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EAL Nexus resource
Romeo and Juliet quote bank
Who is speaking?
Subject:
English
Age groups:
12–14,15–16
Topic:
Romeo and Juliet
Licence information | This resource is free to use for educational purposes.
©British Council 2015
Source | This resource was originally developed by Claudine Field and Mary Ann Apcar from Stoke Newington School in Hackney for the
Collaborative Learning Project, and piloted in schools with help from Sabrina Broadbent at the English and Media Centre, and has been adapted
by EAL Nexus.
Romeo and Juliet quote bank – who is speaking?
Point
Act Scene
Who is
speaking
Evidence/Quote
Prince Escalus breaks
up a fight between
the two families.
Act 1
Scene 1
If ever you disturb
our streets again
Your lives shall
pay the forfeit of
the peace.
Juliet is very
important and
precious to Lord
Capulet.
Act 1
Scene 2
Earth hath
swallowed all my
hopes but she;
She is the hopeful
lady of my earth,
The Capulets and the Act 1
Montagues hate each Scene 5
other.
What the quote
means
Explanation
If any of you fight in The play opens in a square in
the street again you Verona. The servants of the
will be executed.
Montague and Capulet families
start to fight and more people
from the families join in. Prince
Escalus comes to stop the
fighting.
My other children
Lord Capulet is talking to Paris,
have all died. She is who says he wants to marry
my only child and
Juliet. Lord Capulet is saying that
the most precious
he doesn’t want her to get
thing in my life.
married too young.
He is protective of his daughter.
Now by the stock I am going to kill
and honour of my him, for the sake of
my family’s honour.
kin
To strike him dead
I hold it not a sin.
Tybalt is at the Capulets’ party
and realises that Romeo, a
Montague, is at the party. He
thinks this is a good reason to
kill Romeo, because he is
dishonouring the Capulet
family.
© British Council 2015
Point
Act Scene
Who is
speaking
Evidence/Quote
What the quote
means
Explanation
Romeo loves Juliet
Act 1 Scene
very much and thinks 5
she is very beautiful.
At the
Capulets’
party
O, she doth teach She is so beautiful
that she shines
the torches to
more than the
burn bright!
torches lighting the
room.
Romeo meets Juliet, falls
instantly in love with her,
forgetting Rosaline.
He is romantic and often rushes
into things.
The Nurse meets
Romeo at the party
and tells him about
Juliet.
Act 1
Scene 5
I tell you, he that
can lay hold of
her
Shall have the
chinks.
I can tell you that
the man who
marries her will be
very rich (she is the
daughter of a very
rich man).
Romeo and Juliet are talking at
the party when she goes to
speak with her mother. Romeo
talks to the Nurse and it is then
that Romeo realises that she is a
Capulet.
The Montagues and
the Capulets are
enemies so it is a big
problem that Romeo
and Juliet are in love.
Act 2
Scene 1
’Tis but thy name
that is mine
enemy.
Thou art thyself,
though not a
Montague.
The only problem is
your name. You
would still be the
same person if you
were not a
Montague.
Juliet is on the balcony talking to
herself, not knowing that Romeo
can hear her. She is saying that
she loves him even though he is
a Montague.
The
balcony
scene
© British Council 2015
Point
Act Scene
Who is
speaking
Evidence/Quote
What the quote
means
Explanation
Juliet is in love with
Romeo but needs to Act 2
be sure of his love for Scene 2
her.
O, swear not by
the moon,
th’inconstant
moon,
That monthly
changes in her
circle orb
Don’t swear how
much you love me
by the moon. The
moon changes all
the time and your
love might change
as well.
Romeo and Juliet declare their
love for each other and Romeo
swears by the moon that he
loves her. Juliet says that the
moon is always changing and
she wants Romeo to assure her
that he will not change and not
stop loving her.
Romeo tells Friar
Lawrence that Juliet
returns his love.
