fic: Do But Keep the Peace (Romeo & Juliet, PG)
Do But Keep the Peace
by volta arovet
a Romeo and Juliet story in metered verse
Rating: PG
Warnings: it stars Benvolio, for all that implies
Word count: 3400
Original link here
SCENE I
grove west of Verona
[Enter WITCHES]
1 WITCH
Sisters, we do meet again
Though not in moonlight, nor in rain
Nor do we meet on foggy heath
Where bloody kings form plots of death
Nor do we meet on tangled moor
Where restless spirits rouse to soar
And screech "Away, away wi' ye!
"Away, away wi' ye!"
But 'stead we meet in sylvan wood
In fair Verona, sweet and good
With light of gold and leaves of green
And charming spirits yet unseen
And dewdropped flowers scattered round
As though a nymph had brushed the ground.
I like it not.
2 WITCH
Attend thee, sister, to the town
Where blood-soaked cobbles line the ground
And ancient fight and ancient feud
'tween Capulet and Montague
Whose petty wrath and hatred there
Will please thy breath with tainted air.
3 WITCH
Let not waste opportunity
To witness perfect tragedy.
Sisters, we must now decide
On where our futures shall reside.
1 WITCH
Shall we curse these demon spore
To persist fighting evermore?
2 WITCH
Nay, merrily do these fools bleed;
If we do naught, we still succeed.
1 WITCH
Then shall we let consume their rage
Til none but ghosts left on the stage?
2 WITCH
Sister, we have done this plain
In time and time and time again.
A shame to waste a pretty set
With Montague and Capulet.
3 WITCH
I have aught to bewitch your mind:
A vision of a plan so kind
As witches' plans may never be,
So do attend here close to me.
Doing harm is our delight;
By doing harm, may we set right
This feud that stains this town close by?
I know not, so I now must try.
2 WITCH
By hurting, help? By helping, harm?
This prospect has a certain charm.
1 WITCH
I do believe this is not wise,
This far unnatural enterprise,
Yet thou hast roused my interest, too.
Sister, what will you have us do?
2 WITCH
Hush ye, a Montague comes thence
Perhaps this boy shall be our chance.
[Enter Romeo]
3 WITCH
Nay, this boy's head to me doth prove
Cluttered with thoughts of selfish love
[Exeunt Romeo]
1 WITCH
Here comes one Montague more
Perhaps his thoughts shall be less pure.
[Enter Benvolio]
BENVOLIO
Romeo! Hie, Romeo, come near!
You do me great discourtesy to fly
When all I wish is you to break your fast
So I might break those storm clouds o'er your head;
Instead, you give me storm clouds of mine own!
Leave thee to thy black humour, my daft coz,
For you now try to leave me here with mine!
What ho? And what three creatures have we here?
God ye good morning, my fair sisters three.
Care thee now to break thy fast with me?
1 WITCH
He calls us fair! Might he be blind?
2 WITCH
Or lacking sense?
3 WITCH
Or so unkind?
BENVOLIO
Nay, little sisters, to my eye thou art
Most fair as anyone about this morn
When I compare thee to the one I chased:
My cousin Romeo, who did upon my wave
Contrive my greeting not to see and flee
To nurse his great distemper in the woods.
Enough on him; what say ye to my bread?
2 WITCH
He compliments us by left hand
Sinister words made to sound grand.
BENVOLIO
Come share with me my simple fare this morn
Of crisp baked bread, and clotted cream so fresh
You'll hear the cow low as it meets your tongue,
And honeyed biscuits, and here is the prize
Found nestled under cool green leaves were there
The last of spring's great harvest: berries nine.
3 WITCH
A goodly number
BENVOLIO
Aye, but hard to split.
So two and two and two and two and one,
I know not what to do with this last sweet.
3 WITCH
Give it here and it shall pass
To Hecate our dark mistress
Who, pleased with this last blood of spring,
Permit us grant a boon to thee.
BENVOLIO
When I was but a boy my mother warned
Me to extend the greatest courtesy
To any women grouped in knots of three.
Are thee the witches she spoke of to me?
1 WITCH
She spoke of truth, the stories old
We are the witches you were told.
BENVOLIO
My mother told me to be kind, in truth,
But not to trifle with their spells for fear
That dark unforeseen consequence befall.
2 WITCH
With honeyed words and sweetened food we're charmed.
We promise you shall come to no small harm.
BENVOLIO
I fear imagination does run dry.
