| List the characters who belong to the Capulets. | Juliet, Nurse, Tybalt, Sampson, Peter, Lord Capulet, Lady Capulet, Paris, Gregory |
| List the characters who belong to the Montagues. | Romeo, Lord Montague, Lady Montague, Benvolio, Mercutio, Abraham, Balthasar |
| Who is arguing at the beginning of Act I? | Sampson and Greogory |
| Who is trying to prevent the violence at the beginning of Act I? | Benvolio |
| What does Lady Capulet think of her husband fighting? | Lord Capulet is waay too old to fight. |
| What does the Prince say about these families fighting again? | They will die if they “disturb the peace”. |
| How do you know that Lord Montague trusts Benvolio? | because Montague asks him about what happened before and during the fight and doesn’t doubt Benvolio’s answer at all |
| When we first meet Romeo, what is his state of mind? | he’s completely depressed because the girl he loves doesn’t like him back |
| What does Paris want of Capulet and how does he support his argument? | Paris wants Capulet’s blessing to marry Juliet and supports his argument by saying that there are other 13-year-olds already happily married. |
| How does Romeo find out about the Capulet party? Why does Benvolio want him to go? | Romeo finds out by reading the invitation aloud for the illiterate Peter. Bevnolio wants him to go to get over Rosaline by falling over another beautiful woman. |
| Who is more like a mother to Juliet? | Nurse |
| Why doesn’t Juliet want to get married? | because she hasn’t thought about it yet |
| What are Romeo and his friends going to wear to the party? Why is this beneficial? Why doesn’t Romeo want to go? | They’re going to wear masks which will conceal the fact that they’re Montagues. Romeo doesn’t want to go because he’s lovesick and depressed thus in no mood to dance and be happy. |
| What is the conflict between Romeo and Tybalt? What might this foreshadow? | Tybalt wants to kill Romeo for crashing the Capulets’ party. This foreshadows a fight between Romeo and Tybalt. |
| How long did it take for Romeo to fall in love with Juliet and forget about Rosalind? | Romeo falls in love with Juliet at first sight and instantly forgets about Rosalind. |
| How much time has passed in the play after Act I has ended? | a few hours |
| What are Benvolio and Mercutio doing in the beginning of Act II? | Benvolio and Mercutio are mocking Romeo for loving Rosaline |
| With what does Romeo liken Juliet? | Romeo compares Juliet to light. |
| To what are Juliet’s eyes compared? What does the image mean? | Juliet’s eyes are “two of the fairest stars in all of heaven”. It means that her eyes are the brightest. |
| Paraphrase: “O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse the name and if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love and I will no longer be a Capulet.” | Oh Romeo! Why do you have to be Romeo? Change your last name. If not, just swear your love to me and I’ll change my last name instead. |
| What does Romeo deny? | Romeo denies his own name for Juliet. |
| How does Romeo say that he finds Juliet? | by love |
| With what is Juliet concerned in the following lines? “If thou does love, pronounce it faithfully: Or if thou think’st I am too quickly won, I’ll frown and be perverse and say they nay” | She’s concerned that she’s being too eager and rash about confessing her love. |
| By what does Romeo swear? Why is this ironic? | Romeo swears by the moon and himself. This is ironic because both are constantly changing. |
| Who proposes to whom? | Juliet proposes to Romeo. |
| Describe the Friar and Romeo’s relationship. | Romeo trusts Friar and treats him like a fatherly mentor. |
| Why does the Friar agree to marry Romeo and Juliet? | He agrees to marry the couple in order to turn their families’ hate into love. |
| Why are Mercutio and Benvolio surprised at Romeo? | They’re surprised because he isn’t lovesick/depressed anymore and is cracking jokes. |
| Describe how Mercutio treats the Nurse. | Mercutio treats the Nurse rudely, calling her fat and ugly. |
| How does the Nurse tease Juliet? | Nurse teases Juliet by stalling and withholding information about Romeo’s response. |
| What is the foreshadowing the last scene of Act II? | “These violent delights have violent ends / And in their triumph die” (Friar Lawrence) |
| What happens at the end of Act II? | Friar leads Romeo and Juliet to the church to get married. |
| Who is fighting in the beginning of Act III? | Mercutio and Tybalt |
| Who starts the fight in the beginning of Act III? | Mercutio |
| Name the characters who die in the fight at the beginning of Act III and who killed whom. | Tybalt kills Mercutio. |