Act 2
Scene 3
Her I love now
Doth grace for
grace and love
for love allow.
The woman I love
now is in love with
me as well.
Romeo is trying to convince Friar
Lawrence that he should help
them get married.
Friar Lawrence is
Act 2
upset about the feud Scene 3
between the
Montagues and the
Capulets and wishes
there could be peace
between the families.
For this alliance
may so happy
prove,
To turn your
households’
rancour to pure
love.
This marriage may
be a way of ending
the feud between
your families and
building a good
relationship.
Romeo goes to Friar Lawrence
to ask if the friar will marry him
and Juliet in secret. Friar
Lawrence is surprised that
Romeo has forgotten Rosaline
so quickly but agrees to marry
them.
© British Council 2015
Point
Act Scene
Who is
speaking
Evidence/Quote
What the quote
means
Explanation
Friar Lawrence agrees to marry
Romeo and Juliet and Romeo is
rushing off. He is advising
Romeo that doing things too
quickly can lead to accidents or
mistakes.
Friar Lawrence is a
wise man who often
gives good advice.
Act 2
Scene 3
Wisely and slow.
They stumble that
run fast.
Don’t rush! People
who run too fast
often fall over.
The Nurse always
wants to help Juliet
Act 2
Scene 5
Then hie you
hence to Friar
Lawrence’s cell.
There stays a
husband to make
you a wife.
Hurry up and go to
Friar Lawrence’s
cell. Your future
husband is waiting
there to marry you.
The Nurse has looked after Juliet
since she was a baby and loves
her very much. She wants her to
be happy so she helps with the
plan to marry Romeo, even
though she knows Lord and Lady
Capulet will not approve.
Benvolio doesn’t
Act 3
want Mercutio to get Scene 1
into a fight.
In the
street
I pray thee good
Mercutio let’s
retire
The day is hot, the
Capulets
abroad,
And if we meet,
we shall not
’scape a brawl
Please, Mercutio,
let’s go home! It’s a
very hot day, the
Capulets are out
and about and if we
meet them there
will be a fight.
Benvolio is trying to persuade
Mercutio to keep out of trouble.
He is a gentle and peace-loving
young man who often tries to
mend quarrels and stop people
fighting.
© British Council 2015
Point
Act Scene
Benvolio tries to calm Act 3
Mercutio down.
Scene 1
Tybalt hates Romeo
and all Montagues.
He is a quarrelsome,
hot-tempered young
man.
Mercutio makes fun
of Tybalt and wants
to fight him.
Act 3
Scene 1
Act 3
Scene 1
Who is
speaking
Evidence/Quote
Either withdraw
unto some private
place,
Or reason coldly
of your
grievances,
Or else depart.
Well, peace be
with you Sir, here
comes my man.
Tybalt, you
ratcatcher, will
you walk?
What the quote
means
Explanation
You should go
somewhere private
and discuss things
calmly, or go home.
Mercutio is getting angry with
Tybalt and wants to fight.
Benvolio is a gentle and peaceloving young man who doesn’t
want them to fight.
I’m not going to
fight you, sir. Here
comes the man I
want to fight.
Mercutio and Benvolio and
Tybalt arrives. When Romeo
arrives it is him that Tybalt
wants to fight.
Tybalt – are you
walking away from
a fight? (making fun
of Tybalt’s name by
saying it’s a bit like
‘Tibbles’ which is a
cat’s name)
Romeo doesn’t want to fight
Tybalt because he is now
married to Juliet, Tybalt’s cousin.
Mercutio can’t understand why
Romeo doesn’t want to fight and
challenges Tybalt to stay and
fight him. Tybalt loves violence
and fighting.
© British Council 2015
Point
Act Scene
Who is
speaking
Evidence/Quote
What the quote
means
Explanation
Mercutio is dying and Act 3
blames the Capulets Scene 1
and the Montagues
A plague on both
your houses!
They have made
worms’ meat of
me.