What sort of wish will you deign grant for I?
1 WITCH
Of love?
BENVOLIO
Nay, love is common on these streets
And pretty maids are easy to replace.
2 WITCH
Vengeance?
BENVOLIO
Nay, enemies I've earned with this right arm
Are fast dispensed with same and pointed blade
And enemies who hate me for my name
Will multiply for every one cut down.
3 WITCH
Then peace?
BENVOLIO
Why, little sister, I thought you would try
To tempt with gold or fame or other things
I hold in great commodity, but no,
You offer me the one thing my life lacks.
Yes. Peace, fair sisters, that is what I wish
Between the Montagues and Capulets at last.
That Tybalt, that foul devil's cat, shall choose
To sharp his claws in someone else's back.
That two houses be joined in love, not hate,
And that my hands need not spill blood again.
This is my wish, to fulfill as you will.
3 WITCH
A simple thing to grant, my lad
For this bright ending to be had
All this shall be yours in days when
Yon Romeo doth love again.
BENVOLIO
A simple thing to grant, indeed, I say!
If Romeo's affections would bring peace
Then Montague and Capulet's embrace
Would happen every fortnight at the least.
3 WITCH
Mind ye of my words and take care
Not to stray from my path one hair.
This vial of potion so suspect,
Yet no apothecary detect
An ounce of substance to do wrong
But will produce emotions strong
When half is drunk by Romeo
And half shall go to maiden so
Angelic you will know by sight
The moment you spy her this night.
This task and one more trifling chore
Shall earn you peace forevermore.
[Witches vanish]
BENVOLIO
Like whispers on the wind these crones did fly
And not one blade of grass is bent to mark
The ground on which I swear these three did stand.
I would not believe we four did meet
If not for this glass vial in my hand
And echoes in my mind of words like "peace."
Do I dare trust my cousin to this vial
Whose contents she did swear to me are safe?
It's said a witch, though crafty, will not lie.
Dare I not trust this witch's plan of peace?
Yes, that is question fairer in my mind.
This opportunity too sweet to pass
I'll see it through, and trust God to my fate.
[Exeunt]
SCENE II
in Capulet's house
[Enter Romeo, Benvolio, Mercutio, Capulet, and Guests]
ROMEO
But he that hath the steerage of my course
Direct my sail! On, lusty gentlemen!
BENVOLIO
Strike, drum.
MERCUTIO
Look round you, Romeo, and do be glad!
With wine and dance and women to be had!
If thou will not soon cast off thy sad curse
I'll have them all and leave to thee the nurse!
[Mercutio leaves]
BENVOLIO
I will part ways too, coz, and look round
There is angelic beauty to be found.
ROMEO
You keep your angels; there are none for me
If fair Rosaline's face I do not see.
[Romeo leaves]
BENVOLIO
The hunt is middling here at best, I say,
And though the floor is graced with slippered feet
I swear not one pair does disdain the earth.
Perhaps the witch has sent me here to stray.
Perhaps my quest begins and ends today.
[Enter Juliet]
BENVOLIO
No sooner does my hasty tongue voice doubts
Than I am swiftly made a faithless liar,
For now I see a maid with paper mask
And paper wings to flutter in the wind
And grace enough to make the meaning clear:
A costumed angel. There can be no fault.
The witch did lead me straight with her guidelines.
[to Juliet] O pretty angel, hear a sinner's words
And fall to earth to grant me one request.
JULIET
O young sir, tell me, why should I not fly?
A confessed sinner's boon may be too dear
And costly for one such as I to grant.
BENVOLIO
See you not my robe of colored squares?
A simple Fool and kindly Jester I
Whose sins were never made from ill intent
But stumbled on because of lack of wit.
JULIET
If you prove not a devil in disguise
Then tell me, Fool, what will you ask of me?
BENVOLIO
I will not ask you for your rosy lips,
But wish for them to grace this cup of wine.
Your hand, I know, will go to finer man,
So I ask but the loan of fingertips
Across my palm for length of one brief song.
Your heart shall remain safely in your breast
And virtue, untouched, nestled in your soul.
JULIET
You charm me with your talk of taxidermy.
Am I to trust in such a curious hunter?
BENVOLIO
I swear the lady shall remain unmounted.
What say you to my poorly phrased request?
JULIET
Although I can not seem to fathom why,
For one drink and one song I shall be thine.
CAPULET
Come, musicians, play!
