Pent means five, so a line of iambic pentameter consists of five iambs – five sets of unstressed syllables followed by stressed syllables. What light through yonder window breaks? Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? ... "But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? Juliet’s eyes are ‘speaking’ because her expression says as much as words could. Put together, the three fragments form one full line; it's usually a cue written into the text that quickens the pace and is called, unsurprisingly, a shared line. The reference to the "envious moon" is a double entendre. If you do, you will likely find yourself employing a sing-songy rhythm:buh-BUM, buh-BUM, buh-BUM, buh-BUM.This (Iambic pentameter is a line with 10 syllables) Why would the sun be the maid to the moon? Meanwhile, Juliet’s eyes – in heaven, in place of the stars – would shine so brightly that the birds would think it was daytime rather than night. Obviously something is prompting Romeo to make the comment. Although he can't hear her, he's certain that she's seen him. (Romeo and Juliet). I am too bold, ’tis not to me she speaks: is an example of Shakespeare taking some liberties with his chosen form, but the first line ("But soft! Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon. It is my lady, O, it is my love! See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand! What light through yonder window breaks?") "Vestal livery" here refers to Juliet's virginity by referring to the garments of the Vestal virgins; Vesta, the Roman goddess of the hearth, had temples staffed by women who were bound by 30-year vows of chastity. Surely, if anything, it should be the other way around? The reason that the moon is sad is that Juliet's beauty outshines hers, much as the sun's light outshines the moon. As light appears at Juliet's window above, Romeo begins his metaphoric comparison of Juliet to the sunrise. Romeo is both surprised and besotted when young Juliet appears. Count the syllables in this line where Romeo describes Juliet at the balcony. followed by Romeo's "She speaks!" [JULIET appears above at a window] But, soft! Here we have a perfect example. Be not her maid, since she is envious; When spoken it looks like this: "But SOFT what LIGHT through YONder WINdow BREAKS" Separated into feet it looks like: But Soft What Light Through Yonder Window Breaks. An example of this can be seen in Romeo's soliloquy at the beginning of Act II Scene 2, also known as the balcony scene. But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?’ speech retains some of Romeo’s love-struck hyperbole that we saw from him in Act I, but he is about to talk to Juliet again, alone at her window, and their mutual admiration will deepen as they resolve to be together. Obviously, medical theory of the day was dominated by men. Shakespeare wrote in iambic pentameter because it was believed to imitate the human heart beat. The only news I know Is bulletins all day From Immortality. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, But no: Shakespeare has in mind the Roman goddess Diana, who was associated with the moon: Diana represented chastity and virginity, so the moon has ‘vestal livery’ because her followers would be like the vestal virgins from ancient Rome who were followers or priestesses of a goddess. The second line is more eccentric in its meter. The second foot could also easily scan as an iamb; it's fairly subjective. But, soft! Copyright © 1997–2020, J. M. Pressley and the Shakespeare Resource Center The comparison continues. ‘But, soft! "Brutus and Caesar, what should be in that Caesar?" Then, think about your average modern teenager. Iambic pentameter gets most of its play because Shakespeare used it a lot. The syntax and pronoun ambiguity can make this line seem a little more complicated than it is. what light breaks through yonder window" would have a decidedly different rhythm. Meanwhile, lest we forget poor Juliet's eyes.... ...while the stars are being dimmed by Juliet's cheeks, her eyes would be radiating a light throughout the heavens (airy region being a highly fanciful term for "sky"). / It is the east, and Juliet is the sun." You can almost feel Romeo taking a couple of steps toward the balcony at the end of this line. Would through the airy region stream so bright Her vestal livery is but sick and green When you read the whole play, note how Romeo is subject to emotional fits of hyperbole. It is the east and Juliet is the sun. But it is simple to learn and easy to speak once it comes alive for you. What is Iambic Pentameter? ‘What Light Through Yonder Window Breaks?’, Spoken by Romeo, Act 2 Scene 2. Second, the reference begins an extended—and occasionally risqué—metaphor that plays upon the association of the moon goddess, Diana, (or Artemis, if you prefer), with virginity. "But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Metrically, this 11-syllable line would probably scan better if written as "liv'ry." Iambic pentameter is used almost all the time in Romeo and Juliet. