What happens in Act 2 of Romeo and Juliet?

Romeo slips into the Capulet orchard and overhears Juliet confessing her love at her window. In the balcony scene they exchange vows and Juliet proposes marriage, arranging to send a messenger the next morning. Romeo persuades Friar Laurence to marry them, hoping the union will end the feud. The Nurse carries messages between them, and the act ends with Romeo and Juliet meeting at Friar Laurence's cell to be secretly married.

What does 'wherefore art thou Romeo' mean?

'Wherefore' means 'why', not 'where'. Juliet is not looking for Romeo — she is lamenting why he has to be named Romeo, a Montague, and therefore her family's enemy. She goes on to argue that a name is not part of a person: 'that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.'

What does 'parting is such sweet sorrow' mean?

Juliet means that saying goodbye to Romeo is painful, yet also sweet — because the pain comes from love, and because parting carries the promise of meeting again. The phrase captures the play's central pairing of joy and grief, and Juliet adds that she could go on saying goodnight until morning.

Why does Friar Laurence agree to marry Romeo and Juliet?

Friar Laurence first mocks Romeo for abandoning Rosaline so quickly, but agrees to perform the marriage because he hopes the alliance between a Montague and a Capulet will transform the two households' hatred into love and end the feud. He warns Romeo to love moderately, since 'these violent delights have violent ends' — advice that goes unheeded.

Shakespeare in Plain English

Romeo & Juliet · Tragedy · c. 1595

Act Two

The balcony scene — the most quoted love scene ever written — plus a friar who agrees to a secret wedding, a nurse who takes her sweet time delivering the news, and a warning nobody heeds: these violent delights have violent ends. The Prologue and all six scenes.

Romeo & Juliet

The Original · First Folio

Plain Modern English

Hover or tap any line — its translation glows across the gutter.