A hall, a hall! give room! and foot it, girls.
[Music plays, and they dance]
[Enter Tybalt]
BENVOLIO
Permit me move our dance some metres hence
I recognize that foul barber too well.
JULIET
What barber do you mean? I see not one.
BENVOLIO
A poor barber who did, this very morn,
With foppish glee declare my hair too long
And waved his razor bout so wildly that
Our very Prince appeared to beg him stop.
JULIET
Would this poor barber go by the name Tybalt
And, by this context, you by Montague?
BENVOLIO
Alas, and now the lady sees me plain.
I beg thee dearly do not call me out
For I have come here merely to make merry
And if a Capulet doth see me here
I fear that they instead will make me holy.
JULIET
Then fear, o Fool, for I am Capulet
Whose father is the master of this house.
Then quell your fears, for I now rightly choose
To drop your name from shelves of memory.
BENVOLIO
A thousand thanks, and now one glass of wine
To bring our nightly contract to an end.
A drink to both our houses, yours and mine
And that one day we might address as friends.
[they drink]
[Juliet leaves]
BENVOLIO
A partnership of Montague and Capulet?
Two houses joined as one in joyful marriage?
How strange! A witch's plan is so transparent?
So simple and uncluttered by misdeeds?
If this is so, then let my path be clear
For Capulet has taken half the potion
Then Romeo shall now consume the rest
And I await the future without fear.
[Romeo enters]
BENVOLIO
My cheery coz, how look the pretty fare?
ROMEO
I have not seen the pretty nor the fair
And "pretty fair" exaggerates my mood.
BENVOLIO
Come, drink up, coz, for wine is known to loose
The tongue so that one only speaks of truth.
Let's see if it brings truth to eyes as well.
ROMEO
It's said that wine does hide truth from the eyes
And in the night turns crows into white swans
But very well, I shall indulge your plea.
[they drink]
BENVOLIO
Again now, cast your eye across the stage.
What angel here brings you earthly delights?
ROMEO
[To a Servingman]
What lady's that, which doth enrich the hand
Of yonder knight?
SERVINGMAN
I know not, sir.
[Exeunt Benvolio]
SCENE III
an abandoned house
[Enter Mercutio, supported by Benvolio]
MERCUTIO
Help me into some house, Benvolio,
Or I shall faint. A plague a both your houses!
They have made worms' meat of me. I have it,
And soundly too. Your houses!
BENVOLIO
Hush you, friend Mercutio, lie still.
The surgeon's blade shall swiftly make you whole.
MERCUTIO
A hole I have in excess, vile Montague,
And I wish not for any surgeon's metal
For it is meddling brought me to this place.
Call instead for butcher to insure
I will not choke the blind worms with my flesh.
I wish no harm on any living thing
Unless it bears one of two hated names.
BENVOLIO
My coz did act with motives for the best
Will you forgive his well-intended gaffe?
MERCUTIO
A gaffe! A gaffe! You'll kill me with a laugh!
BENVOLIO
Again I plea, Mercutio, lie still.
If it will still you, then I will agree:
A plague is on my house and Capulet's.
Do forgive Romeo, the surgeon who
Attempting to derive a cure did slip
And pass infection onto your own house.
MERCUTIO
A surgeon who did try to cut a plague?
I fear the sort of surgeon you will bring,
You fool who brought me to rooms without light.
Tell me, why is it so dark?
BENVOLIO
Mercutio!
Do please look past my choice of clumsy words
And wake for I still need your clever tongue.
MERCUTIO
I hold my clever tongue in strict reserve
For ladies with far greater curves than thee.
BENVOLIO
Yes, good Mercutio, do keep thy wits
And answer me this question straight away:
If by the meeting of your flesh and sword,
Though unintentional and sadly grieved,
A new peace did spread all throughout the land,
Would thou give forgiveness in charity?
MERCUTIO
The world is dark but I hold fires hot
Enough to roast both Tybalt and your coz.
A pawn, when sacrificed for wretched king,
Doth not always feel so nobly used.
You keep your talk of charity and peace.
A cruel deed is crueler with high intent.
A plague on both your houses, I am spent.
[Dies]
BENVOLIO
Mercutio, Mercutio, arise!
O call me fool and curse my house, but rise!
It is too late and he is gone at last
I fear his curse already comes to pass.
O Romeo, Romeo, brave Mercutio is dead!
