One of the most important things one can do when working with a Shakespeare play is to listen to the text. 

After all, the plays were written for an audience; audio is the primary sense for which Shakespeare wrote. While we might say we are going to see a play, Elizabethans often said they were going to hear one.

The first conversation between Romeo and Juliet reveals just how much meaning comes from the sound of words, even before we start thinking about their dictionary definitions. Let's play with just the sound of this text.

Say the lines out loud, exaggerating your pronunciation, so you can really hear every sound.

Romeo

If I prophane with my unworth’st hand

This holy shrine, the gentle sin 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 palmer’s kiss.

Now repeat the words, listening for the consonants.  Are there any that seem to be repeated or used a lot?

Romeo

If I prophane with my unworth’st hand

This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this:

My lips two blushing pilgrims did 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 palmer’s kiss.

Did you hear how many s's are in these lines?

Romeo

If I prophane with my unworth’st hand

This holy shrine the gentle sin 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 palmer's kiss.

If you say the lines again, you may hear how many "s" combination sounds there are as well — sounds like "st" and "sh".  Remember, you're listening for words that use an s-combination sound; the "ti" in the word tradition is an "sh" sound. You’re not looking for words with “s”, “st” or “sh”; “is” is spelled with an “s”, but the sound is “z”.

Romeo

If I prophane with my unworth’st hand

This holy shrine the gentle sin 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 palmer's kiss.

Now, just play with the sounds ”s”, "sh”, “st”.

Say them slowly: “s,sh,st,s,sh,st,s,sh,st”

Say them fast: “s,sh,st,s,sh,st,s,sh,st”

What does that sound like?  

99% of the people with whom we’ve worked said "whispering". Shakespeare has written lines which sound like whispering even if the actors saying them have to speak in full volume, so that the audience can hear them.

If Romeo and Juliet were actually whispering, what might that mean?

They would be within "whispering" distance. We can begin to picture where they are in relation to one another: they've got to be pretty close. (Remember that image, because it will be important in another study guide for this scene.)

• Whispering gives a sense of secrecy. Certainly Romeo knows this conversation can't be too public, because he knows he's not supposed to be at this party and if he's discovered . . . well, the audience has already heard Juliet's cousin Tybalt, who knows Romeo is there, say what he wants to do to him. With a sense of secret or hidden conversation, we begin to think about where Romeo and Juliet are in relation to other people at the party.

• Whispering can be sexy. Or "steamy". 1% of the people with whom we’ve worked said the "s, st, sh" sounded like steam. If you are a musical theater person, you may know "I Got Steam Heat" from The Pajama Game; it uses the "st" sound in a very sexy way.

Good work! We haven't even begun to think about the meaning of what Romeo and Juliet are saying to each other, but we already have a sense of what's going on:

• They are close to one another.

• They are being secretive or setting themselves apart from others.

• They are attracted to one another.