Romeo and Juilet Sweet Sorrow

In the Prologue the Chorus explains that two families of Verona are enemies, and that "From forth the fatal loins of these two foes / A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; / Whose misadventured piteous overthrows / Do with their death bury their parents' strife (Prologue 5-8). Thus, from the very beginning, we know we're going to see a spectacle of intertwined love and hate. [Scene Summary] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Before he meets Juliet, Romeo is desperately in …

… my everlasting rest, / And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars / From this world-wearied flesh" (5.3.112). "Set up . . . my rest" is a phrase used in a card game; a player would "set up his rest" when he was done taking cards and ready to bet on what was in his hand. And "everlasting rest" means what it still means -- death envisioned as eternal peace. Romeo will take his chances on death with Juliet. [Scene Summary]