Thursday 26 March 2009

Wherefore art thou...?





But, soft! what light
through yonder
window breaks?
It is the east,
and Juliet is the sun.







Something that mildly irks me is the frequent misquoting of the line, 'Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?' to mean 'Romeo, where are you, Romeo?' In fact, of course, it means, 'Romeo, WHY are you named Romeo?' and Juliet (who's a Capulet) is bemoaning the fact that Romeo, whom she's fallen in love with, is a member of the Montague family. And the Cs and Ms are at daggers drawn.

Which is by way of informing you that I have dubbed Randy 'Romeo' and have named my new RSPB robin 'Juliet'. This evening we held Juliet by the open window and then began a plaintive duet between Randy Romeo and Juliet. Juliet would sing her double burst of song and RR would respond. Silence. A burst from her and a reply from him. It was quite touching. But I fear it's the stuff tragedies are made of. Their love is doomed. It will never be consummated. Will I wake one morning to find a lifeless Randy Romeo on the patio having tried in vain to reach his Juliet and penetrate the cruel glass barrier lying between them?

Surprisingly, despite earlier comments, that would considerably distress me. 'A glooming peace this morning with it brings,' would be all too true. So here's hoping Randy finds his real live Juliet. I'll keep you posted.

1 comment:

  1. Hi Michael, I'm glad you liked 'her'. It may be my imagination, but the robin in my garden (imaginatively named Robin) seems to be looking at me very reproachfully through the kitchen window. I trust I'm not becoming associated with unrequited love in the robin world! Pat.

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