In Act 2, scene 1, of Romeo and Juliet the party has just ended and everyone is heading home after an evening of debauchery. Romeo has separated himself from his friends and hidden in the garden, after falling in love with Juliet. He can still hear his friends, but he hopes to catch a glimpse of the woman that he loves.
Benvolio calls for Romeo, since he's ready to head home, but Romeo doesn't answer....
In Act 2, scene 1, of Romeo and Juliet the party has just ended and everyone is heading home after an evening of debauchery. Romeo has separated himself from his friends and hidden in the garden, after falling in love with Juliet. He can still hear his friends, but he hopes to catch a glimpse of the woman that he loves.
Benvolio calls for Romeo, since he's ready to head home, but Romeo doesn't answer. His tone is friendly and placating, since Mercutio clearly doesn't want to stay any longer. Mercutio calls out to Romeo in a mocking way, poking fun at Romeo's unrequited feelings for Rosaline, summoning him in her name by describing her beautiful body.
Romeo continues to ignore them and Mercutio grows more impudent, saying that he wishes that Rosaline would sleep with Romeo already, making a vulgar joke about a fruit tree that would probably be in the garden. If Romeo were still in love with Rosaline, he would probably be furious at how cavalierly Mercutio is talking about her - much the same way that we wouldn't want our friends disrespecting our loved ones in a sexual tone. Now that Romeo is in love with Juliet, he no longer cares about what Mercutio says regarding Rosaline.
After Mercutio and Benvolio grow tired of waiting for Romeo to appear, they leave, presumably heading to bed. Upon their departure, Romeo mentions that it's easy for those who have never been in love to joke about how much it hurts. "He jests at scars that never felt a wound." (2,2)
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