If I profane with my unworthiest hand This holy shrine…
““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: O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do; They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair. Juliet: Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake. Romeo: Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take. Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged. Juliet: Then have my lips the sin that they have took. Romeo: Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again. Juliet: You kiss by the book.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
The dialogue uses religious imagery to justify a kiss, equating it with a sacred act that can cleanse sin.
In simple terms: A kiss is portrayed as a holy, purifying act.
Key Takeaway
Treat love as a sacred exchange.
Themes
love
religion
purification
desire
intimacy
Mood
passionate
playful
intense
Type
dramatic
poetic
romantic
When to use this quote
- courtship
- confession of love
- ritual intimacy
- spiritual metaphor
- dramatic dialogue
Key Concepts
symbolism
metaphor
theology
romantic idealism
Questions to Reflect On
- How does framing desire as holy affect its perception?
- Can love truly cleanse moral transgressions?
A Different Perspective
The metaphor may trivialize serious religious concepts for romantic purposes.