[Exeunt]
SCENE IV
same abandoned house
[Enter Benvolio]
With blood-stained hands I kneel here at your side
And know not if my soul is stained as well.
Was this a part of the weird sister's plot
Or just unhappy circumstance? Tell me!
O little sisters! Maidens three! Hear me!
You favored me once in a grove of trees!
Favor again, I beg thee, answer me!
Or, if an answer does not please your lips,
Then but undo the question I do ask
And breathe life back into this inert form.
O pretty sisters! Fair trifecta! Stop!
This is not the sort of thing I wished:
That proud Mercutio lies on the ground,
And my dear Romeo is banishd,
And Tybalt-I confess, is gladly gone-
But gladder were there other circumstance.
O honey sisters! Darling triad! Why?
Why come you not to aid me in my grief
By putting right what causes me to grieve?
The empty shadows stay uninhabited,
And cold Mercutio grows colder still.
O wicked sisters! Vicious hags! Come here!
Yes, come and justify what you have done!
If you hold to the letter of my wish
Though not the spirit, for you've not the soul,
Then I shall keep those letters in my mind
And force your presence here before me now.
I asked that my rough hands shall not spill blood.
You promised I shall come to no small harm.
With welcome blade pressed to my waiting neck
I call for thee to come and stay my hand
Else I make you a mockery of all
And henceforth you be called as liars three.
[Witches appear]
WITCH 1
You caterwaul to wake the dead!
Though it would not be rightly said,
For despite your most trying cries
Mercutio abstains to rise.
BENVOLIO
If thou has come here only to make fun
I'll turn my blade and show its edge to thee
And in one stroke shall cause thy blood to flow
To make a liar and a corpse as one.
WITCH 2
This child dares to threaten us!
Sister, what shall be the cost?
WITCH 3
I can see no greater task
Than what the child himself did ask.
I will answer your questions plain
And have you make your choice again.
BENVOLIO
Mercutio, who lies on yonder floor,
More silent and more still than were he stone,
His life been taken in untimely ways.
Was he a vital player in this plot
Or was his death unhappy accident?
WITCH 1
His death was fated from the time
You slipped the potion into wine.
BENVOLIO
Ah, me! And Tybalt's death as well, I fear.
I killed them both without raising a blade
And doomed poor Romeo to banishment.
I beg you three to please forget my wish
And turn things back the way they used to be.
WITCH 2
We hold no power o'er the past
What has been done shall always last.
BENVOLIO
Then I entreat thee stop thy meddling ways.
If hands of clocks can not be made reversed,
Then hold them still so they may not advance
And toll the time of yet another death.
WITCH 3
If we do not go as you sought,
Then this man's death will be for naught.
BENVOLIO
You lead me to seek peace, this much is true,
But now I know it is the peace of graves.
What sort of peace is this when none remain
To eat the toothsome fruit that peace has wrought?
WITCH 1
A multitude of death is not desired
When certain lives are all that are required.
BENVOLIO
Enough with riddles! Tell me plainly now
The what and when of where the winds shall blow.
WITCH 3
Of course, my lad, I will but plainly tell
In simple words e'en you shall understand
That if you were to pause in your life's quest
And live as though thou never saw my face
Nor heard mine words, nor followed my advice,
Then in two generation's time or less
The blood between your houses shall run hot
And boiling, be consumed 'til naught remains
But ledgers in a history book to mark
The passing of two families, once proud.
And if you were to follow my advice,
Six deaths shall spread quite evenly twixt house
Of Montague and Capulet and Prince
And concentrated tragedy divine
Shall put an end to ancient grudge unclean.
BENVOLIO
What would you have me do?
WITCH 3
In two days' time, get thee to Mantua.
Along the way to see a friar who
Shall have a letter which he will hold dear.
Contrive to part him from this message, or
Through other means ensure it does not pass.
Your future hinges on your fast success.
BENVOLIO
Leave me, witches. I shall go
Though I fear it costs my soul.
[Witches vanish]
BENVOLIO
To stay, to go, the question has been set
And answered when a boy of two days' past
With naive heart and clouded eyes did let
The die of destiny be casually cast.
With clumsy steps he stumbled on the stage,
A dull bit player without wit or rhymes
Who held not to the story on the page
But stuttered out his own self-serving lines.
With good intent and noble thought did he
Attempt change the text that did offend
Which only lead to greater tragedy
That we must all now carry to its end.
O grave misfortune which I did release,
Please do forgive, I did but keep the peace.
