Act 4, scene 1 of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet shows Friar Lawrence speaking with Paris when Juliet enters. She is not in the mood for games. She has come to speak with Friar Lawrence about her situation since Romeo has been banished for killing her cousin Tybalt. Once Paris leaves, Juliet reveals how desperate she is to Friar Lawrence. Juliet threatens to kill herself when she takes out a knife and says the following:
"Give...
Act 4, scene 1 of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet shows Friar Lawrence speaking with Paris when Juliet enters. She is not in the mood for games. She has come to speak with Friar Lawrence about her situation since Romeo has been banished for killing her cousin Tybalt. Once Paris leaves, Juliet reveals how desperate she is to Friar Lawrence. Juliet threatens to kill herself when she takes out a knife and says the following:
"Give me some present counsel; or, behold,
'Twixt my extremes and me this bloody knife
Shall play the umpire . . .
Be not so long to speak. I long to die
If what thou speak'st speak not of remedy" (IV.i.61-63, 66-67).
From the passage above it is obvious that Juliet is suicidal. She doesn't know which way to turn because she loves her husband, Romeo, but she has just come from a fight with her parents about marrying Paris. Her father just threatened to disown her and turn her out of his house if she doesn't marry Paris in a couple of days; so, she feels as though she has run out of options and patience due to the predicament she's caught in. Fortunately, Friar Lawrence speaks quickly enough to disarm Juliet and present her with a plan to escape her troubles.
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