By Torsten Schwanke
"Greet the nymph Juliet and the church in her house!"
(Apocryphal Letter of the Apostle Paul)
"Madonna Juliet is a wise soul who has lived since time immemorial, she is ripe to enter Nirvana. But out of mercy she remains on earth to bless the wretched sons of men with her gracious smile."
(Dalai Lama's judgement)
SCENE I
(Romeo and his cousin in the street.)
COUSIN
Oh cousin! Good morning!
ROMEO
Has the sun risen yet?
COUSIN
It's about nine o'clock in the morning.
ROMEO
Time creeps slowly in sadness.
COUSIN
Then tell me why you are so sad.
ROMEO
What could shorten the time for me - love -.
Alas, alas, the beloved is not here!
COUSIN
You are in love!
ROMEO
But unattainable is -
COUSIN
Love?
ROMEO
But unattainable is the mistress's heart!
COUSIN
Love smiles so charming and kind,
But cruel is her heart and hard as stone!
ROMEO
But Cupid still sees with blindfolded eyes,
Blind Cupid always finds ways.
Ah woe! How bitchy is love!
Oh what a mixture of hate and love!
Yes, everything that exists - created from nothing!
The recklessness of the lover is made of melancholy,
Profound do the puffed-up mockers,
Out of chaos emerge feminine forms,
The wings of the lover are made of lead.
And where there is fire, there is smoke,
The beloved's ice kindles my embers,
I'm blissful and I'm sick with love
And at night I'm wide awake in my deep sleep
And contradict myself. That's what love is like.
I love! But I don't love like that!
Well, can't I make you laugh?
COUSIN
I'd rather feel like crying.
ROMEO
Why?
COUSIN
I pity you for your love's woes.
ROMEO
Love itself is to blame for its sufferings,
The pain is already in my heart.
Your pity would only increase my suffering.
Love is like a mist, produced by sighs,
But when the mist fades, love glows
And shines in the eyes of lovers.
But if this love is grieved, it weeps
And becomes a sea in the eyes of lovers.
What else can I say about love?
It is the madness of wise philosophers!
You want to choke bile from your throat
And yet love is sweet as bee's honey.
COUSIN
Tell me, Romeo, with whom art thou in love?
ROMEO
I love a woman! A blissful woman!
O, she is beautiful! Yes, she is a beauty!
COUSIN
Yes, Cupid's arrows always aim at beauties.
ROMEO
She will not be a target for Cupid's arrows!
The lady is as chaste as the Madonna!
COUSIN
Has she sworn not to take a husband?
ROMEO
Ah, she wastes all her charms,
She will give her charms to no man.
COUSIN
Forget the woman and think of her no more.
ROMEO
Then I would have to refrain from thinking.
COUSIN
You shall look for other beautiful girls.
ROMEO
If I saw a girl, superhumanly beautiful,
I'd only think of my beloved,
Because Rosa is as beautiful as a goddess!
SCENE II
(Juliet‘s mother, Juliet's nurse and Juliet in her house.)
JULIET'S MOTHER
You dear nurse, where is my daughter?
I want to talk to my daughter now.
NURSE
I have already called her, yes, so true.
I myself was a virgin at sixteen.
Ladybird! I cried: dear lamb!
God keep you! Where are you, sweet Juliet?
JULIET
Who wants to see me?
NURSE
Dear mama wants to talk to you.
MOTHER
Me, your mother!
JULIET
What is it, mom?
MOTHER
It's about this... Leave us alone, nurse,
We must talk in secret... Stay, nurse,
I want you to hear what we're talking about,
You know my child is now sixteen years old.
NURSE
I know, she'll soon be seventeen.
That's how old my daughter Catharine was,
When God took her to paradise!
God rest her soul in paradise!
Well, Catharine is with the good Lord,
She was too loving for this earth!
But when will Juliet be seventeen?
I still remember how I weaned her, the sweet one,
Then I put on the nipples of my breasts
Something bitter, I sat the doves
In the garden - Lady, you were abroad -
There tasted Juliet bitters on my breasts,
The sweet fool, how she looked angry
At my breasts, she found them not sweet at all!
Then the dove and the pigeon beat above
And spread their wings and cooed
And pecked at my breasts with their beaks!
That was thirteen years ago, back then,
Oh, back then Juliet could already walk,
So waddling she ran like a little duckling,
Then she fell down on the stones.
With her face, and my husband said:
Look, Juliett, always fall on your back!
By Our Lady! The sweet little doll
With sweet smile said softly, Yes.
I still hear it, as my husband said,
Always fall on your back, Juliet!
And then how Juliet smilingly said, Yes.
MOTHER
Don't talk such nonsense, dear nurse.
NURSE
I'll be quiet already. Keep you safe, Juliet!
You were the most beautiful child I ever nursed!
If I could still celebrate your wedding with you!
MOTHER
That's what I wanted to say. It's time
To marry. Juliet, do you want to get married?
JULIET
I have not yet dreamed of this cross.
NURSE
Of the cross! As I had not nursed you,
I thought Lady Wisdom had nursed you!