| Whom does Mercutio curse? Why? | Mercutio curses both the Montagues and Capulets since he dies as a result of the feud between the two families. |
| Why does the Prince banish Romeo instead of killing him? | The Prince banishes Romeo instead of killing him because although served justice by killing Mercutio’s murderer, Tybalt, he also disturbed the peace by doing so. Since the Prince vowed to kill any of the Montagues or Capulets if they disturb the city’s peace, the Prince gives a lighter punishment to Romeo. |
| What does the Friar say about the banishment? | The Friar says banishment is much better than death. |
| How does the Nurse change in Act III? | The Nurse switches from supporting Romeo to Paris. |
| What is Juliet’s dilemma in scene 2 of Act III? | Her dilemma is whether to keep loving Romeo, or hate him for murdering Tybalt. |
| Why does Capulet think that Juliet is upset? | because of Tybalt’s death |
| What is Romeo’s state of mind in scene 3 of Act III? | pessimistic |
| What does Romeo think about the banishment? | He thinks that banishment is worse than death. |
| What message does Nurse bring to Romeo and the Friar? | Nurse tells them that Juliet wants to meet Romeo and gives him Juliet’s ring, showing that Juliet still loves him. |
| Why does Capulet agree to Juliet’s marriage to Paris? | Capulet agrees because he wants to stop Juliet’s mourning and replace it with a happy day. |
| Describe Romeo and Juliet’s conversation in the orchard. | At first, Juliet insists that the nightingale is singing, not the lark while Romeo says the opposite. Juliet asks him to stay, and Romeo says he’d gladly stay with her and die instead. Juliet then tells Romeo to leave quickly in order to stay alive. Just before leaving, Romeo and Juliet foreshadow each other’s death. |
| How is Capulet a hypocrite? | Before Tybalt’s death, Capulet says that Juliet should marry someone she loves and tells Paris to wait two years before marrying Juliet. Two days after, Capulet forces Juliet to marry Paris. |
| What does Juliet swear to do at the end of Act III? | to kill herself if the Friar doesn’t have a solution |
| What reason does Paris give to the Friar for the immediate wedding? | Capulet wants to end Juliet’s unhappiness. |
| When Paris and Juliet speak, she talks in a way that satisfies Paris but the reader knows that she is not committing to him. List the responses that could be vague or have a dual meaning. | “That may be, sir, when I may be a wife.””I will confess to you that I love him.””It may be so, for it is not mine own.” |
| What does Juliet threaten if the Friar does not help her? | suicide |
| What is the plan that the Friar decides? Be specific. | 1. Juliet goes home and agrees to marry Paris.2. Take a potion that makes one appear dead for 42 hours the night before the wedding alone (without Nurse)3. Her family will discover Juliet “dead” in the morning and bury her in the Capulets’ tomb.4. Meanwhile, Friar will send a message to Romeo about their plans.5. Friar and Romeo will fetch Juliet from her tomb and bring her to Mantua. |
| What does Lord Capulet do to put a “wrench” in the plans that Juliet and Friar have agreed upon? | He moves the wedding to Wednesday. |
| How does Juliet get rid of the Nurse and Lady Capulet? | She asks for time alone to pray and tells Nurse that she should help Lady Capulet with the sudden wedding preparations. |
| Juliet’s monologue in scene 3 of Act IV is very important to understanding her state of mind. What is she worried about? What is her tone? | Juliet is frantic and scared. She’s worried about:- the potion won’t work and she’ll have to marry Paris – the Friar disguised the potion as a poison so that he wouldn’t be disgraced for marrying Juliet twice- Romeo doesn’t arrive in time so Juliet wakes up in the tomb and suffocates.- If she wakes up in the tomb, ghosts (including Tybalt’s) and dead bodies/skeletons will surround her and cause Juliet to go mad. |
| Who finds Juliet? What does this person say in response? | Nurse finds Juliet. At first, Nurse thinks that she’s just in a deep sleep then is horrified. |
| How are Lady and Lord Capulet acting like hypocrites? | Just a day before Juliet’s death, they scorned and threatened to kick Juliet out of the house. After her death, the mourn for her and wish that she was still alive.“` |
| Who does Lord Capulet say is his son-in-law? | Death |
| Paraphrase: “O me, O me! My child, my only life, revive, look up, or I will die with thee!” What does this reveal about Lady Capulet? | Why me? My daughter, my reason for living up, please wake up or I will die with you!reveals that Lady Capulet does care about Juliet |
