Name: ___________________________
Period: ___________________________
Romeo and Juliet Reading Guide – Act IV
Scene I
1. According to Paris, why does Lord Capulet hurry Paris and Juliet’s wedding? (lines 6-15)
__________________________________________________________________________________
2. What does Juliet threaten to do if Friar Laurence can’t find a way to prevent the marriage
ceremony? (lines 55-69) _____________________________________________________________
3. What convinces Friar Laurence that Juliet has the courage and resolve to carry out the daring
scheme he’s planning? (lines 70-78) ____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
4. Step by step, what is Friar Laurence’s plan? (lines 91-122)
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
5. How is Romeo supposed to find out about the plan? (lines 125-126) __________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
6. In your opinion, what could go wrong with Friar Laurence’s plan? What do you think is the greatest
weakness in his plan? _______________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
Scene 2
7. What are Lord and Lady Capulet doing while Juliet visits Friar Laurence? (lines 1-10)
__________________________________________________________________________________
8. What does Juliet do when she comes home from Friar Laurence’s cell? (lines 16-21)
__________________________________________________________________________________
9. Do you think Juliet is being sincere or deceitful, and why? __________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
10. How does Lord Capulet react to Juliet’s act pf contrition? (lines 27-31; 39-47) ___________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Scene 3
11. When Juliet is about to drink the potion, list what fears and doubts she experiences? (lines 15-58)
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
Scene 5
12. Who discovers that Juliet is “dead”, and when? (lines 1-14) _________________________________
13. How doe Lord Capulet’s words on lines 37-40 foreshadow the future? _________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
14. In your opinion, who seems to be the most sincerely/emotionally affected by Juliet’s “death”, her
father, or her mother, the Nurse or Paris? Why do you think so? _____________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
15. Whom do you feel the most sympathy for (Nurse, Lord Capulet, Lady Capulet, Paris) and why?
__________________________________________________________________________________
16. How does Friar Laurence try to comfort Juliet’s parents? (lines 68-86) _________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
17. Why won’t Lord Capulet’s festive preparations be wasted? (lines87-94)
_________________________________________________________________________________
18. What purpose does the banter between Peter (a Capulet servant) and the musicians serve at the
end of this scene? __________________________________________________________________
Romeo and Juliet Reading Guide – Act V
Scene I
19. Who brings Romeo the news of Juliet’s “death”? __________________________________________
20. How does Balthasar know that Juliet is “dead”? (line 20)____________________________________
21. What does Romeo plan to do when he hears that Juliet is “dead”? (lines 34, 50, 85-86)
__________________________________________________________________________________
22. Who sells Romeo the poison? (line 37) _________________________________________________
23. What argument does Romeo use to persuade the apothecary to break the law and sell the poison?
(line 68-74)________________________________________________________________________
24. Why does Romeo call the poison “cordial”, a kind of medicine that restores the heartbeat? (line 85)
_________________________________________________________________________________
Scene 2
25. What prevented Friar John from delivering Friar Laurence’s letter to Romeo in Mantua? (lines 5-15)
__________________________________________________________________________________
26. What is Friar going to do after finding out that his letter didn’t reach Romeo? (lines 23-29)
__________________________________________________________________________________
27. What is the dramatic irony at the end of the scene? What does the audience know that Friar
Laurence doesn’t know? _____________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
28. Why is it essential that Friar Laurence get to the burial vault first, before Romeo? _______________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Scene 3
29. Who is the first person to arrive at the Capulet burial vault that night?________________________
30. Why is Paris there? (line 12-17) _______________________________________________________
31. What signal is Paris’ servant ordered to give if/when someone approaches?? (line 7)
__________________________________________________________________________________
32. At whose approach does the page give the warning? (line 23) _______________________________
33. What excuse does Romeo give Balthasar for breaking into the vault? (line 28-32)
__________________________________________________________________________________
34. What does Romeo command Balthasar to do early in the morning? (line 23-25)
__________________________________________________________________________________
35. What does Romeo’s threat of violence tell about his state of mind? (lines 35-39)
__________________________________________________________________________________
36. What is Romeo talking about in lines 45-48?
_________________________________________________________________________________
37. What figure of speech is Romeo using when he says, “I enfore the rotten jaws to open”?
__________________________________________________________________________________
38. What is the accepted cause of Juliet’s death? (lines 50-51) __________________________________
39. What does Paris think Romeo intends to do? (lines 52-52)___________________________________
40. What does Paris do to provoke Romeo? (lines 68-69) ______________________________________
41. When/how did Romeo hear that Paris wished to marry Juliet? (lines 76-79)
__________________________________________________________________________________
42. How does Romeo show reverence for Paris? (lines 83-87) ___________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
43. How does Juliet look? (lines92-96) _____________________________________________________
44. What is the significance of the color crimson in Juliet’s countenance? _________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
45. What is the dramatic irony here?_______________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
46. What does Romeo do with regard to Tybalt? (line 101) _____________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
47. What does Romeo do before drinking the poison? (lines 105-115) ____________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
48. How long has Romeo been in the vault before Friar Laurence arrives? (lines 130) ________________
49. What does Friar Laurence observe as he enters the vault? (lines 140-143) ______________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
50. What do you think he is feeling at this point?_____________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
51. Who/what does Friar Laurence believe ruined his plan? (lines 153-154) ________________________
52. Do you agree or disagree with his assessment? Why? ______________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
53. What new plan does the Friar propose to Juliet? (lines -156-157) _____________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
54. Under what conditions does the Friar’s abandonment of Juliet make sense? ____________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
55. How does Juliet kill herself? (line 171) __________________________________________________
56. What do you think is her state of mind? _________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
57. Who sounds the alarm and goes to get help? (lines 171, 285) _______________________________
58. What has happened to Romeo’s mother? (lines 210-211) ___________________________________
59. Whom does the Prince respect? _______________________________________________________
60. What effect do you think Friar Laurence’s monologue that recounts the events of the past few days
has on the Montagues, the Capulets, and the Prince? ______________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
61. What punishment is Friar Laurence willing to bear for his part in the tragedy? (lines 266-269)
__________________________________________________________________________________
62. What do you think the letter Romeo wrote to his father contains? ____________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
63. What/whom does the Prince blame for the tragic events? (lines 291-295) ______________________
64. What words of Lord Capulet admit his part in the tragedy? (line 304) __________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
65. How will Lord Montague and Lord Capulet honor the memory of their children? (lines 298-303)
__________________________________________________________________________________
66. If you were the Prince, whom would you punish or pardon, and how and why?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________