| In which town is the play set? In what country do you suppose this town exists? | The play is set in the town called Verona; this country is in Italy. |
| In the prologue, Shakespeare tells us that our two title characters are going to kill themselves. His 1600’s audience would’ve already known the story of Romeo and Juliet from a famous poem of the time, so this information would not have ruined the experience. In fact, many scholars say that knowing the deaths are coming actually improves the play. How could this be? Explain. | Knowing the deaths improves the play because it adds more drama and irony to the play because the audience wants to know how they came to kill themselves. It makes you focus on the details, and you could develop different aspects. It builds suspense. |
| When Sampson says he will not “carry coals,” what does this mean? What literacy technique is being used in this silly exchange between Sampson and Gregory? | Sampson means that he will not suffer humiliation patiently when he uses the phrase “carry coals”. The literacy technique that is used is a pun because Gregory thought Sampson meant a collier, which is someone who literally carries coals. It is a pun because you can actually carry coals, which is how Gregory takes the joke. |
| Complete this sentence: In Shakespearean times, biting your thumb was… | an insult. |
| Is Benvolio a Montague or a Capulet? | Benvolio is a Montague. He is a peace-maker, Romeo’s cousin and best friend, and never satisfied. |
| Why doesn’t Lady Capulet want her husband to get involved in the fight? | Lady Capulet does not want her husband to get involved in the fight because he is too old. |
| How many times have the Capulets and Montagues had street fights recently? | The Capulets and Montagues have fought three times recently. |
| How has Romeo been spending his days recently? | Romeo has been spending his days locked in his room being moody. |
| List three of the oxymoron’s Romeo uses to describe the conflict between his family and the Capulets. Then, explain how the family feud is oxymoronic in its nature. | “Here’s much to do with hate, but more with love” (1.1. 180). “O heavy lightness, serious vanity, misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms, feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health” (1.1. 183-185) [there are multiple oxymorons in this quote]. “Still-waking sleep that is not what it is! This love feel I, that feel no love in this” (1.1.186-187). The family feud is oxymoronic in its nature because they love their families so much that they fight for them. The fight is not really a fight, it is more of a protective reflex because the families love their own families, and they really don’t hate the other family. |
| In your own words, rewrite Romeo’s speech about love in Scene 1, lines 176-180, line by line. | Love makes you irrational,It clouds your judgment!Where should we eat?-Oh my! What fight occurred here?Don’t tell me, I already know. The fight here is not about hate, it is about love. |
| Romeo is heartsick over a girl who is not at all interested in Romeo. Name three of the ineffective romantic strategies Romeo has used in his attempt to woo this girl. | Romeo flirted with her, looked at her with sexy eyes, and he tried to give her expensive gifts. |
| Why doesn’t this girl like Romeo? | This girl doesn’t like Romeo because she is opposed to love and marriage. She made a vow of chastity; she’s going to become a nun. |
| What does Benvolio tell Romeo to do in order to forget the girl who doesn’t want him? | Benvolio tells Romeo to go and find another attractive girl. |
| lovers dream of.. | “love” (1.4.76). Lovers dream of finding people who love them for who they are and enjoy things they enjoy because that it what love is. |
| courtiers dream of… | “cur’sies straight” (1.4.77). Courtiers dream of ambition, power, and respect, which an immediate curtsy provides. |
| lawyers dream of… | “fees” (1.4.78). Lawyers dream of money because that is the thing they want most. |
| ladies dream of… | “kisses” (1.4.79). A lady’s job in life is to marry a wealthy man and have children, so they must court men, which explains why they dream of kisses. |
| courtiers also dream of.. | “smelling out a suit” (1.4. 83). Courtiers dream of finding someone who will pay him to give a petition to the king because that will earn him respect, which courtiers love. |
