Romeo and Juliet
Act One Review
Part I. Characters
For each of the characters within the chart, describe their relationships, personality, and the word
choice that is used by them or about them. Record the lines in which you found those words.
Character
Romeo
Juliet
Tybalt
Relationships: Who are
they related to? What
connections do they have
with one another?
Personality:
What three
adjectives can
you use to
describe this
character?
Language: What language is
most often used by that
character? What language is
used to describe that
character?
Part II. Quotations
For each of the following quotations, record who said them, what they’re saying, what
significance they have/what it reveals to you the reader.
Quote
Speaker
Meaning
Significance
1.1.18-20 “‘Tis all one. I will
show myself a tyrant. What I
have/ fought with the men, I
will be crual with the maids; I
will cut/ off their heads.”
1.1.22 “Ay, the heads of maids,
or their maidenheads.”
1.1.63-65 “What, drawn, and
talk of peace? I hate the word/
As I hate hell, alll Mantagues,
and thee./ Have at thee,
coward!”
1.4.11-12 “Give me a torch. I
am not for this ambling;/ Being
but heavy, I will bear the light.”
Part III. Analyzing Quotations
Read through Romeo’s first look upon Juliet and the thoughts he reveals allowed 1.5.42-51.
To what objects does Romeo compare Juliet? How are these objects similar?
What does Romeo imagine will happen when he touches Juliet’s hand?
How does Romeo feel about Rosaline now? How can you tell?
Read through Juliet’s lines as she finds out who Romeo is in 1.5.134-144.
What is wrong with Juliet’s new love? How do you think that her feelings about him have
changed?
How can you tell that Juliet is worried about the future?
Part IV. Character Foils
As mention on p 1057, Mercutio is a comic foil to Romeo. Identify two other characters in Act
One who are foils for each other. What do you learn about the characters by seeing them in
contrast to one another?
Characters
Example: Mercutio
and Romeo
Characteristics
Highlighted
Mercutio:
imaginative and
happy
Romeo: depressed
and sullen
Learn by Contrast
Because they are foils, it serves to strengthen
Romeo’s depression as it’s been presented to
us. Mercutio is so easy going and playful that
Romeo’s dark cloud almost seems laughable
at this point.
Part V. Foreshadowing
Shakespeare often uses foreshadowing in which he hints at coming events for the readers. Look
at the two examples below, summarize the passage, and explain what it hints at.
Foreshadowing Example
Meaning
What it Hints At
“I fear, too early; for my mind
misgives/ Some consequence yet
hanging in the stars,/ Shall bitterly
beegin his fearful date/ With this
night’s revels and expire the term/
Of a despised life, closed in my
breast,/ By some vile forfeit of
untimely death.” - Romeo,
1.4.106-111
“My grave is like to be my
wedding bed.” - Juliet, 1.5.133
Part VI. Opinion
Works of great acclaim sometimes fail to live up to expectations. According to critic Robert
Graves, the “remarkable thing about Shakespeare is that he is really very good-- in spite of all the
people who say he is very good.” Is Romeo and Juliet living up to your expectations? Explain.