[Exeunt]
by volta arovet
a Romeo and Juliet story in metered verse
Rating: PG
Warnings: it stars Benvolio, for all that implies
Word count: 3400
Original link here
SCENE I
grove west of Verona
[Enter WITCHES]
1 WITCH
Sisters, we do meet again
Though not in moonlight, nor in rain
Nor do we meet on foggy heath
Where bloody kings form plots of death
Nor do we meet on tangled moor
Where restless spirits rouse to soar
And screech "Away, away wi' ye!
"Away, away wi' ye!"
But 'stead we meet in sylvan wood
In fair Verona, sweet and good
With light of gold and leaves of green
And charming spirits yet unseen
And dewdropped flowers scattered round
As though a nymph had brushed the ground.
I like it not.
2 WITCH
Attend thee, sister, to the town
Where blood-soaked cobbles line the ground
And ancient fight and ancient feud
'tween Capulet and Montague
Whose petty wrath and hatred there
Will please thy breath with tainted air.
3 WITCH
Let not waste opportunity
To witness perfect tragedy.
Sisters, we must now decide
On where our futures shall reside.
1 WITCH
Shall we curse these demon spore
To persist fighting evermore?
2 WITCH
Nay, merrily do these fools bleed;
If we do naught, we still succeed.
1 WITCH
Then shall we let consume their rage
Til none but ghosts left on the stage?
2 WITCH
Sister, we have done this plain
In time and time and time again.
A shame to waste a pretty set
With Montague and Capulet.
3 WITCH
I have aught to bewitch your mind:
A vision of a plan so kind
As witches' plans may never be,
So do attend here close to me.
Doing harm is our delight;
By doing harm, may we set right
This feud that stains this town close by?
I know not, so I now must try.
2 WITCH
By hurting, help? By helping, harm?
This prospect has a certain charm.
1 WITCH
I do believe this is not wise,
This far unnatural enterprise,
Yet thou hast roused my interest, too.
Sister, what will you have us do?
2 WITCH
Hush ye, a Montague comes thence
Perhaps this boy shall be our chance.
[Enter Romeo]
3 WITCH
Nay, this boy's head to me doth prove
Cluttered with thoughts of selfish love
[Exeunt Romeo]
1 WITCH
Here comes one Montague more
Perhaps his thoughts shall be less pure.
[Enter Benvolio]
BENVOLIO
Romeo! Hie, Romeo, come near!
You do me great discourtesy to fly
When all I wish is you to break your fast
So I might break those storm clouds o'er your head;
Instead, you give me storm clouds of mine own!
Leave thee to thy black humour, my daft coz,
For you now try to leave me here with mine!
What ho? And what three creatures have we here?
God ye good morning, my fair sisters three.
Care thee now to break thy fast with me?
1 WITCH
He calls us fair! Might he be blind?
2 WITCH
Or lacking sense?
3 WITCH
Or so unkind?
BENVOLIO
Nay, little sisters, to my eye thou art
Most fair as anyone about this morn
When I compare thee to the one I chased:
My cousin Romeo, who did upon my wave
Contrive my greeting not to see and flee
To nurse his great distemper in the woods.
Enough on him; what say ye to my bread?
2 WITCH
He compliments us by left hand
Sinister words made to sound grand.
BENVOLIO
Come share with me my simple fare this morn
Of crisp baked bread, and clotted cream so fresh
You'll hear the cow low as it meets your tongue,
And honeyed biscuits, and here is the prize
Found nestled under cool green leaves were there
The last of spring's great harvest: berries nine.
3 WITCH
A goodly number
BENVOLIO
Aye, but hard to split.
So two and two and two and two and one,
I know not what to do with this last sweet.
3 WITCH
Give it here and it shall pass
To Hecate our dark mistress
Who, pleased with this last blood of spring,
Permit us grant a boon to thee.
BENVOLIO
When I was but a boy my mother warned
Me to extend the greatest courtesy
To any women grouped in knots of three.
Are thee the witches she spoke of to me?
1 WITCH
She spoke of truth, the stories old
We are the witches you were told.
BENVOLIO
My mother told me to be kind, in truth,
But not to trifle with their spells for fear
That dark unforeseen consequence befall.
2 WITCH
With honeyed words and sweetened food we're charmed.
We promise you shall come to no small harm.
BENVOLIO
I fear imagination does run dry.
What sort of wish will you deign grant for I?
