NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
9.1.3
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 3 • Lesson 8
Lesson 8
Introduction
This is the second lesson in a three-lesson arc that focuses on close reading of the iconic balcony scene
from Romeo and Juliet. The text addressed in this lesson is Act 2.2, lines 52–106.
This passage provides an opportunity for students to explore Romeo and Juliet in conversation with
each other. Through a targeted exploration of word choice and figurative language, students will work
toward an understanding of how complex characters develop through interactions with each other.
Students will continue working in the groups that were established in Lesson 7, as well as discussing
observations with the entire class. For homework, students will continue to read their Accountable
Independent Reading texts.
Standards
Assessed Standard(s)
RL.9-10.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including
figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word
choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place;
how it sets a formal or informal tone).
Addressed Standard(s)
RL.9-10.1
Cite strong and thorough evidence of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences
drawn from the text.
RL.9-10.3
Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations)
develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot
or develop the theme.
Assessment
Assessment(s)
Quick Write: What can you infer about Romeo and Juliet by comparing their use of language? Use
evidence from the text to support your answer.
High Performance Response(s)
Reponses will vary but should include text-based evidence and reflect an understanding that language
is used to establish, reveal, and compare these characters. Student responses may include the
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NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 3 • Lesson 8
following:

Romeo is not thinking about reality, only about being in love with Juliet. He is more romantic, and
wants “satisfaction,” the “exchange of thy love’s faithful vow.” His main concern is love, and his
extensive use of imagery (“bright angel” “love’s light wings” “I am no pilot”) and figurative
language reiterates this more romantic focus.

Juliet is more practical (“fain would I dwell on form”), and worried about Romeo’s safety (“they will
murder thee”). Her limited use of imagery shows that she is more pragmatic than Romeo.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary to provide directly (will not include extended instruction)

bescreened (adj.) – hidden from sight

counsel (n.) – private thoughts

thine (pron.) – that which belongs to you

enmity (n.) – hatred

compliment (n.) – a formal act

perjuries (n.) – false vows

fain (adv.) – gladly

peril (n.) – danger
Vocabulary to teach (may include direct word work and/or text-dependent questions)

cunning (n.) – skill, charm

strange (adj.) – reserved

light (adj.) – of little weight, shallow, insubstantial
Lesson Agenda/Overview
Student-Facing Agenda
% of Lesson

Standards: RL.9-10.1, RL.9-10.3, RL.9-10.4

Text: Romeo and Juliet, Act 2.2, lines 52–106

Homework Accountability

Introduction of Lesson Agenda

Opening Activity

Masterful Reading: Romeo and Juliet, Act 2.2, lines 52–106

Text-Dependent Questions and Activities

Quick Write

Closing
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2
5%
5%
5%
5%
70%
5%
5%
NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 3 • Lesson 8
Materials

Free Audio Resource: https://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/romeo-and-juliet/id384528334

Alternative Audio: http://www.audiogo.com/us/romeo-and-juliet-bbc-radio-shakespeare-williamshakespeare-gid-21505
File: 9.1.3 Lesson 8 Date: 8/31/13 Classroom Use: Starting 9/2013
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3
NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 3 • Lesson 8
Learning Sequence
Percentage Teacher Actions
of Lesson
5%
Student Actions
Introduction of Lesson Agenda
Begin by reviewing the agenda and sharing
the standards for this lesson: RL.9-10.1,
RL.9-10.3, RL.9-10.4.
Inform students that they are picking up
where they left off in the previous lesson
and that they will continue to work in the
same groups of four.
Students look at the agenda.
Let students know that the next lesson will
be their third and final lesson on the balcony
scene. They will be expected to complete a
short writing assignment in the next class for
the Mid-Unit Assessment.
5%
Homework Accountability
Briefly discuss student responses to their
rereading (Act 2.2, lines 1–51) and the
prompt: Choose a specific line from both
Romeo and Juliet that demonstrates the
emotion Shakespeare is crafting in this
scene.
Student choices from the homework will
vary but should demonstrate an
understanding of the tension, romance
and longing of this scene. Two samples
are offered here.
Romeo’s lines 10–12: It is my lady, O, it is
my love! / O, that she knew she were! /
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4
Instructional Notes (extensions,
supports, common
misunderstandings)
NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 3 • Lesson 8
DRAFT
She speaks yet she says nothing. What of
that?
Juliet’s lines 47–49: Romeo, doff thy
name, / and for thy name, which is no
part of thee, / take all myself.
5%
Opening Activity
Display lines 52–53.
Display the following question to help
students place this lesson’s excerpt in
context:
What is Juliet responding to in lines 52–53?
5%
Students briefly jot an answer to respond
to the opening activity.
Student responses may include:
Juliet is responding to Romeo revealing
his presence to her.
Masterful Reading
Have students listen to a masterful reading
of Act 2.2, lines 52–106.
Students follow along, reading silently.
Free Audio Resource:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/itunesu/romeo-and-juliet/id384528334
Alternative Audio:
http://www.audiogo.com/us/romeoand-juliet-bbc-radio-shakespearewilliam-shakespeare-gid-21505
70%
Text-Dependent Questions and Activities
Instruct students to read aloud lines 52–61
in their groups of four.
1. Why doesn’t Romeo know how to tell
Juliet who he is? What relationship is Romeo
establishing between his name and himself?
Student responses may include the
following:
1. Romeo doesn’t know how to tell Juliet
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5
Additional scaffolding questions for
lines 52–61:

