Tragedy in Romeo and Juliet

THE TRAGEDY



OF



ROMEO AND JULIET



THE WORKS

OF

SHAKESPEARE



THE TRAGEDY OF
ROMEO AND JULIET

EDITED BY

EDWARD DOWDEN



METHUEN AND CO.
36 ESSEX STREET: STRAND

LONDON

1900





667241



CONTENTS

PAGE

INTRODUCTION .... . . . . ix

THE TRAGEDY OF ROMEO AND JULIET i

APPENDIX I. SOME PASSAGES FROM THE QUARTO OF 1597 183
APPENDIX II. ANALYSIS OF BROOKE'S "THE TRAGICALL

HlSTORYE OF ROMEUS AND JULIET," WITH QUOTA-
TIONS l88

APPENDIX III. RUNAWAY'S EYES i97



INTRODUCTION

IN the text of this edition of Romeo and Juliet I have
introduced only two readings not previously found in
editions of authority ; first, I have placed a comma in
I. ii. 32 after the words "view of"; secondly, in III. v.
43 I have inserted the hyphens in "love-lord" and
" husband-friend." I hope these slight changes may
commend themselves to some readers ; if the former be
correct, it solves a long recognised difficulty. I have not
altered the received punctuation of III. ii. 58, although
I venture to suggest in Appendix III. ("Runaway's
eyes") a new punctuation, which, as regards lines 5, 6,
commends itself to me ; the suggestion respecting line 7
I offer as a mere possibility. I am not so sanguine as to
expect that readers long familiar with the received text
will accept my suggestions as to that difficult passage ;
but how should any critic neglect to add his stone to the
cairn under which the meaning lies buried ? I accept
Theobald's reading '.' sun " in I. i. 15 7, and in so doing
follow the best modern editors. With some reluctance
I read in n. i. 13," Adam Cupid," yielding to the
authority of Dyce (ed. 2), the Cambridge editors, Furness,
and others ; and in a note I try to point out possi-

ix



x INTRODUCTION

bilities which may justify or lead towards justifying the
' ' Abraham " of all the early texts.

I may add here that if...