SCENE III
(Romeo and his friend in front of the Lady's festively lit house.)
ROMEO
Wilt thou go with me to this feast,
My friend, I think thou dost not act so wisely.
FRIEND
What do you mean?
ROMEO
Prophetically a dream came to me tonight.
FRIEND
I dreamed too: that dreams are dreams!
ROMEO
No, my dreams are so often prophetic!
FRIEND
To you, I suppose, comes the fairy-queen?
She is as small as the ruby on the ring
On the little finger of an old man.
The horses of her chariot are made of dust
And blow on the noses of dreamers by night,
The wheel spokes are made of spider's limbs,
The silk curtain of dragonfly wings,
The horses' bridles are of Luna's light,
The leather whip is made of seed threads,
The coachman in the black skirt is the mosquito,
Much smaller than half an earthworm,
The carriage is made of a walnut shell,
Squirrels made them as carpenters,
Since the old days the elves are carpenters.
So night after night she hunts through the brain
Of the lover who then dreams of love,
Even sometimes through the brains of lawyers,
Who then dream of the golden treasure,
And sometimes through the brains of mature women,
Who then passionately dream of kissing,
But get a sickness on their lips,
She flies through the brains of old tobacco smokers,
Who then dream of fresh peppermint,
Sometimes she flies through the brains of wicked monks,
Who then lustfully dream of little boys.
This is the same queen of the fairies,
Who braids the horses' manes,
The long mane in curls she lets flow,
The mare's long mane curls up to her tight thighs,
But then the rider wants to untie the knot,
She prophesies misfortune for the rider.
The queen of the fairies is the witch,
Her name is Lilith, as the Jews called her,
She torments the woman who lies on her back,
Who makes love with a bogeyman demon,
Who receives from a ghost,
That she may receive a bastard.
ROMEO
Be quiet! You talk nothing but stupid stuff!
FRIEND
The children of the brain in idleness
Are born of imagination.
Woman's imagination is as airy as the air
And flees from you even faster than the wind,
She rides away from you on the storm!
Today she blows on the ice in the far north
And tomorrow she blows on the hot south,
She blows you out of yourself at last!
Now come, let's go to the lovely party.
ROMEO
I see darkness! Misfortune is coming from heaven!
I will end this life I hate,
Very soon end this life of mine!
The night that led me into this world,
Will lead me out of this world too.
Well, dear friend, we'll go to the celebration.
FRIEND
They will beat drums as thunder!
SCENE IV
(Romeo and Juliet at the party in the Lady's house.)
ROMEO
Do I profane this divine altar
With my sinful hand, forgive me, sweetheart!
Blushing, the pilgrim's lips approach,
That I may atone with a little kiss!
JULIET
Thou pilgrim, call not this hand sacrilegious,
That touches me in chaste humility.
Who turned to Our Lady,
The pilgrim let go of his melancholy.
ROMEO
Has Our Lady also a mouth?...
JULIET
Yes, even to sip the pious wine,
Above all, to pray with sweet, sweet lips,
To pray to God from the bottom of her heart.
ROMEO
Touch me with your hands of grace,
Or else my faith will end in despair!
JULIET
Madonna remains on her cloud
And yet she will grant you mercy.
ROMEO
So smile like the Madonna
And give me what my will begs of you.
(He kisses Juliet)
My mouth has given greeting to your mouth,
My mouth is now unblessed by your kiss!
JULIET
Ah, that I now find on my lips,
Sealed by thy kiss, thy sin!
ROMEO
Ah, Juliet, give me back my sin!
Then I'll sing love songs to your lips.
JULIET
You kiss like a prayer all the time,
Like the rosary's string of pearls.
NURSE
My dear child, Mom wants to speak to you.
ROMEO
Who is the mother of such a girl?
NURSE
Yes, young man, the mother of this girl,
She is the high mistress of this house,
Is a loving, tender, merciful
And kind-hearted and pious Lady!
But whoever takes her daughter to wife,
He will also inherit a rich inheritance.
SCENE V
(Priest and Romeo in Our Lady‘s Chapel.)
PRIEST
God bless your marriage today
And may later keep you from harm!
ROMEO
Yes and amen, yes and amen! All the sorrow,
All the pain shall always do what it can,
It's nothing compared to the delight
Just one moment in Juliet's presence!
Let us clasp our hands in blessing,
Then comes death, the murderer of sweet love,
It's enough for me that Juliet was mine!
PRIEST
Such swift joy comes to a swift end
And dies in white embers, like sparks
And black powder, uniting, explode!
If you eat too much of the sweet honey,
You'll soon be disgusted by honey.
Love in moderation, for then love remains,
Love not too fast, nor too slow,
For then your wife will be satisfied.
(Juliet appears)
Here comes the girl! Such flowery feet,
They leave no trace on this earth,
She is like a fairy, like a breath!
Yes, he who is in love walks on clouds,
So easy one becomes through loveliness!
ROMEO
O Juliet, if your happiness is as great as mine
And if you can speak better of happiness,
Sweeten the air with thy pure breath
And let the tongue vibrate musically
Of the happiness of love that we give each other
In this celestial hour of our wedding!