What information is Juliet asking
NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
who he is (“I know not how to tell thee
who I am”) because his name is the name
of Juliet’s enemy and “hateful” to her.
Romeo says that his name has become
hateful to himself as well.
Some students might suggest that by
refusing to say his name, Romeo is
attempting to divorce himself from his
family. He wants to form a new identity
that is not associated with this family feud
that pits him against Juliet.
Students may also point out that this is a
response to Juliet’s request in the
previous soliloquy (“refuse thy name”)
that Romeo overheard.
Instruct students to read aloud in their
groups lines 62–84.
Direct students to reread lines 62–69.
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 3 • Lesson 8
DRAFT
for in these lines?
Juliet is asking for the name of
the man who has surprised her.

How does Romeo respond to
these requests?
Romeo says he doesn’t know
how to tell Juliet his name.
2. Love has the power to help Romeo fly
“with love’s light wings” (line 66) and
protect him from her family, “therefore
thy kinsmen are no stop to me” (line 69).
2. According to Romeo, what power does
love have?
Direct students to reread lines 70–73.
3. What concern is Juliet expressing in line
70?
3. Juliet is worried that Romeo will be
murdered; “they will murder thee” (line
70).
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Additional scaffolding questions for
lines 70–73:

What does Romeo say is more
dangerous than twenty swords?
Juliet’s eye.

What imagery in line 72 can help
you understand what peril means
NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 3 • Lesson 8
DRAFT
in line 71?
The image of twenty swords.
“Peril” means danger.
4. Offer students a definition of peril
("dangerous"). For Romeo, why is Juliet’s
eye more perilous than twenty swords?
What concern is Romeo expressing?
4. If she looks at him without sweetness.
Romeo is expressing the concern that
Juliet won’t love him.
5. How does Romeo’s concern differ from
Juliet’s? What might this comparison reveal
about these two characters?
5. Romeo’s concern is about love; Juliet’s
is about Romeo’s safety. This comparison
shows that Romeo is more romantic and
Juliet is more practical.
Direct students to reread lines 74–78.
6. Romeo prefers death (“my life were
better ended”; line 77) to life without
Juliet (“than ... wanting of thy love”; line
78). This is again a romantic concern
overriding a practical one; Romeo is
valuing romance over his own life.
6. What does Romeo prefer to life without
Juliet’s love? How does this support your
understanding of what Romeo values?
Consider the request he makes of her
eye. What would the opposite be?
What would this indicate about
Juliet’s feelings toward Romeo?
6. The definition of wanting as
“lacking” may be unfamiliar to
students. Take the time to explore
the meaning of this word if it causes
confusion.
Additional scaffolding for lines 74–
78:

Direct students to reread lines 79–84.
7. What extended metaphor is Romeo
constructing in these lines? What might this
reveal about how Romeo understands his
7. Romeo compares Juliet to merchandise, Offer students the definition of pilot
and himself to a ship’s captain, using the
as Romeo uses it, “the pilot of a
metaphor of a treasure hunt. Romeo is
ship.”
trying to tell Juliet that he would do
anything to be with her.
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What is Juliet asking Romeo?
What is Romeo’s answer?
Juliet is asking Romeo who led
him to her. Romeo says that love
led him to Juliet.
7
NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
relationship to Juliet?
Some students may extend this answer to
include the fact that Romeo is also
establishing a metaphor of possession,
where Juliet is a prize or treasure to be
captured.
Instruct students to read aloud in their
groups lines 85–89 and circle repeating
words.
Students circle the repeating word fain
three times.
8. Offer students a definition of fain as
“gladly.” What does the use of fain in these
lines reveal about how Juliet is feeling? Why
might she be feeling this way?
8. The repetition of the word emphasizes
this statement: Juliet really, really wishes
she could take back what she said.
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Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 3 • Lesson 8
DRAFT
8
Additional scaffolding questions for
lines 85–89:

What does Juliet say Romeo
would see if it were not night?
Romeo would see her blushing.

