Original artwork, not a still
Good night, good night! parting is such sweet sorrow, That I shall say good night till it be morrow.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is two lovers who cannot bear to hang up, said with a joke: parting hurts, yet saying goodbye is sweet because it promises the next meeting. Juliet's couplet became the English language's stock phrase for a reluctant farewell, quoted on cards, in leaving speeches and in countless romances. It is Juliet's line, not Romeo's, which is a common slip.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Romeo and JulietShow the scene
At the end of the balcony scene (Act 2, Scene 2) of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo stands in the Capulet orchard below Juliet's window, having climbed in after the feast where they met. They have just exchanged vows, and the night is nearly gone. Juliet says she wants him gone yet no further than a captive bird on a silk thread, and he answers that he wishes he were her bird. She speaks these two lines as she leaves the window, and Romeo goes off to Friar Lawrence's cell to ask him to marry them.
Sources (1)
- Romeo and Juliet, full text (Project Gutenberg)Act 2, Scene 2 (Capulet's Garden), Juliet's closing speechReference checked
Context reviewed