1 WITCH
Of love?
BENVOLIO
Nay, love is common on these streets
And pretty maids are easy to replace.
2 WITCH
Vengeance?
BENVOLIO
Nay, enemies I've earned with this right arm
Are fast dispensed with same and pointed blade
And enemies who hate me for my name
Will multiply for every one cut down.
3 WITCH
Then peace?
BENVOLIO
Why, little sister, I thought you would try
To tempt with gold or fame or other things
I hold in great commodity, but no,
You offer me the one thing my life lacks.
Yes. Peace, fair sisters, that is what I wish
Between the Montagues and Capulets at last.
That Tybalt, that foul devil's cat, shall choose
To sharp his claws in someone else's back.
That two houses be joined in love, not hate,
And that my hands need not spill blood again.
This is my wish, to fulfill as you will.
3 WITCH
A simple thing to grant, my lad
For this bright ending to be had
All this shall be yours in days when
Yon Romeo doth love again.
BENVOLIO
A simple thing to grant, indeed, I say!
If Romeo's affections would bring peace
Then Montague and Capulet's embrace
Would happen every fortnight at the least.
3 WITCH
Mind ye of my words and take care
Not to stray from my path one hair.
This vial of potion so suspect,
Yet no apothecary detect
An ounce of substance to do wrong
But will produce emotions strong
When half is drunk by Romeo
And half shall go to maiden so
Angelic you will know by sight
The moment you spy her this night.
This task and one more trifling chore
Shall earn you peace forevermore.
[Witches vanish]
BENVOLIO
Like whispers on the wind these crones did fly
And not one blade of grass is bent to mark
The ground on which I swear these three did stand.
I would not believe we four did meet
If not for this glass vial in my hand
And echoes in my mind of words like "peace."
Do I dare trust my cousin to this vial
Whose contents she did swear to me are safe?
It's said a witch, though crafty, will not lie.
Dare I not trust this witch's plan of peace?
Yes, that is question fairer in my mind.
This opportunity too sweet to pass
I'll see it through, and trust God to my fate.
[Exeunt]
SCENE II
in Capulet's house
[Enter Romeo, Benvolio, Mercutio, Capulet, and Guests]
ROMEO
But he that hath the steerage of my course
Direct my sail! On, lusty gentlemen!
BENVOLIO
Strike, drum.
MERCUTIO
Look round you, Romeo, and do be glad!
With wine and dance and women to be had!
If thou will not soon cast off thy sad curse
I'll have them all and leave to thee the nurse!
[Mercutio leaves]
BENVOLIO
I will part ways too, coz, and look round
There is angelic beauty to be found.
ROMEO
You keep your angels; there are none for me
If fair Rosaline's face I do not see.
[Romeo leaves]
BENVOLIO
The hunt is middling here at best, I say,
And though the floor is graced with slippered feet
I swear not one pair does disdain the earth.
Perhaps the witch has sent me here to stray.
Perhaps my quest begins and ends today.
[Enter Juliet]
BENVOLIO
No sooner does my hasty tongue voice doubts
Than I am swiftly made a faithless liar,
For now I see a maid with paper mask
And paper wings to flutter in the wind
And grace enough to make the meaning clear:
A costumed angel. There can be no fault.
The witch did lead me straight with her guidelines.
[to Juliet] O pretty angel, hear a sinner's words
And fall to earth to grant me one request.
JULIET
O young sir, tell me, why should I not fly?
A confessed sinner's boon may be too dear
And costly for one such as I to grant.
BENVOLIO
See you not my robe of colored squares?
A simple Fool and kindly Jester I
Whose sins were never made from ill intent
But stumbled on because of lack of wit.
JULIET
If you prove not a devil in disguise
Then tell me, Fool, what will you ask of me?
BENVOLIO
I will not ask you for your rosy lips,
But wish for them to grace this cup of wine.
Your hand, I know, will go to finer man,
So I ask but the loan of fingertips
Across my palm for length of one brief song.
Your heart shall remain safely in your breast
And virtue, untouched, nestled in your soul.
JULIET
You charm me with your talk of taxidermy.
Am I to trust in such a curious hunter?
BENVOLIO
I swear the lady shall remain unmounted.
What say you to my poorly phrased request?
JULIET
Although I can not seem to fathom why,
For one drink and one song I shall be thine.
CAPULET
Come, musicians, play!
A hall, a hall! give room! and foot it, girls.