JULIET
Feelings that are deeper than words
Can ever tell, are too proud
Of their awareness of their beautiful ways
And need no art to express themselves
With make-up and with jewels and rimes.
Who can count what he has? The beggar.
But I am so rich, so abundant
In lust for life and happiness in love and delight,
That of a tenth of my wealth
I could never calculate the whole sum.
PRIEST
Let us seal the sacrament of marriage!
That you no longer must love in secret,
God through his priest will unite you.
SCENE VI
(Juliet alone in her room in the evening.)
JULIET
O black Mother Nnight, spread out your mantle,
That Romeo, seen by no one,
Into my arms may rush! The lovers
See clearly enough by the light of their own beauty,
To play loves' fair sports.
If Cupid be blind, it may be dark.
Come, black Mother Night in dark dress,
O pure Virgin, teach me to lose
The maiden's sacred virginity!
Let no one see the red of my cheeks,
Cover me with thy starry mantle
Until shy love grows bolder
And honestly does the works of true love!
Come, black Mother Night! Come, Romeo!
Come, Romeo, sun of my night!
On black swan's wings thou shalt dazzle
Like white snow on a clear New Year's night.
Come, dark night! Come, sweet night of love!
Bring my Romeo to my arms
And give him to me! And if he dies this night,
Turn him into a galaxy!
He will beautify heaven's paradise,
That every poet is in love with Mother Night
And no one will pay homage to the god of the sun.
I have bought the flat of sweet love,
The dwelling I have not yet inhabited,
I am sold to my husband
And yet I am an untouched virgin.
How long this evening hour lasts!
I feel like a child on the eve of its birthday.
Here comes my well-beloved nurse.
(Nurse appears)
He that knows aught of Romeo
Blessed be his tongue
And most loquacious eloquence!
NURSE
O dead is Romeo - -
SCENE VII
(The priest and Romeo in Our Lady‘s Chapel)
PRIEST
Awake, Romeo, arise again! - - -
(Romeo rises)
The sovereign gives thee not the sentence of death,
The sovereign now sends thee to banishment!
ROMEO
Banishment is the ruin of the world!
PRIEST
How merciful is the sovereign, he changes
Death into banishment for life.
ROMEO
Banishment is worse than death!
I die a thousand times, but may I not die?
How many more deaths will I die on earth,
Until my death gives me birth to heavenly life?
PRIEST
You are only banished from this city.
Patiently bear the sufferings of banishment.
On earth other joys await you.
ROMEO
No, beyond this city there is no joy,
Only tortures like in purgatory,
Only mad torments like in the abyss of hell!
PRIEST
Mortal sin! Ungrateful are you to grace!
Do you not understand the mercy of the Lord?
ROMEO
Mercy, ah, mercy is a martyrdom!
Here is the paradise where Juliet lives!
Ah, every white mouse and black cat
May see Juliet, and I may not see her!
Even a fly has more rights
Than I, the fly may sit on Juliet's hand
And sit blissfully and touch this marvellous work,
Touch it, may even kiss Juliet's cheek,
Only I may not touch Juliet, ah woe is me,
I'm banished from Juliet's paradise!
The fly is more blissful than I!
Life is banishment!
That's what the damned in hell hear!
Confessor of my guilt-stricken soul,
How dare you speak such harsh words?
Man of God, be my help and my comfort!
PRIEST
In the madness of idiotic infatuation,
Canst thou hear a word of Wisdom there?
ROMEO
Speak not of banishment for life!
PRIEST
God give thee sweet milk in thy affliction:
Study the Wisdom of all philosophers!
The Wisdom of the philosophers will comfort you
In thy lifelong banishment.
ROMEO
Again: banishment for life!
Hang philosophers on lampposts!
Lady Wisdom does not give me the beauty of Juliet!
PRIEST
Madmen hear no counsel,
Idiots have no ears.
ROMEO
Philosophers have no eyes:
They have never seen Juliet's beauty!
SCENE VIII
(Dawn. Romeo and Juliet in their marriage bed.)
JULIET
Will you rise already, darling? It is still night.
It was the nightingale, not the lark,
That sang sweetly in thine ear.
There on the tree she sings every night.
My bridegroom, it was the nightingale.
ROMEO
It was the lark that praises the sun,
Ah, not the nightingale. Orange veils
I already see glowing in the morning clouds.
The night has blown out its candles
And the sun rises, radiant and bright.
JULIET
That is no sunlight, I know it, I!
It's a meteor with a tail of fire,
That holds your torch in my night.
Stay still in bed, you don't need to get up.
ROMEO
I'll gladly stay, if you ask me so kindly.
The light grey is not the dawn,
Those are not the eyelashes of the Aurore,
The bright glow is the Luna's gleam.
The birdsong in the high heavenly dome
Is not the lark's young jubilation.
I'd rather stay in bed,
That's much nicer than getting up.
Welcome, death, welcome, Sister Death - - -
You'll find me joking in bed with Juliet.
(The curtain falls. The audience applauds.)