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Having begun with this rhetorical question (‘But, soft! Much like "kill the envious moon" above, Romeo again calls Juliet to action. Although the condition had virtually nothing to do with virginity, the "cure" was, of course, the healthy lovemaking a woman could expect within the bonds of matrimony. All this goes to prove that you can get away with saying nearly anything as long as it sounds poetic enough. "But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?" Thou art more lovely and more temperate: What light through yonder window breaks; U … what light through yonder window breaks? What is germane to the scene is that Romeo supposes (or talks himself into believing for the moment) Juliet might have caught sight of him and could be attempting a conversation. What light through yonder window breaks?” “A little more than kin and less than kind.” “Just for a handful of silver he left us.” “So foul and fair a … da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM. What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. (2.2.2-3) da DUM | da DUM | da DUM | da DUM | da DUM. Although the end of Romeo's soliloquy is only six syllables, Juliet interrupts with her sigh "Ah me!" It is my lady, O, it is my love! On the figurative level, "vestal livery" represents Juliet's virginity; Romeo has designs on her doffing that as well—all in the name of preventive health, of course, as mentioned above. Perhaps the term shouldn't be considered such an archaism after all. Who is already sick and pale with grief, Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. The word comes from the French iambique meaning "a foot of verse," referring to the form's basic two-syllable verse unit: unstressed, stressed (e.g., dum DUM). It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. This line features a couple of Shakespeare favorites: the trochaic inversion at the beginning of the line and the feminine ending. It is this Airbnb contest to win a stay at Juliet’s house in Verona, Italy. It makes a certain amount of sense to split the line, as most editors have done, from the obvious pentameter of its predecessor, but that leaves it as a six-syllable, dangling bit of verse. what light through yonder window breaks?’ represents the consolidation and confirmation of Romeo’s love for Juliet, as he echoes his initial paean to her beauty (from Act I Scene 5), but the intensity of his feeling is seen to develop. Whether Juliet is talking to herself or perhaps responding silently to the Nurse inside the room is a minor choice at the discretion of the director. (William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet) Her vestal livery is but sick and green And none but fools do wear it; cast it off. Romeo riffs on the paleness of the moon, seeing this as a sign that the moon is ‘sick and pale with grief’ because its ‘maid’, the sun, is more fair or beautiful than she is. O what a … Spheres refers in this instance to "the orbits in which stars move." Iambic pentameter is a metric pattern in lines of poetry where unstressed syllables are alternated with stressed syllables and there are 5 sets of unstressed/stressed syllables in the line of poetry. The funniest gauge of love is the rapt fascination the lovestruck have with the utterly mundane. Romeo intends to make his presence known to Juliet. It is the East, and Juliet is the sun. You may draw your own conclusions, therefore, as to what Romeo means by "kill the envious moon.". All Romeo is asking, essentially, is what if her eyes traded places with those "two fairest stars" mentioned above? Juliet's eyes, were they to swap places with the stars, would turn the night into day, stirring the birds to sing. So, a line from R/J (e.g., "But soft! Which of these lines is NOT iambic pentameter? Keep in mind that Romeo, until this point, has merely been addressing a light in a window. What if her eyes were there, they in her head? Her vestal livery is but sick and green And none but fools do wear it; cast it off. Discourses is a fancy way of saying "speaks" (from the Middle English discours, meaning "process of reasoning" via the Medieval Latin discursus, which means "a running about"). but SOFT what LIGHT through YONder WINdow BREAKS. What light through yonder window breaks?” Is an example of iambic pentameter. is textbook iambic pentameter and a great introduction to Romeo's declaration of … “But soft!! Remembering what we now know about iambic pentameter I would like you to separate this passage into meters and feet. Here are some examples of regular iambic pentameter: When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes (Sonnet 29). what light through yonder window breaks? Interesting Literature is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon.co.uk. It is my lady, O, it is my love! what light through yonder window breaks?’ is a speech made by Romeo at the beginning of Act II Scene 2 in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. This line, as syrupy as it may seem, signifies an important turn in the soliloquy. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief, That thou her maid art far more fair than she: Be not her maid, since she is … Using Iambic Pentameter in Poetry and Verse. ‘But, soft! At that point, Latin was seen as superior and "the language of true literature," while English was for common folk. But, soft! To twinkle in their spheres till they return. Please reread the famous lines above by Dr. Seuss – but this time out loud. In fact, in case you didn't get the daylight reference the first time, Romeo waxes further poetic on the subject. what light through yonder window breaks?’ is a speech made by Romeo at the beginning of Act II Scene 2 in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, So, a line of iambic pentameter has ten syllables, in the following scheme: short-long-short-long-short-long-short-long-short-long. what light through yonder window breaks? She speaks yet she says nothing: what of that? What light through yonder window breaks?' But, soft! Before we proceed to an analysis of this passage, here’s a reminder of Romeo’s speech. Rhetorically, Shakespeare is using parallel repetition and alliteration to reinforce Romeo's emotion. After beginning with a pyrrhic, this line starts a stretch of regular iambic pentameter. The only shows I see, Tomorrow and Today, Perchance Eternity. But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? Contact Us | Privacy policy. what light through yonder window breaks?’), Romeo offers an extended analogy in which Juliet = the sun. Romeo is feeling ‘bold’, so steps forward to ‘answer’ the look in her eyes with a profession of his love. Shakespeare varies the rhythm of this line with two trochees, one as the initial foot and one following the caesura. And none but fools do wear it; cast it off. Shakespeare used varying syntax so that his writing would fit a specific meter, iambic pentameter: But, soft! Romeo asks Juliet to appear ("Arise, fair sun") at her window. what light through yonder window breaks...." Overview | Readings Page | Home - / - / - / - / - / But, soft! A nice bit of metrical shortening here, as Shakespeare departs from the regular iambic pentameter and blank verse used in the rest of Romeo’s speech, and gives us just three feet in the line ‘O, that she knew she were!’ (to mirror the longing in Romeo’s voice – the short line brings us up short, as we remember that Juliet doesn’t yet know the depth of Romeo’s feeling for her). “But soft! As noted in the Macbeth analysis, Shakespeare doesn't generally break the pentameter in mid-speech like this, so that leaves us wondering if something happened in the transcription. Romeo begins in straightforward iambic pentameter, with stresses regularly punctuating every other syllable. This is from Act 2 scene 3 beginning at line 4. Still, the idea of Juliet being like the sun rising in the east is a nice one, and picks up Romeo’s earlier description of Juliet (‘O she doth teach the torches to burn bright’). Romeo: But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief, That thou her maid art far more fair than she: Be not her maid, since she is envious; Her vestal livery is but sick and green And none but fools do wear it; cast it off. Entreat here denotes "to beseech or plead." ‘But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? What light through yonder window breaks?” Juliet, Romeo and Juliet • hexameter—lines consisting of 6 feet (alexandrine) Often a topic sentence or carrier of an important intention of the speaker. O, that I were a glove upon that hand, Romeo will compare Juliet's eyes to the stars, a familiar trope that has been passed off ever since as original by teen boys the world over. In all early editions (except the First Quarto, in which the line and "It is my lady..." are omitted entirely), "It is my lady..." and this line are written together. That I might touch that cheek! It begins with a pyrrhic, which isn't such an oddity in itself, but the scansion following the mid-line caesura causes some consternation unless A) Shakespeare intended Juliet to be pronounced more like "JOOL-yet" instead of "JOOL-i-ET," or B) "is the sun" is intended as an anapest to end the line. Romeo then extends this idea into a poetic conceit: okay, if there were two stars from heaven in Juliet’s head and her eyes were in the night sky, those stars would feel shamed by being so close to the (superior) brightness of Juliet’s cheek, much as a lamp is shamed by the presence of natural daylight. One can imagine Romeo coming a bit back