Opening prologue of Romeo and Juliet
1
5
10
14
Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;
Whole misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.
The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,
And the continuance of their parents' rage,
Which, but their children's end, naught could remove,
Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.
1.) Who are the two households mentioned in line 1? (2)
2.) What does it mean that they are “alike in dignity”? (1)
3.) Where is the play set? (1)
4.) What is the source of conflict in the play? (1)
5.) Who are the “pair of star-crossed lovers”? (2)
6.) What happens to them? (1)
7.) What does the event in (6.) result in? (1)
8.) What is significant about the structure of the opening 14 lines of the play? (1)
9.) Why is this structure appropriate given the theme of the play? (2)
Romeo and Juliet questions act 1
ACT 1: Scene 1
1.1
What is your first impression of Benvolio? (2)
1.2
What is your first impression of Tybalt? (2)
2. What does the Prince threaten to do if Montague and Capulet threaten the peace
of Verona again? (1)
3. What symptoms of a hopeless lover does Romeo exhibit? (3)
4. Romeo is upset at the news of the fight. What does this reveal about his
character? (2)
5. What kind of experience of love has Romeo had thus far? (1)
6. What remedy does Benvolio prescribe for Romeo’s ‘love-sickness’? (1)
7. Complete the table below showing the members of the households of Montague,
Capulet and Prince Escalus. (3)
Montague
Capulet
Prince Escalus
ACT 1: Scene 2
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
How old is Juliet? (1)
Describe her father’s attitude towards Juliet in his conversation with Paris. (2)
How does Romeo come to know about the planned festivities at the Capulet’s? (2)
For whom is Romeo pining?(1)
How does Benvolio’s speech at the end of this scene prepare us for later events in
the play? (2)
ACT 1: Scene 3
1. What do we learn about the Nurse from this scene? (2)
2. Why are we again reminded of Juliet’s age? (2)
3.1 How does Juliet respond to her mother’s talk of marriage? (2)
3.2 Why does she react this way? (1)
ACT 1: Scene 4& 5
1. What is your impression of Mercutio from this scene? (2)
2. Capulet plays the genial host. Apart from his comedy of words, what other
information do we learn from his conversation with his cousin? (2)
3. Compare Romeo’s speech ‘Oh she doth teach the torches…’ with his speeches about
Rosaline from Act1, Sc1.
3.1
Do you find him more convincing? (1)
3.2
Why / Why not? (2)
4.1 Why does Capulet refuse to allow Tybalt to attack Romeo at the feast? (2)
4.2
How does this make Tybalt feel? (1)
5.The first meeting between Romeo and Juliet is one of the most famous scenes in
the play.
5.1 What do you notice about the poetic structure of their shared speech? (1)
5.2 Why does Shakespeare choose this structure? (1)
5.3 Explain the complex metaphor which forms the basis of their flirtation. (3)
6. Are you convinced that the love-at-first-sight of these two is genuine? Why / Why
not? (3)
7. How do Romeo and Juliet react when they learn that they are from feuding
families? (3)
Romeo and Juliet questions act 2
Write up brief notes about what happened in each scene in a table format like the one
below:
Scene 1
Scene 2
Scene 3
Scene 4
Scene 5
Scene 6
Questions
ACT 2: Prologue
1. Who are the objects of:
(a) ‘old desire’ and (1)
(b) ‘young affection’ (1)
2. Explain why Juliet is said to ‘steal love’s sweet bait from fearful hooks’. (3)
ACT 2: Scene 1
1. Romeo passes Capulet’s orchard. Why can he not stop himself from going in? (2)
2. Why does Romeo not wish to be found by his friends? (2)
ACT 2: Scene 2
1.1 Who ‘jests at scars that hath never felt a wound’? (1)
1.2 What is Romeo saying about this person’s character? (2)
2. Romeo’s speech to Juliet from below the balcony is structured in blank verse as
opposed to the rhyming couplets he earlier used in reference to Rosaline. What
impression does this make on the audience? (2)
3.1 What images are mostly used in this speech? (1)
3.2 Why does Shakespeare choose to make use of this imagery? (2)
4. ‘O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?’ These words have so often been quoted
and misunderstood. What exactly is Juliet asking? (2)
5. Why is Juliet upset that Romeo has overheard her? (1)
6. Juliet makes a vow to Romeo. What does this reveal about her character? (2)
