Romeo and Juliet Part 3: The Language

In Part 3, Professor Simon Palfrey offers close-readings of some of the play’s most significant scenes. You’ll hear the play’s dark energies emerge through Mercutio’s speech about “Queen Mab”; see how Juliet discovers a new, eroticized vision of the world and of herself as she awaits her wedding night, and witness one of the most iconic scenes in literature, when Juliet on her balcony imagines the possibility of love transforming identity: “What’s in a name?”
Speeches and performers:

Mercutio, 1.4, “O, then I see Queen Mab hath been with you …” (Mark Quartley)

Juliet and Romeo, 2.2, “O Romeo, Romeo …” (Katy Stephens)

Juliet, 3.2, “Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds …” (Katy Stephens)