Romeo, along with his friends Benvolio, Mercutio, and others, comes to the front of Capulet’s house. They are dressed as masquers (entertainers or performers) so that they can easily gain entrance into the house without being recognized as Montagues. They intend to join Capulet’s party even though they are not invited. Commonly the masquers’ entertainment was introduced by an “apology,” a prologue or short speech that summarized the contents. The actor presenting the speech was frequently dressed as Cupid, the god of love, since the slight plot of the masque usually involved love. Benvolio, however, declares that they do not need a prologue. They do not care if the audience judges them severely or harshly since they are not professional actors. The young men are just out for a good time. They want to have fun.
Romeo, however, is not in a good mood. He still feels melancholic because of his unrequited love for Rosaline. Yet, despite his downcast mood, Romeo is still able to speak in an inventive way, with puns and wordplay. He tells his companions, “Being but heavy, I will bear the light” (12). He is telling his friends that he is depressed and does not wish to dance that night. Then, taking a torch from one of his companions, Romeo states that he will just carry the light that night (but not be lighthearted). A second pun involves the words (homonyms) soles and souls. Mercutio urges Romeo to be carefree and dance, that he has “dancing shoes with nimble soles”; but Romeo has “a soul of lead” (14-15). Despite his wordplay, Romeo insists that he is too depressed to have a good time that night.
Mercutio, who is a witty and humorous fellow, engages in a friendly battle of wits with Romeo to persuade him to have fun that night. When Romeo moodily asserts that “under love’s heavy burden do I sink,” Mercutio quickly responds with the following:
And to sink in it should you burden love –
Too great oppression for a tender thing. (23-24)
Renaissance audiences loved double-entendres and bawdy sexual humor, and Shakespeare provides that in a witty fashion here. When Romeo uses the word burden, he means the sadness and melancholy that comes with being an unrequited lover. But with that same word Mercutio also implies the physical burden of a man having sexual intercourse with his love (or lover). The word thing during the Renaissance was frequently used as a substitute (or euphemism) for the female genitalia. Mercutio is lewdly but jokingly telling Romeo not to sink too deeply into his sexual partner, for that would be an oppressive burden to her.
Although Romeo understands Mercutio’s humor and may even smile slightly at it, he is still feeling too depressed about Rosaline to enjoy himself. And Romeo comments that love is not tender: rather it is rough and troublesome. Of course, Romeo is still referring to the pain felt by the unrequited lover. And he comments that unrequited love “pricks like thorn” (26). It cuts the lover up and makes him bleed. It makes him suffer. Mercutio quickly responds with a double-
entendre, for the word prick also refers to a man’s penis. Mercutio tells Romeo that the solution for his melancholy is to “prick love for pricking” (28). The word love here means both (1) Cupid, the god of love, and (2) a female lover. Thus, the line has two distinct meanings: (1) Romeo should stab Cupid with a knife since Cupid has stabbed Romeo with his arrow. (2) Romeo should have sexual intercourse with a lover in order to satisfy his sexual desires.
Despite the fun and witty wordplay, Romeo
is unconvinced; and he continues to be melancholic. He tells Mercutio that he is “done,” that he no longer wishes to engage in frivolous conversations or activities (line 39).
Mercutio, though, is far from done; and he puns on that word, which sounds the same as dun. Mercutio asserts that “dun’s the mouse” (40). The word dun refers to the grey-brown or mousy brown color of many mice, and during the Renaissance the expression “dun’s the mouse” meant to keep quiet as a mouse or to be unseen as a mouse. Mercutio quickly adds that such an expression is the motto of constables, for many town constables (peace officers or police officers) were well known for never being around when they were needed. Another common expression during the
Renaissance was “the dun is in the mire.” This was a Christmas game that involved pulling a log (representing a dun-colored horse) out of the mud (or mire). Mercutio is wittily implying that Romeo is a “stick-in-the-mud,” an expression that means someone is slow, unenthusiastic, old-fashioned, or boring. With his clever witticisms, Mercutio hopes to make Romeo smile and join in the merriment of the others.