I curse both your
families. Your
quarrel has been
the cause of my
death (worms will
eat my body).
Tybalt kills Mercutio in the fight
and as he is dying Mercutio says
that his death is because of the
feud between the families.
Romeo thinks he is
unlucky.
O, I am fortune’s
fool!
I am so unlucky!
(Fortune is laughing
at me.)
Romeo kills Tybalt after Tybalt
kills Mercutio and Romeo has to
run away because Prince Escalus
will give him the death penalty if
he catches him.
O, serpent heart,
hid with a
flow’ring face!
Did ever dragon
keep so fair a
cave?
Oh what an evil
heart hidden inside
such a beautiful
body – like a dragon
hiding inside a
beautiful cave!
The Nurse comes to tell Juliet
that Romeo killed Tybalt and
that he is banished. Juliet says
that Romeo is handsome but
really he is a bad person.
Act 3
Scene 1
Romeo has
killed
Tybalt.
Juliet is shocked that
Romeo killed Tybalt
Act 3
Scene 2
© British Council 2015
Point
Act Scene
Who is
speaking
Evidence/Quote
What the quote
means
Explanation
Romeo is very upset Act 3
about being banished Scene 3
from Verona.
There is no world
without Verona’s
walls,
But purgatory,
torture, hell itself.
Being anywhere in
the world except
Verona is like being
tortured or being in
hell.
Friar Lawrence tells Romeo that
he is banished from Verona and
must leave. Romeo thinks this is
as bad as death.
Friar Lawrence helps
Romeo when he is in
trouble
Act 3
Scene 3
Go get thee to
thy love, as was
decreed,
Ascend her
chamber, hence
and comfort her.
Go and find your
wife, as you’d
arranged. Climb up
to her bedroom and
comfort her.
Friar Lawrence tells Romeo to go
to Juliet to spend their wedding
night together. He must go in
secret and leave for Mantua
before anyone sees him in the
morning.
The Nurse tells Juliet
to marry Paris.
Act 3
Scene 5
I think it best you
married with the
County.
O he’s a lovely
gentleman.
I advise you to
The Nurse helped Romeo and
marry Count Paris – Juliet to get married but now
he’s a very nice man she is saying that Juliet should
agree to marry Paris on
Thursday. The Nurse wants Juliet
to be happy, but she’s not very
clever.
© British Council 2015
Point
Lord Capulet is very
angry and says that
Juliet must marry
Paris, or he will send
her away.
Act Scene
Act 3
Scene 5
Juliet trusts Friar
Lawrence to help and Act 3
advise her when she Scene 5
is very unhappy.
At home
Romeo and Juliet are
dead and the feud
ends.
Act 5
Scene 3
Who is
speaking
Evidence/Quote
What the quote
means
And you be mine, If you do what I say,
I’ll give you to my I’ll arrange your
marriage with my
friend
friend. If you don’t,
And you be not,
you must go away
hang, beg,
and I don’t care if
starve, die in the
you have to beg or
streets.
if you starve or die
in the streets.
I’ll go and ask Friar
I’ll to the Friar to
know his remedy. Lawrence’s advice.
If he can’t help me I
If all else fail,
will kill myself.
myself have
power to die.
See what a
scourge is laid
upon your hate
That heaven finds
means to kill your
joy with love.
God has punished
you for your feud,
by sending this love
to kill your children.
Explanation
Lord Capulet doesn’t expect his
daughter to argue with him, and
this makes him furious. He
thinks that Paris is the perfect
husband for her, and will not
listen to Juliet’s arguments.
Romeo has left and Juliet is very
upset because she has to marry
Paris. She trusts that Friar
Lawrence will be able to think of
a solution.
Romeo and Juliet are both dead.
The Capulets and Montagues are
at the tomb. The prince says
that they are dead because of
the hatred between the families.
Then Lord Montague and Lord
Capulet decide to end the feud
forever.
© British Council 2015