Act II. Prologue. Romeo and Juliet. Craig, W.J., ed. 1914. The Oxford Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (1564–1616). The Oxford Shakespeare. 1914.

Romeo and Juliet

Act II. Prologue.

Enter Chorus.
Chor. Now old desire doth in his death-bed lie,
And young affection gapes to be his heir;
That fair for which love groan’d for and would die,	4
With tender Juliet match’d, is now not fair.
Now Romeo is belov’d and loves again,
Alike bewitched by the charm of looks,
But to his foe suppos’d he must complain,	8
And she steal love’s sweet bait from fearful hooks:
Being held a foe, he may not have access
To breathe such vows as lovers us’d to swear;
And she as much in love, her means much less	12
To meet her new-beloved any where:
But passion lends them power, time means, to meet,
Tempering extremity with extreme sweet. [Exit.