7. What agreement do the lover’s reach at the end of their conversation? (3)
ACT 2: Scene 3
1. Why is the Friar given such a long speech when we first meet him? (1)
2.1 What is the Friar doing as he speaks? (1)
2.2 What moral lessons does he learn from this? (4)
3. How does the Friar react to Romeo’s news that he wants to marry Juliet? (3)
4. Why does Friar Laurence agree to help the young lovers? (1)
5.1 What advice does the Friar give to Romeo at the end of this scene? (1)
5.2 Do you think the young lovers are likely to listen? (2)
6. What impression of the Friar do you get from this scene? (3)
ACT 2: Scene 4
1. What news concerning Tybalt do Mercutio and Benvolio discuss? (1)
2.1 How do we know that Romeo is back to his normal self? (1)
2.2 What does this tell us about his love for Juliet? (2)
3. Why is the Nurse looking for Romeo? (1)
4. What message does Romeo give to the Nurse for Juliet? (2)
ACT 2: Scene 5
1. How is Juliet feeling at the beginning of this scene? (1)
2. Why does the Nurse take so long to deliver her message? (1)
ACT 2: Scene 6
1. Compare Romeo’s attitude to love to that of the Friar. (2)
2. How do you know the lovers are happy? (2)
Romeo and Juliet questions act 3
Write up brief notes about what happened in each scene in a table format like the one
below:
Scene 1
Scene 2
Scene 3
Scene 4
Scene 5
Extra Notes…
Questions
ACT 3: Scene 1
1. Is Mercutio’s characterization of Benvolio accurate? Explain your view. (3)
2. What is the meaning of Benvolio’s warning to Mercutio (‘An I…/…and a quarter.’)? (1)
3.1 Quote Tybalt’s insult to Romeo and then explain it in your own words. (2)
3.2 Honour demands that such an insult be answered (by a duel) even though fighting is
against the law. How does Romeo respond and why? (2)
4. Who is to blame for starting the fight between Benvolio and Mercutio? (1)
5. What personality traits does Mercutio display at his death? Are we impressed? (2)
6. Does Romeo do the right thing by revenging his friend’s death? Why / Why not? (2)
7. How accurate is Benvolio’s account of the fight? (2)
8. Why is the Prince particularly concerned by Mercutio’s death? (1)
9. What are the immediate consequences of Tybalt’s death for Romeo? (1)
ACT 3: Scene 2
1. What impression do you get of Juliet in her opening speech? (2)
2. How does Romeo plan to gain access to Juliet’s chamber? (1)
3. Juliet becomes angry and loses faith in her new husband when she hears that he has
killed Tybalt. Why does she respond this way? (1)
4. How does Juliet react when she realises that Romeo is to be banished? (2)
5. Why does the Nurse go to Friar Laurence’s cell? (2)
ACT 3: Scene 3
1. Romeo takes to hiding in the Friar’s cell.
1.1 What news does the Friar bring him? (1)
1.2 How does Romeo take this news? (2)
2. What comfort does the Friar offer Romeo? (2)
3. Where does Romeo plan to go to wait out his exile? (1)
ACT 3: Scene 4
1. Suggest a reason for Capulet’s unseemly haste in arranging the marriage between
Juliet and Paris? (2)
ACT 3: Scene 5
1. Juliet has a foreboding of doom similar to that expressed by Romeo in Act 1,Sc 5. How
does it presage the tragedy to follow? (2)
2. How does Juliet respond to her mother’s news that her father has arranged a marriage
with Paris? (3)
3.1 What does the Nurse suggest when Juliet asks for her help? (2)
3.2 What does this tell us about the Nurse’s character? (1)
4. What does Juliet decide to do at the end of this scene? (2)
Romeo and Juliet questions act 4
Write up brief notes about what happened in each scene in a table format like the one
below:
Scene 1
Scene 2
Scene 3
Scene 4
Scene 5
Extra Notes…
Questions
ACT 4: Scene 1
1. What reason does Paris give the Friar for the hasty wedding? (2)
2. How do you know that Juliet is close to despair when she comes to the Friar? (2)
3. Explain the action of the potion the Friar gives to Juliet. (1)
4. How does the Friar plan to reunite the lovers? (3)
ACT 4: Scene 2
1. How does Capulet describe his daughter? (2)
2. How does Capulet react when he seems to be getting his own way? What does this tell
us about his character? (2)
ACT 4: Scene 3
1. Why does Juliet refuse to have the Nurse or her mother attend to her on the night
before the wedding? (2)
2. 1 What dangers does Juliet foresee when she takes the potion? (5)
2.2 What gives her the strength to do it? (1)
ACT 4: Scene 4
Shakespeare creates an atmosphere of bustling goodwill and excitement in this scene.
