Romeo and Juliet
The most famous plant line in Shakespeare might be Juliet's question:
What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.
But roses aren't just about romance here—they're about the bloody family feud, since the red and white roses marked the opposing sides in England's Wars of the Roses. When Juliet wakes in the tomb, she finds rosemary scattered on Romeo's body—"rosemary for remembrance," the herb of weddings and funerals both.
The Friar's garden holds the play's turning point: he enters gathering herbs and musing on how the same plant can heal or kill,
For naught so vile that on the earth doth live
But to the earth some special good doth give.
It's from these plants that he makes the poison-that's-not-poison for Juliet's fake death. Pomegranates mark the moment when night turns to day and Romeo must leave or die. Even willows appear, symbols of grief and forsaken love.
The plants track every turn from desire to despair—and remind us that the difference between remedy and poison is just a matter of dose.
The Story, Told in Plants
The Friar enters his garden musing that every plant can heal or kill — it's only a matter of how you use it. From that garden comes the poison-that-isn't-poison that sets everything in motion. Even the rose that Juliet names is tangled up in England's bloodiest war.
This video was created by members of the Colorado Shakespeare Gardens and narrated by longtime CSF actor Chuck Wilcox.
For more information on (CC) artwork in this video, click here.
Not every plant Shakespeare mentioned will grow in Colorado.
These are the ones that do; currently growing in our Romeo and Juliet garden.
Curious about a specific plant?
Visit our Plant Library for the full story.