[Music plays, and they dance]
[Enter Tybalt]
BENVOLIO
Permit me move our dance some metres hence
I recognize that foul barber too well.
JULIET
What barber do you mean? I see not one.
BENVOLIO
A poor barber who did, this very morn,
With foppish glee declare my hair too long
And waved his razor bout so wildly that
Our very Prince appeared to beg him stop.
JULIET
Would this poor barber go by the name Tybalt
And, by this context, you by Montague?
BENVOLIO
Alas, and now the lady sees me plain.
I beg thee dearly do not call me out
For I have come here merely to make merry
And if a Capulet doth see me here
I fear that they instead will make me holy.
JULIET
Then fear, o Fool, for I am Capulet
Whose father is the master of this house.
Then quell your fears, for I now rightly choose
To drop your name from shelves of memory.
BENVOLIO
A thousand thanks, and now one glass of wine
To bring our nightly contract to an end.
A drink to both our houses, yours and mine
And that one day we might address as friends.
[they drink]
[Juliet leaves]
BENVOLIO
A partnership of Montague and Capulet?
Two houses joined as one in joyful marriage?
How strange! A witch's plan is so transparent?
So simple and uncluttered by misdeeds?
If this is so, then let my path be clear
For Capulet has taken half the potion
Then Romeo shall now consume the rest
And I await the future without fear.
[Romeo enters]
BENVOLIO
My cheery coz, how look the pretty fare?
ROMEO
I have not seen the pretty nor the fair
And "pretty fair" exaggerates my mood.
BENVOLIO
Come, drink up, coz, for wine is known to loose
The tongue so that one only speaks of truth.
Let's see if it brings truth to eyes as well.
ROMEO
It's said that wine does hide truth from the eyes
And in the night turns crows into white swans
But very well, I shall indulge your plea.
[they drink]
BENVOLIO
Again now, cast your eye across the stage.
What angel here brings you earthly delights?
ROMEO
[To a Servingman]
What lady's that, which doth enrich the hand
Of yonder knight?
SERVINGMAN
I know not, sir.
[Exeunt Benvolio]
SCENE III
an abandoned house
[Enter Mercutio, supported by Benvolio]
MERCUTIO
Help me into some house, Benvolio,
Or I shall faint. A plague a both your houses!
They have made worms' meat of me. I have it,
And soundly too. Your houses!
BENVOLIO
Hush you, friend Mercutio, lie still.
The surgeon's blade shall swiftly make you whole.
MERCUTIO
A hole I have in excess, vile Montague,
And I wish not for any surgeon's metal
For it is meddling brought me to this place.
Call instead for butcher to insure
I will not choke the blind worms with my flesh.
I wish no harm on any living thing
Unless it bears one of two hated names.
BENVOLIO
My coz did act with motives for the best
Will you forgive his well-intended gaffe?
MERCUTIO
A gaffe! A gaffe! You'll kill me with a laugh!
BENVOLIO
Again I plea, Mercutio, lie still.
If it will still you, then I will agree:
A plague is on my house and Capulet's.
Do forgive Romeo, the surgeon who
Attempting to derive a cure did slip
And pass infection onto your own house.
MERCUTIO
A surgeon who did try to cut a plague?
I fear the sort of surgeon you will bring,
You fool who brought me to rooms without light.
Tell me, why is it so dark?
BENVOLIO
Mercutio!
Do please look past my choice of clumsy words
And wake for I still need your clever tongue.
MERCUTIO
I hold my clever tongue in strict reserve
For ladies with far greater curves than thee.
BENVOLIO
Yes, good Mercutio, do keep thy wits
And answer me this question straight away:
If by the meeting of your flesh and sword,
Though unintentional and sadly grieved,
A new peace did spread all throughout the land,
Would thou give forgiveness in charity?
MERCUTIO
The world is dark but I hold fires hot
Enough to roast both Tybalt and your coz.
A pawn, when sacrificed for wretched king,
Doth not always feel so nobly used.
You keep your talk of charity and peace.
A cruel deed is crueler with high intent.
A plague on both your houses, I am spent.
[Dies]
BENVOLIO
Mercutio, Mercutio, arise!
O call me fool and curse my house, but rise!
It is too late and he is gone at last
I fear his curse already comes to pass.
O Romeo, Romeo, brave Mercutio is dead!
[Exeunt]
SCENE IV
same abandoned house
[Enter Benvolio]
With blood-stained hands I kneel here at your side
And know not if my soul is stained as well.