What is his purpose in doing so? (2)
ACT 4: Scene 5
1. What is the dramatic effect of the Nurse’s slowness in approaching Juliet’s bed and
her bawdy jokes? (2)
2. How do the Nurse and Lady Capulet react to Juliet’s death? (1)
3. How does the Friar try to comfort the family? (2)
4. What is the purpose of the clown scene between Peter and the musicians at the end of
this act? (1)
Romeo and Juliet questions act 5
Write up brief notes about what happened in each scene in a table format like the one
below:
Scene 1
Scene 2
Scene 3
Questions
ACT 5: Scene 1
1. Why is Romeo’s dream ironic? (1)
2. Why does he so readily believe Balthazar that Juliet is dead? (2)
3.1 How does Romeo obtain poison, even though it is illegal to sell it in Mantua? (2)
3.2 What is the deeper significance of this scene with the apothecary? (3)
ACT 5: Scene 2
1. Explain why Friar John was prevented from delivering Laurence’s message to Romeo.
(2)
ACT 5: Scene 3
1. Why has Paris come to Juliet’s tomb? (1)
2. Explain Romeo’s anger at Balthazar. (2)
3. Explain the metaphor that Shakespeare uses here. (2)
4.1 Why does Paris try to stop Romeo from entering the tomb? (2)
4.2 What is the outcome of this situation? (1)
5. Why is Juliet’s grave ‘a lantern’ in Romeo’s eyes? (1)
6. “Though art not conquered; beauty’s ensign yet
Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks…”
Explain the bitter irony in these words. (2)
7. Do you agree with the Friar that the spectacle he sees is the outcome of a malignant
fate? Why / Why not? (2)
8. Why does the Friar leave the tomb with such haste that he does not ensure that
Juliet follows behind him? (2)
9. Why is Juliet’s discovery that her dead husband’s lips are still warm particularly
terrible? (2)
10. Many modern performances of this play end the play right here, with Juliet’s suicide.
10.1 Suggest a reason for this. (1)
10.2 What important message in the play is lost if this done? (1)
11.1 What symbolic gesture do Capulet and Montague decide to make to prove the end of
their feud? (1)
11.2 Is their choice of symbol appropriate? (3)
1) Discuss the character of Romeo and his infatuation with Rosaline. Does this weaken the
credibility of the love he feels for Juliet?
2) Friar Laurence serves many dramatic purposes in the play. Examine the Friar and his role in
Romeo and Juliet.
3) Mercutio is considered to be one of Shakespeare's great creations, yet he is killed relatively
early in the play. What makes Mercutio so memorable a character?
4) Examine the role of women in Romeo and Juliet.
5) Romeo and Juliet are referred to as "star-cross'd lovers". Discuss the concept of
predetermined destiny and how it relates to the play.
6) Discuss Juliet's soliloquy that opens Act 3, Scene 2, paying particular attention to its poetic
merits and relevance to the overall play.
7) Many references are made to time in the play. Discuss the passage of time throughout
Romeo and Juliet.
8) What sets Romeo and Juliet apart from Shakespeare's other great tragedies? In particular,
what differentiates the young lovers from other Shakespearean heroes like Othello, Macbeth,
and Hamlet?
9) Mercutio gives a wonderful monologue on Queen Mab in Act 1, Scene 4. Examine this
passage and discuss its literary qualities. Of what significance is Mercutio's speech to the
overall play?
10) Juliet's suitor Paris is compared throughout the play to Romeo. Examine carefully the
similarities and differences between the two young men who love Juliet.
11) How does the suicidal impulse that both Romeo and Juliet exhibit relate to the overall
theme of young love? Does Shakespeare seem to consider a self-destructive tendency
inextricably connected with love, or is it a separate issue? Why do you think so?
12) Discuss the relationships between parents and children in Romeo and Juliet. How do
Romeo and Juliet interact with their parents? Are they rebellious, in the modern sense? How
do their parents feel about them?
13) Apart from clashing with Tybalt, what role does Mercutio play in the story? Is he merely a
colorful supporting character and brilliant source of comic relief, or does he serve a more
serious purpose?
14) How does Shakespeare treat death in Romeo and Juliet? Frame your answer in terms of
legal, moral, familial, and personal issues. Bearing these issues in mind, compare the deaths of
Romeo and Juliet, Romeo and Mercutio, and Mercutio and Tybalt.