What can you infer from this
about how Juliet is feeling?
Juliet is feeling embarrassed. She
says if it wasn’t night time
Romeo would see her blushing
because of what he overheard.

When Juliet says, “what I have
spoke,” what speech is she
referring to? Hint: recall your last
close read, in Lesson 7.
Juliet is referring to her “rose”
speech, which she made when
she did not know Romeo was
listening.
Now that students know what fain
means, they can understand that
Juliet would gladly take back what
she said.
NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
9. Offer students a definition of compliment
as “formality.” When Juliet says “farewell,
compliment” to what is she saying goodbye? What shift might this indicate in her
attitude?
9. Students to make connections between
the close reading for lesson 7 and today’s
excerpt. Juliet might be embarrassed
because Romeo heard her say that she
really likes him. Juliet is saying good-bye
to formality. It might mean she’s putting
her embarrassment behind her.
Instruct students to read aloud in groups
lines 90–97.
10. Juliet is unsure of Romeo’s feelings
toward her, and she is cautious of
appearing to be “too quickly won” (line
94). Juliet is feeling nervous about her
relationship with Romeo. She is unsure of
the permanence of his feelings for her.
Some students might suggest that once
again, Juliet is voicing practical concerns
about the outcome of this relationship.
10. What concerns underlie Juliet’s
requests? What might this reveal about how
she understands her relationship with
Romeo?
Instruct students to read aloud in groups
lines 98–106.
11. What is the definition of light in line 99
and line 105? How does this description
inform your understanding of Juliet’s
intentions towards Romeo?
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 3 • Lesson 8
DRAFT
11. Juliet uses light to mean “shallow” or
“casual” or “silly.” Light love is just like a
crush. Juliet is trying to tell Romeo that
she truly loves him.
If students are having trouble
defining Juliet’s use of light, ask: How
would these lines be different if light
was replaced with casual? The
phrase “taking it lightly” might also
be helpful to some students.
Additional scaffolding TDQs for lines
98–106:
●
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Who are “those who have more
cunning to be strange” (line
101)? What does cunning mean
here? What about strange?
They are other women who
NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 3 • Lesson 8
DRAFT
Romeo could have fallen in love
with, who are better at hiding
their feelings than Juliet is.
Cunning (defined in footnotes)
means more adept, or more
artful. Strange (also in footnotes)
means reserved.

Ask students to consider their close reading
as a whole while they complete this activity
in their groups.
Instruct students to review the text they
have just read and circle all the imagery
found in Romeo’s lines. Then they will
repeat the process for Juliet’s lines.
For Romeo, students circle phrases such
as “love’s light wings,” “twenty of their
swords,” “night’s cloak,” “lent him my
eyes,” “vast shore washed with the
farthest sea.”
For Juliet, students circle “drunk a
hundred words” but not much else.
Ask students to offer examples of the
imagery they identified. Record students'
observations on the board.
12. What do you notice about the use of
imagery in Romeo’s lines versus Juliet’s
lines?
12. Students identify that Romeo uses a
lot of imagery and that Juliet does not use
a lot of imagery.
Student responses may vary but should
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10
How does Juliet compare herself
to these people?
Juliet compares herself by saying
she doesn’t have the same
charms that other women might,
but she’ll be a more “true” lover
than someone who pretends not
to care.
NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 3 • Lesson 8
include an understanding that language is
used to establish, reveal, and compare
these characters.
5%
Quick Write
Students respond independently in writing
to the following question:
See High Performance Response.
What can you infer about Romeo and Juliet
by comparing their use of language?
Consider their main concerns in this excerpt.
5%
If students struggle here, direct them
back to lines 70–73 in order to
reestablish Romeo’s and Juliet’s
differing concerns.
Closing
For homework, instruct students to continue Students continue to read their
their Accountable Independent Reading
Accountable Independent Reading text for
through the lens of their focus standard and homework.
prepare for a 3–5 minute discussion of their
text based on that standard.
Homework
Students should continue to read their Accountable Independent Reading through the lens of their focus standard and prepare for a 3–5
minute discussion of their text based on that standard.
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11