| What does the Friar say everyone should do? | He says that everyone should prepare Juliet’s corpse and bring it to the Capulets’ tomb instead of standing there and crying. |
| What leads to Romeo going to the vault early? | because of Balthasar bringing news of Juliet’s “death” |
| Why does Romeo go the apothecary? | to buy an illegal fatal poison |
| Why does the apothecary sell Romeo an illegal drug? | because he’s poor and desparate |
| Why couldn’t Friar John deliver the letter to Romeo? | because guards were afraid that they would spread the plague |
| What must the Friar do to make his plan work? | He must retrieve Juliet himself and keep her in his cell while sending word of his plan to Romeo again. |
| Whom does Romeo see at the tomb? | Paris |
| What does Romeo tell Balthasar to do? | Romeo tells him to leave him alone and deliver a letter to his father in the morning. |
| What does Romeo say that the gates are like? | a mouth |
| Why do Romeo and Paris fight? | Paris thinks Romeo is there to vandalize the Capulets’ tomb in revenge while Romeo just wants to be alone to commit suicide next to Juliet. |
| Why does the Friar leave the tomb? | because he’s scared. |
| List all the characters who die in the last act. | – Paris- Romeo- Juliet- Lady Montague |
| What does the Friar admit to? Why does he tell the story? | He admits to Romeo and Juliet’s love story. He tells the story because he feels guilty and because he’s the only one who knows the complete story. |
| How is the Friar proven correct? | Romeo’s letter to his father |
| Why does the prince take some of the blame? | because he wasn’t strict enough with the feud beforehand |
| How does the play end? | The Capulets and Montagues make peace after discovering Juliet’s, Romeo’s, and Paris’s bodies. |
| “She’ll not be hit/ with cupid’s arrow… From Love’s weak childish bow she lives unharmed.” | Romeo – talking about Rosalind’s chastity |
| “o, she doth teach the torches to burn bright.” | Romeo – talking about Juliet’s beauty |
| “…he’s a man of wax…he’s a flower … a very flower.” | Nurse – says Paris is hot |
| “…give him such an unaccustomed dram that he shall soon keep Tybalt company;” | Lady Capulet – is willing to send out a man to Mantua to secretly poison Romeo |
| “Death is my son-in-law. Death is my heir.” | Capulet – after Juliet’s death |
| “in one respect I’ll thy assistant be; For this alliance may so happy prove To turn your households’ rancor to pure love.” | Friar – part of the reason why he agrees to marry Juliet and Romeo |
| “Oh, I am fortune’s fool!” | Romeo – after he kills Tybalt |
| “Romeo is banished: to speak that word is father, mother, Tybalt, Romeo, Juliet, All slain, all dead!” | Juliet – thinks Romeo’s banishment is worse than the death of all her family members |
| “Therefore love moderately: long love doth so…” | Friar – tells R+J that a moderate love will last longer before marrying them |
| “But you shall bear the burden soon at night.” | Nurse – talking to Juliet about her love with Romeo |
| “Young men’s love then lies not truly in their hearts but in their eyes.” | Friar – Romeo loves girls for their looks, not personality |
| “If love be rough with you, be rough with love.” | Mercutio – trying to talk Romeo out of his lovesickness and to join the Capulets’ party |
| “Love goes toward love as school boys from their books.” | Romeo – not wanting to part with Juliet |
| “It is the East, and Juliet is the sun.” | Romeo |
| “And but one word with one of us? Couple it with something: make it a word and a blow.” | Mercutio – threatening Paris |
| “Wisely, and slow. They stumble that run fast.” | Friar – warns R+J to slow down or else something bad will happen |
| “My poverty but not my will consents.” | Apothecary – agrees to sell Romeo the poison because he’s poor, not because he wants to |
| “He jests at scars that never felt a wound.” | Romeo – after he overhears Benvolio and Mercutio poking fun at him for loving Rosalind |
| “my mind misgives some consequence yet hanging in the stars Shall bitterly begin his fearful dateWith this night’s revels and expire the term Of a despised life, closed in my breast, By some vile forfeit of untimely death.” | Romeo – before entering the Capulets’ party, foreshadows his own death |
| “What’s Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot,Nor arm, nor face….What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other word would smell as sweet.” | Juliet – says that names are useless |
Romeo and Juliet
August 29, 2019