"'Oh! she doth teach the torches to burn bright.
It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night...'" (pg. 178)
This couplet, obviously taken from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, is very important to John. He sees himself as Romeo and Lenina as Juliet, but the problem is that she just sees him as another man she wants to be with. Helmholtz has not only never heard Shakespeare, but he has never heard most of the themes within them. I'm not surprised when he laughs about love. In a way, it's the same thing as when I laugh about their lack of love. They're two very distinct cultures, and they don't really have much in common. I'm surprised that John was that offended about Helmholtz laughing, because at this point, he should recognize that these people don't view love and marriage as he does. Shakespeare is supposed to be banned, but they're all reading it, so if they're caught, they're going to be in a lot of trouble.
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