| a parson dreams of… | “another benefice” (1.4.86). Parsons, or members of the clergy, dream that they will be provided with property and income for performing pastoral duties. |
| a soldier dreams of… | “cutting foreign throats, of breaches, ambuscadoes, Spanish blades, of healths five fathom deep, and then anon drums in his ear” (1.4.88-91). A soldier’s duty is to protect, and sometimes they need to kill their enemies in order to protect the people they love, which is what they dream of. |
| Is Queen Mab the queen of good dreams, nightmares, or both? Use evidence. | Queen Mab is the queen of good dreams and nightmares. It is obvious she is the queen of good dreams because “she gallops night by night through lovers’ brains, and then they dream of love” (1.4.75-76). It is also obvious that Mab is the queen of nightmares because “she driveth o’er a soldier’s neck, and then dreams he of cutting foreign throats, … and then anon drums in his ear, at which he starts and wakes, and being thus frighted” (1.4.87-92). |
| Why do you think Mercutio told such a fantastic story about Mab to Romeo? | Mercutio told Romeo this story about Mab because he wants Romeo to understand that people dream what they want to dream, not necessarily what is true or bound to come to come true, which means Romeo’s dreams aren’t true. Mercutio makes the story about Mab so fantastic because he is really trying to stress how childish and inconsistent dreams are. |
| What does Mercutio think of dreams? | Mercutio thinks dreams are childish because they are “nothing but vain fantasy” and are “more inconstant than the wind” (1.4.105-107). Mercutio believes dreams bring unrealistic fantasies to people who want them, and dreams come and go according to Mercutio. |
| What kind of person/character is Mercutio? Use evidence. | Mercutio is usually a very unserious person, but this long speech about Queen Mab and dreams show a dark side of Mercutio. When he mentions how Mab “learns [women] first to bear, making them women of good carriage,” he talks about how Mab teaches women how to have sex in their dreams, which reveals that Mercutio is not jokester he makes himself out to be (1.4. 98-99). |
| What does the Act 2 Prologue say happened to Romeo’s love Rosaline? How is this an example of foreshadowing? | The Act 2 Prologue says Romeo’s love for Rosaline died. This is an example of foreshadowing because Romeo will end up dying for his love for Juliet. |
| What does Romeo mean by “dull earth” in Scene 1 line 2? | When Romeo says “dull earth”, he means he has a slow body. He is trying to go towards Juliet because that is who he is attracted to. Romeo can’t leave his heart, which is Juliet, or else he will die. |
| Who does Mercutio think that Romeo is in love with in his speech in Scene 1, lines 6-21? What is funny about these lines? | Mercutio thinks that Romeo is in love with Rosaline. The funny things about these lines is that Mercutio talks about gods, goddesses, and Rosaline. Mercutio is mocking Romeo for how serious his love is. When he compares Rosaline, a chaste girl, with Venus, the goddess of love, he is using humor to make fun of Romeo. He’s making fun of Romeo’s lovey-dovey feelings. He uses gods and goddesses to invoke Romeo. When Mercutio uses sexual humor about Rosaline, it’s funny because of the dramatic irony, and Mercutio is over the top. |
| When Romeo says, “He jests at scars that never felt a wound,” what does he mean? | Romeo means that Mercutio is trying to hurt him, but Rosaline never left a wound in his heart. Mercutio isn’t hurting Romeo because Rosaline didn’t leave a mark on Romeo. |
| What does Romeo compare Juliet to in his first speech in Scene 2, lines 2-3? | the sun |
| Paraphrase linens 36-39. | O Romeo, Romeo, why are you Romeo?You hate my father and my name, Or, give up your name, and love me,And I’ll give up my name. |
| When Juliet says, “That which we call a rose / By any other word would smell as sweet,” what does she mean? Do names matter in our lives? If you had a different first name, do you think you might have grown to be a slightly different person? Why? | Juliet means that a rose is still a rose no matter what you call it, because you’re not changing what the rose is just its name. Names are not the most important thing in our lives because our name do not define who we are, just what we are called. If I had a different first name, I most likely would have grown up the same way because a first name doesn’t change your living situation. |
