Act 4

English Lit: AQA GCSE Romeo & Juliet, topic 6.1.4

Key Quotes - Act 4, Scene 1

Here are key quotes from Juliet and Friar Laurence in Act 4, Scene 1:

'Come weep with me; past hope, past cure, past help!'
Juliet is very upset by the idea of having to marry Paris. When she is alone with Friar Laurence, she begs him for help.
She repeatedly uses the adjective 'past' to emphasise the sense of hopelessness she feels.

'Daughter'.
When Friar Laurence speaks to Romeo, they often refer to each other as 'father' and 'son'.
Here, he calls Juliet 'daughter'.
These nouns suggest a compassionate, loving, paternal (fatherly) relationship between Romeo, Juliet, and Friar Laurence – he cares for them and their fates.
There’s also a feeling that his religious role is echoed in the choice of word here, too.

Here are key quotes from Juliet in Act 4, Scenes 2 and 3:

'I have learn’d me to repent the sin of disobedient opposition.'
When Juliet returns to her parents, she pretends that she is happy to marry Paris.
In this quote, she admits that disobeying her father was a 'sin'. She implies that she went to Friar Laurence to seek forgiveness for being 'disobedient'.

'Farewell! God knows when we shall meet again.'
After Lady Capulet and the Nurse leave Juliet’s bedchamber, she says goodbye to them both.
In this quote, she says that only 'God knows' when she will see them again – she knows that she will not see them again during her own lifetime. She knows that she will only be with them in the afterlife.

'What if it be poison, which the friar subtly hath minister’d to have me dead.'
Juliet worries about her fate. She is about to take a mysterious potion and cannot be completely certain about what will happen once she does.
She wonders if Friar Laurence has actually given her 'poison' so that she will die and he will avoid getting into trouble for marrying her and Romeo.
She is very anxious until she finally decides to trust him and take the potion.

What type of words are 'daughter' and 'son'?
Who is Juliet speaking to when she says 'Farewell! God knows when we shall meet again' in Act 4, Scene 3?
What is Juliet worried about when she says 'What if it be poison, which the friar subtly hath minister’d to have me dead' in Act 4, Scene 3?
What is the 'sin' that Juliet says she has learnt to 'repent' in Act 4, Scene 2?