down to earth (no pun intended) as he besottedly gazes up at Juliet posing in the moonlight. This line scans as straight iambic pentameter with a trochaic inversion in the first foot. You may have noticed by now that light imagery is a recurring theme in this speech. BAboom / BAboom / BAboom / BAboom. This is a strange line on many levels. trochaic tetrameter. Some examples of iambic pentameter include: But, soft! Most of his plays were written in iambic pentameter, except for lower-class characters who speak in prose. The line also shows how a slight shift in the syntactic order, shifting the word "breaks" to the end of the phrase rather than directly following the subject of "light," is used to make the line better fit the meter. What light through yonder window breaks? iambic pentameter. what light through yonder window breaks? The second line ("It is the East, and Juliet is the sun.") This means that there are 5 feet, or beats, in the line. (Whether she’s at a balcony is much disputed; the balcony appears nowhere in Shakespeare’s stage directions – Juliet is simply described as being somewhere ‘above’ – and the first production known to use a balcony wasn’t staged until the late seventeenth century.). But, soft! Juliet), and resents the fact, like the plain-looking lady who resents her prettier maid who gets all of the romantic attention. This time, he reasons that Juliet need not serve the moon goddess since the moon goddess is jealous of her. In Romeo and Juliet, the famous balcony scene features Romeo's words: "But soft! The moon is ‘envious’ of her because it has no radiance of its own: it has to borrow its light from the sun (i.e. what light through yonder window breaks? Iambic pentameter includes five iambic units in each line. But, soft! Romeo concludes his musings upon Juliet's chastity with a line that echoes his earlier call for Juliet to "kill the envious moon." "But, soft! This line is straight iambic pentameter with the extra unstressed syllable of a feminine ending. ...and if Juliet's eyes traded places with the stars, Romeo reasons, then her cheek would still outshine the stars. Shakespeare uses both iambic pentameter and metaphor to reveal the hearts of Romeo and Juliet. It has a strongtendency to divide into two equal segments. The trochee/spondee pattern before the caesura is rhythmically heavy, which reinforces Romeo putting on the brakes, so to speak. But, soft! In both quarto editions and the First Folio, however, the word is spelled as if the three syllables are to be pronounced. Consider the line, 'But soft! Iambic pentameter has been in English poetry for a long time, since at least the work of Geoffrey Chaucer in the fourteenth century. But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? (Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet) Anyone who's ever read anything about Greek and Roman mythology knows that one didn't trifle with the vanity of goddesses. The line also shows how a slight shift in the syntactic order, shifting the word "breaks" to the end of the phrase rather than directly following the subject of "light," is used to make the line better fit the meter. Anyway, Romeo romantically compares the window to the eastern horizon at dawn; he hasn't seen Juliet appear yet (at least in most interpretations of the script), but, like the dim light appearing before sunrise, the light heralds her arrival. Here is one way to “scan” it (scansion is simply the action of scanning a line of verse for the stresses): But SOFT what LIGHT through YON der WIN dow BREAKS. It derives from Middle English via Anglo-French en treter ("to treat"); treter derives from the Latin verb tractare, which means "to drag about, handle, or deal with.". The whole of the speech beginning ‘But, soft! Romeo employs a double entendre on the word "maid" in this line. It is the East, and Juliet is the sun! It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM. From this bizarre image of Juliet’s disembodied eyes floating in the night sky among the stars, we come to the slightly less fanciful image of Juliet leaning her cheek upon her hand, and Romeo adoringly wishing he were a glove on her hand so he could touch her cheek. It is … This is the point in the speech at which Juliet actually enters the scene. After all, when Romeo tells Juliet to ‘cast … off’ the ‘livery’ or clothes of Diana/the moon, he’s essentially telling her to get her kit off …. Romeo’s ‘But, soft! Read Shakespeare’s ‘What Light Through Yonder Window Breaks?’ soliloquy from Romeo and Juliet below with modern English translation and analysis, plus a video performance. But, soft! It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Both, as discussed in other readings, are common variants that Shakespeare used. “But soft, what light through yonder window breaks” is iambic, but the next line, “It is the East and Juliet is the sun” breaks the meter on the word “Juliet” when Romeo realizes who he is looking at. The comparative analogy of daylight and a lamp—especially given the candlepower of lamps in Shakespeare's day—remains a powerful and accessible image to the contemporary audience. Romeo poetically says over the course of three lines that the two most beautiful stars above should ask Juliet's eyes to fill in for them if they need to be elsewhere. That thou her maid art far more fair than she: But soft! Romeo begins in straightforward iambic pentameter, with stresses regularly punctuating every other syllable. The most common meter used in poetry and verse, iambic pentameter consists of five iambs and 10 syllables per line. / It is the east, and Juliet is the sun …’: Romeo begins this speech when he sees Juliet at her window. Like the line before, this one also contains 11 total syllables and is arguably ended by an anapest. Why? Shakespeare's writings about love are famous for their smoothly-flowing nature, which stems from his use of rhyme and the rhythm of iambic pentameter. What light from yonder window breaks?") Romeo here continues the moon metaphor by alluding to the normally wan appearance of the moon in the sky and imbuing the moon (as the goddess Diana) with sadness as the reason for its pallor. As light appears at Juliet's window above, Romeo begins his metaphoric comparison of Juliet to the sunrise. what light through yonder window reaks? And just as quickly, Romeo realizes that Juliet is neither aware of nor speaking to him. If you read it out you can see how it works: ‘But, soft, what light through yonder window breaks?’ (Romeo, 2:1) Thus begins the turn of the scene; Juliet will reveal her heart within the next few lines, and their fates will be sealed. ... Iambic pentameter has a sing-song movement and is in danger of being monotonous if sentences start at the beginning and finish at the end of lines. O, that she knew she were! Romeo begins in straightforward iambic pentameter, with stresses regularly punctuating every other syllable. As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven what light through yonder window breaks? On the more literal level, Romeo is saying that Juliet needs to cast off her "vestal livery," which we can take as a fairly blunt wish that Juliet should doff her frock. "But, soft! Shakespeare uses a pair of trochees to stress the long vowels that start the line. Great! The interwoven imagery and subtext of this passage is quite remarkable under close examination. First, of course the rising sun of day signifies the end of night, "killing" the moon. But, soft! First line, straightforward. Maid alludes to Juliet's virginity both in its traditional denotation as a young, unmarried woman and as a servant of the moon (implying that Juliet is in the service of Diana, which would reinforce the concept). It's interesting here, too, in using classic mythology as the underpinning of his metaphor, that Romeo speaks of the "envious" moon. Labeling the type of meter used in a poem is based on how many feet are put together in one line. And here is a perfect example of Shakespeare using two characters to complete a line of iambic pentameter. An interesting hypothesis is that perhaps Shakespeare originally had Juliet complete the line as if to herself, which might have prompted Romeo to speak his next line. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! 1 Foot -monometer 2 Feet – di meter 3 Feet – tri meter/Tercet 4 Feet – tetra meter 5 Feet – penta meter 6 Feet – hexa meter 7 Feet – hepta meter 8 Feet – octa meter But, soft! O, that she knew she were! Her eye discourses; I will answer it. Just ask the Trojans. Iambic pentameter was born out of a need to create a meter for the English language in the 16th century. The entire line is:But, soft! will generally employ that "short-long x 5" rhythm. The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars, Romeo then likens Juliet’s eyes to two stars in the night sky: it’s as if Juliet’s eyes are bright and beautiful enough to stand in for the stars while they’re off on ‘business’. what light through yonder window breaks? Juliet should not follow the cold, distant moon, that represents chastity; for one thing, Romeo probably doesn’t want Juliet to remain a virgin. - 10730144 It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. what light through yonder window breaks? what light breaks through yonder window" would have a decidedly different rhythm. The first that basically means "if only," just as it does in "O, that she knew she were!" But the second line starts to mix it up. Therefore, iambic pentameter refers to a line of poetry that has five feet of iambs (an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable). So, going back to one of Shakespeare’s examples above, it would sound like: but SOFT | what LIGHT | through YON | der WIN | dow BREAKS.