The Only Use of
solemn
in
Romeo and Juliet
- All things that we ordained festival
Turn from their office to black funeral:
Our instruments to melancholy bells;
Our wedding cheer to a sad burial feast;
Our solemn hymns to sullen dirges change;
Our bridal flowers serve for a buried corse,
And all things change them to the contrary.†Scene 4.5solemn = very serious--possibly dignified
Definitions:
-
(1)
(solemn) in a very serious (and often dignified) manner
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Less commonly, solemn can mean that something was done with great or appropriate ceremony. It can also be used to describe something as dark or undecorated.