In Act 2, scene 4, Romeo is horsing around in the streets with his friends, but when Juliet's nurse approaches him in order to learn what arrangements he has made for his marriage to Juliet, he and she retire to speak privately of it. Romeo purposely gets rid of Benvolio and Mercutio, telling them, "I will follow you," when Mercutio asks if he will go with them to his father's house (2.4.144). Only after Romeo's friends depart does he tell the nurse of his plans. He says, "Bid [Juliet] devise / Some means to come to shrift this afternoon, / And there she shall at Friar Lawrence' cell / Be shrived and married" (2.4.183-185). His instruction, then, is that Juliet should make up a story, some reason that she needs to go to confession this afternoon; instead, however, when she gets there, she and Romeo will be wed. Juliet would not have to lie about the reason for her going to church if the marriage were not a secret. Further, at the end of Act 2, scene 6, it is only Friar Lawrence, Romeo, and Juliet who exit the scene to take part in their wedding; the absence of other guests indicate that the wedding is taking place in secret (2.6.38).
Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
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