The text provided is a slightly altered version of the famous dialogue between Romeo and Juliet during their first meeting in William Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet." Let's translate and clarify the original text to understand the interaction better.
ROMEO:
If I profane with my unworthiest hand
This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this:
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.
JULIET:
Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,
Which mannerly devotion shows in this;
For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch,
And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss.
ROMEO:
Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?
JULIET:
Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.
ROMEO:
If I profane with my unworthiest hand
This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this:
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.
Translation:
Romeo is saying that if he has offended Juliet by touching her hand (which he compares to a holy shrine) with his unworthy hand, he is ready to make amends with a kiss. He poetically refers to his lips as "two blushing pilgrims" that are ready to smooth over the roughness of his touch with a tender kiss.
JULIET:
Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,
Which mannerly devotion shows in this;
For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch,
And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss.
Translation:
Juliet responds by saying that Romeo is too harsh on himself. She suggests that his touch is not offensive but rather shows a respectful devotion. She explains that just as pilgrims touch the hands of saints, it is appropriate for their hands to touch. She adds that a "holy palmers' kiss" is when two hands come together, palm to palm.
ROMEO:
Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?
Translation:
Romeo continues the metaphor by asking if saints and pilgrims also have lips.
JULIET:
Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.
Translation:
Juliet agrees but points out that saints and pilgrims use their lips for prayer, not for kissing.
In this exchange, Romeo and Juliet engage in a playful and poetic dialogue filled with religious imagery. Romeo uses the metaphor of a pilgrim visiting a holy shrine to express his desire to kiss Juliet. Juliet, in turn, plays along with the metaphor, suggesting that their hands can touch in a holy manner, but lips should be used for prayer. This interaction highlights their immediate attraction and the cleverness of their wordplay.
Juliet is not directly expressing her love and admiration for Romeo in this passage. Instead, she is engaging in a witty and flirtatious exchange, using religious imagery to navigate the social proprieties of their first meeting. This dialogue sets the stage for their deepening relationship and showcases Shakespeare's masterful use of language and metaphor.
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