Prince Escalus Quotes

Rebellious subjects, enemies to peace,
Profaners of this neighbour-stained steel, –
Will they not hear? What, ho! you men, you beasts,
That quench the fire of your pernicious rage
With purple fountains issuing from your veins,
On pain of torture, from those bloody hands
Throw your mistemper’d weapons to the ground.

– William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet, Act 1, Scene 1. Prince Escalus storms into the play’s first scene, as the ancient feud between the Capulets and Montagues flares up into a violent street brawl. Verona’s authority figure threatens the culprits with violent punishment if they don’t lay down their weapons. He uses a series of metaphors to compare the fighters to beasts who quench the fire of their hate by spilling fountains of blood. In "mistemper’d weapons" we also have an example of personification.

Three civil brawls, bred of an airy word,
By thee, old Capulet, and Montague,
Have thrice disturb’d the quiet of our streets,
And made Verona’s ancient citizens
Cast by their grave beseeming ornaments,
To wield old partisans, in hands as old,
Canker’d with peace, to part your canker’d hate.

– William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet, Act 1, Scene 1. Prince Escalus launches a tirade at the patriarchs of the feuding Capulets and Montagues for their families’ involvement in three disturbances on Verona’s streets. The angry city ruler says that Verona’s elderly citizens have been forced to take off their dress clothes and pick up rusty spears to break up the fights.

And for that offence
Immediately we do exile him hence;
I have an interest in your hate’s proceeding,
My blood for your rude brawls doth lie a-bleeding;
But I’ll amerce you with so strong a fine
That you shall all repent the loss of mine:
I will be deaf to pleading and excuses;
Nor tears nor prayers shall purchase out abuses:
Therefore use none.

– William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet, Act 3, Scene 1. Prince Escalus tells the feuding Montagues and Capulets that Romeo is to be exiled from Verona for killing Tybalt. The city’s authority figure decides against executing him. The Prince explains that he has been personally impacted by the feud with the killing of his cousin Mercutio. Warning both sides of such heavy fines that they will be sorry for his relation’s death, he tells them that he doesn’t want to hear another word or excuse from them.

We still have known thee for a holy man.

– William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet, Act 5, Scene 3. Prince Escalus makes this moral judgment on Friar Laurence at the end of the play after the Friar confesses everything. Despite secretly marrying Romeo and Juliet and giving Juliet a sleeping potion to escape marriage to Paris, the Friar is forgiven by the Prince. While the Friar’s rash actions may have contributed to the fall of Romeo and Juliet, the Prince appears to accept the good-natured Friar’s honorable intentions. He sees him as more good than evil.

See, what a scourge is laid upon your hate,
That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love.
And I for winking at your discords too
Have lost a brace of kinsmen: all are punish’d.

– William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet, Act 5, Scene 3. Prince Escalus chastises Capulet and Montague and holds them responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s double suicide. He tells them that the evil feud and hate between the families led to the loss of their children. He also blames himself for losing two of his own family by turning a blind eye to the feud. As a result all of them have been punished. Escalus says, with irony, that heaven found a way of killing Capulet and Montague’s joys – their children – with the love they had for one another. He also personifies heaven, giving it the human ability to kill.

A glooming peace this morning with it brings;
The sun, for sorrow, will not show his head:
Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things.

– William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet, Act 5, Scene 3. In his final lines Prince Escalus reflects on the terrible price paid to end the Capulet-Montague feud – the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. The motifs of light and dark are used to show the sadness of such a terrible sacrifice. The sun is personified as being so sorrowful that it refuses to shine on this day.
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