Was this a part of the weird sister's plot
Or just unhappy circumstance? Tell me!
O little sisters! Maidens three! Hear me!
You favored me once in a grove of trees!
Favor again, I beg thee, answer me!
Or, if an answer does not please your lips,
Then but undo the question I do ask
And breathe life back into this inert form.
O pretty sisters! Fair trifecta! Stop!
This is not the sort of thing I wished:
That proud Mercutio lies on the ground,
And my dear Romeo is banishd,
And Tybalt-I confess, is gladly gone-
But gladder were there other circumstance.
O honey sisters! Darling triad! Why?
Why come you not to aid me in my grief
By putting right what causes me to grieve?
The empty shadows stay uninhabited,
And cold Mercutio grows colder still.
O wicked sisters! Vicious hags! Come here!
Yes, come and justify what you have done!
If you hold to the letter of my wish
Though not the spirit, for you've not the soul,
Then I shall keep those letters in my mind
And force your presence here before me now.
I asked that my rough hands shall not spill blood.
You promised I shall come to no small harm.
With welcome blade pressed to my waiting neck
I call for thee to come and stay my hand
Else I make you a mockery of all
And henceforth you be called as liars three.
[Witches appear]
WITCH 1
You caterwaul to wake the dead!
Though it would not be rightly said,
For despite your most trying cries
Mercutio abstains to rise.
BENVOLIO
If thou has come here only to make fun
I'll turn my blade and show its edge to thee
And in one stroke shall cause thy blood to flow
To make a liar and a corpse as one.
WITCH 2
This child dares to threaten us!
Sister, what shall be the cost?
WITCH 3
I can see no greater task
Than what the child himself did ask.
I will answer your questions plain
And have you make your choice again.
BENVOLIO
Mercutio, who lies on yonder floor,
More silent and more still than were he stone,
His life been taken in untimely ways.
Was he a vital player in this plot
Or was his death unhappy accident?
WITCH 1
His death was fated from the time
You slipped the potion into wine.
BENVOLIO
Ah, me! And Tybalt's death as well, I fear.
I killed them both without raising a blade
And doomed poor Romeo to banishment.
I beg you three to please forget my wish
And turn things back the way they used to be.
WITCH 2
We hold no power o'er the past
What has been done shall always last.
BENVOLIO
Then I entreat thee stop thy meddling ways.
If hands of clocks can not be made reversed,
Then hold them still so they may not advance
And toll the time of yet another death.
WITCH 3
If we do not go as you sought,
Then this man's death will be for naught.
BENVOLIO
You lead me to seek peace, this much is true,
But now I know it is the peace of graves.
What sort of peace is this when none remain
To eat the toothsome fruit that peace has wrought?
WITCH 1
A multitude of death is not desired
When certain lives are all that are required.
BENVOLIO
Enough with riddles! Tell me plainly now
The what and when of where the winds shall blow.
WITCH 3
Of course, my lad, I will but plainly tell
In simple words e'en you shall understand
That if you were to pause in your life's quest
And live as though thou never saw my face
Nor heard mine words, nor followed my advice,
Then in two generation's time or less
The blood between your houses shall run hot
And boiling, be consumed 'til naught remains
But ledgers in a history book to mark
The passing of two families, once proud.
And if you were to follow my advice,
Six deaths shall spread quite evenly twixt house
Of Montague and Capulet and Prince
And concentrated tragedy divine
Shall put an end to ancient grudge unclean.
BENVOLIO
What would you have me do?
WITCH 3
In two days' time, get thee to Mantua.
Along the way to see a friar who
Shall have a letter which he will hold dear.
Contrive to part him from this message, or
Through other means ensure it does not pass.
Your future hinges on your fast success.
BENVOLIO
Leave me, witches. I shall go
Though I fear it costs my soul.
[Witches vanish]
BENVOLIO
To stay, to go, the question has been set
And answered when a boy of two days' past
With naive heart and clouded eyes did let
The die of destiny be casually cast.
With clumsy steps he stumbled on the stage,
A dull bit player without wit or rhymes
Who held not to the story on the page
But stuttered out his own self-serving lines.
With good intent and noble thought did he
Attempt change the text that did offend
Which only lead to greater tragedy
That we must all now carry to its end.
O grave misfortune which I did release,
Please do forgive, I did but keep the peace.
[Exeunt]