| In your own words, translate Juliet’s meaning in lines 95-102. Why do other young lovers, both then and now, play such games? | Do you really love me? I know you will yes “yes,”And I will believe you. But if you swear it, You might be lying. When lovers lie to each other,They say, Jove laughs. O Romeo,If you do love me, say it truthfully. Or if you think it’s too easy and too fast to win me over, I’ll play hard to get and say no. Juliet means that she wants to know if Romeo really loves her, and if he swears it he might be lying. She says if Romeo thinks she her love is too easily won, she will play hard to get. Young lovers play games like this because they want to be sure they aren’t jumping to conclusions; they want to make sure the other person loves them as much as they love them. |
| Why does Juliet ask Romeo not to swear his love’s allegiance by the moon? | Juliet asks Romeo not to swear his love’s allegiance by the moon because the moon is inconstant; it changes monthly. |
| Which one is the first to mention marriage? What does this show us about this character? | Juliet was the first one to mention marriage. This shows that Juliet is the brains of the relationship; she is the one who wants to move forward in the relationship. |
| What does Juliet instruct Romeo to send her the next day? | Juliet instructs Romeo to send her a marriage proposal the next day. |
| Look at lines 202-203. What do these lines literally mean? Then, explain how this bit of text is an example of foreshadowing. | I hope you sleep peacefully. If I were sleep and peace, I would sleep with you. In the end, they both sleep peacefully with each other because they died for each other’s love, which is explained in this quote. |
| At the beginning of the scene, what is Friar Laurence doing? | gardening |
| According to Friar Laurence, how are humans like plants? | In plants, there are great things, but they can be used for bad things. Romeo and Juliet misapplied they’re love because they are moving too fast, and they don’t include their parents. Humans are like plants because they contain both good and bad. |
| At the beginning of Act 3, who says the following lines? What do these lines foreshadow?”I pray thee, good Mercutio, let’s retire.The day is hot, the Capulets abroad, And, if we meet, we shall not ‘scrape a brawl,For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring.” | Benvolio says these, and they foreshadow that something bad will happen because he is saying that they might not escape the fight. Things are going to be bad because people’s blood is boiling. |
| What does Mercutio tell us about Benvolio in lines 15-27? Is this true? Explain. | Mercutio tells us that Benvolio fights mostly for no apparent reason. Mercutio is calling Benvolio a hypocrite because he supposedly fight over everything, and he is trying to stop Mercutio from fighting. Mercutio is using verbal irony to poke fun at Benvolio. This is not true because in the first fight, he tried to stop it, he didn’t instigate it. |
| Examine Mercutio’s “grave man” line. What figure of speech is used? What is the meaning? | A pun is used. The meaning is that Mercutio is either a serious, or dangerous, man, or he is a dead man. Mercutio makes light of everything, which is why he makes light of his wound and says it’s just a scratch. When he says look for me tomorrow, he means he will be really serious and he’ll be dead. He stays true to his character up until his death bed. |
| Explain lines (114-120). | This man (Mercutio), the Prince’s close relative, My best friend, he diedOn my behalf. My reputation ruined When I killed Tybalt—Tybalt, who had been my cousin for an hour!O sweet Juliet, Your beauty made me weak and womanly And softened my temper (Juliet took away his manhood). |
| Explain the Prince’s judgment and why he makes this ruling. | Since Tybalt killed Mercutio, the government was supposed to kill Tybalt. However, Romeo killed Tybalt, which means Tybalt’s death sentence was paid. The Prince decided to be merciful and exile Romeo because his freedom was compromised when his best friend was killed, which led him to kill Tybalt. The Prince kicks him out of Verona because he understands why he had to avenge Mercutio’s death, and the Prince was angry with Tybalt because he killed the Prince’s cousin, which saddened him. |
Romeo and Juliet Act 1-3 Test
December 23, 2019