? 101 Juliet: Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer. 102 Summary: If Juliet is what Romeo says she is above, then she can’t just start kissing him in public, after knowing him for only a minute. Plus, isn’t her mother probably watching her from across the room to see if she and Paris are flirting? So Juliet responds, “Yes, they have lips, but those lips are meant for PRAYER, rather than smooching.” But don’t think she’s too mad at Romeo…

15. Romeo: O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do 103 They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair. 104 Summary: Romeo isn’t discouraged. He just told us a few minutes ago, when he was talking to himself, that he’s never seen true beauty until he saw Juliet this night. If lips are meant for prayer, he argues, then let lips pray the same way that hands pray—in other words, let their two sets of lips come together in a kiss. To drive home his point, Romeo pretends to pray to Juliet, as if she were a saint, saying that if she doesn’t let lips pray, they lose their faith—their belief in God—and then they become depressed. What word does Romeo use in line 104 for depression? ___________

16. Juliet: Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' 105 sake. Summary: Juliet still hasn’t given in to Romeo, not quite. She says, “Sorry, saints don’t move, even when they do grant prayers.” Shakespeare is punning: 1: Move (verb) to start something. Saints don’t move—it’s the pilgrim who has to come to them. 2: Move (verb) to physically move. Remember, the saintsare usually statues of dead people—saints don’t “move” because they’re made from wood or stone.

17. Juliet: Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' 105 sake. Summary: But look at the second half of her sentence. She gives Romeo an opening! She says they “grant for prayers’ sake.” In other words, saints give pilgrims what they are requesting in their prayers. So if Romeo is praying at this holy saint’s shrine (Juliet), maybe this saint might just grant his prayer.

18. Romeo: Then move not, while my prayer's effect I 106 take. Summary: Romeo knows how to play on words; he uses definition number 2 of “move.” He moves in for a kiss after he asks her to stand still. And then he kisses her!  (Adapted from http://web1.caryacademy.org/facultywebs/delia_decourcy/8thgradeEnglish/RomeoandJuliet/The%20Love%20Sonnet%20Dissected.notes.doc)

19. Individual task • Pick out three of the most powerful lines in this sonnet. Draw three images next to each to show your understanding. (5 mins)