Question

Use the following excerpt from, “Romeo and Juliet” by Shakespeare to answer the following question:

Excerpt (Act 1, Scene 5 – When Romeo and Juliet first meet at the Capulet party):

ROMEO: If I profane with my unworthiest hand
This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this:
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.

JULIET: Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,
Which mannerly devotion shows in this;
For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch,
And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss.

14. In 3-5 sentences, identify and explain how the playwright develops a certain mood for this scene. Use evidence from the excerpt to support your answer.

(4 points)

Answer 1

Shakespeare creates a romantic, reverent, and flirtatious mood in this scene through sacred imagery and playful banter. Romeo’s metaphor comparing Juliet to a “holy shrine” and his “lips, two blushing pilgrims” casts their attraction as pure and worshipful, while Juliet’s witty reply—calling him a “Good pilgrim” and turning his line into a “holy palmers’ kiss”—reciprocates and heightens the intimacy. The religious diction (“holy,” “saints,” “pilgrims”) combined with the tender physical language (“tender kiss,” “blushing”) makes their first meeting feel both devout and sensually charged.