English 10 Name: ________________________ Mr. Simington
Romeo and Juliet – Act Questions
Instructions:
Answer ALL of the following questions in COMPLETE SETENCES and IN YOUR OWN WORDS!
ACT I QUESTIONS
Scene One:
1. Who are Sampson and Gregory? 2. Explain the meaning of line 5.
3. What would motivate Sampson to fight? 4. What is Sampson’s view of women?
5. What does Sampson do to provoke Abraham and Balthasar?
6. What does Benvolio attempt to do when he comes across these men? Who does he ally himself with?
7. What assumption does Tyblat make?
8. What threat does the Prince issue (in your own words)?
9. What state has Romeo been in lately, according to his father? (l. 121-130) 10. Why is Romeo sad (what reason does he give Benvolio)?
11. Cite TWO oxymorons (contradiction in terms) that Romeo uses in lines 167-174. Scene Two:
1. What advice does Benvolio give Romeo?
2. What is Capulet’s response to Paris’ request for permission to marry Juliet?
Scene Three:
1. What subject does Lady Capulet wish to discuss with Juliet? 2. What is Juliet’s view towards this subject? (l. 69)
3. What does Lady Capulet compare Paris to in lines 84-87?
4. What is Juliet’s response to Lady Capulet’s requests (ll. 100-103), in your own words? Scene Four:
1. Why can’t Romeo dance (both literarily and metaphorically)? (ll. 13-14) 2. How does Romeo view love? (ll. 25-26)
Scene Five:
1. Which women will dance with the men?
2. How long has it been since Juliet’s father has participated in a masque? 3. a. Find a metaphor and a simile in Romeo’s speech in lines 43-50. 3. b. Who is he talking about in this speech?
4. What happens at this moment? Whose vow does Romeo make true (hint: scene 1)? 5. Who notices Romeo has arrived uninvited to the Capulet feast?
6. What is Capulet’s response?
7. What happens in the first exchange between Romeo and Juliet? 8. What does Romeo discover from Nurse?
9. At the end of the scene, what does Juliet reveal about herself? ACT II QUESTIONS
Prologue
1. In your own words, what has Romeo’s “old desire” (l. 1) been replaced with? 2. Explain the lines: “That fair for which love groaned for and would die,
With tender Juliet matched, is now not fair.”
3. Who is his “foe” in this case? What problems may arise because he considers this person his “foe?”
4. Paraphrase (summarize) the last two lines of this prologue. Scene One:
1. What is Romeo contemplating at the beginning of this scene (hint: where is he?) 2. What do Benvolio and Mercutio mistakenly assume in regards to Romeo’s romantic interests?
3. How does Mercutio describe Romeo?
4. What does Mercutio further reveal about his perceptions of love?
Scene Two (Balcony Scene):
A. (II. ii. ll. 1-51)
1. The first lines are filled with figurative language. Locate examples of the following in these lines:
Metaphor (2) Personification (1) Simile (2)
2. What is Romeo doing in his first long soliloquy (speech)? 3. What does Juliet reveal about herself in her soliloquy?
B. (II. ii. ll. 51-142)
5. Why is Juliet embarrassed? 6. What does she ask of Romeo?
7. Romeo tends to get carried away by his own poetic instincts with his speech: “lady, by yonder blessed moon I vow/That tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops…” How does Juliet react to this?
8. What does Juliet worry about?
C. (II. ii. ll. 142-163)
9. Who proposes to whom?
10. Why doesn’t the conversation go very far in this section?
D. (II. ii. ll. 163-203)
11. What concrete plans do Romeo and Juliet make? Scene Three:
1. How do the Friar’s opening remarks bridge (connect) to the last scene? 2. What is the Friar doing in line 7?
3. What do lines 9-10 mean? 4. Explain lines 17-18. 5. Explain line 28.
6. Why does the Friar think young people can sleep? 7. Why does the Friar scold Romeo?
8. What does the Friar mean by lines 68-69? 9. Why does he scold Romeo in lines 72-79?
Scene Four:
1. What does Benvolio reveal about Romeo in line 3?
2. Who do Benvolio and Mercutio think Romeo has been with? 3. What has Tybalt done? Who will respond?
4. What does Mercutio accuse Nurse of being in line 120? 5. Why is Nurse here?
6. What does Romeo ask Nurse to tell Juliet?
Scene Five
2. What is wrong with Nurse?
3. How does Nurse describe Romeo in lines 38-45?
4. What does Nurse see as her role in Juliet and Romeo’s pending marriage?
Scene Six
1. What advice does Friar give Romeo? (ll. 8-15) 2. What is to happen at the end of the scene? ACT III QUESTIONS
Scene One:
1. Who begs Mercutio to leave the streets of Verona because the Capulets might also be out on this extremely hot day?
2. What does Mercutio tell us about Benvolio in lines 15-28? Explain. 3. Who comes to the public square looking for a fight with Romeo? 4. What does Mercutio call Tybalt?
5. How does Tybalt insult Romeo and try to get him to fight? 6. Why won’t Romeo fight Tybalt?
7. Why does Mercutio fight Tybalt? 8. How is Mercutio killed?
9. Why does Romeo kill Tybalt?
10. Who tells the Prince about the murders? 11. What is Romeo’s punishment?
Scene Two:
1. Explain the allusions in lines 2 and 3.
2. What is Juliet’s first reaction when learning of Tybalt’s death? Quote the line(s) to support your answer.
3. What does Nurse think of men in general? Quote the line(s) to support your answer. 4. What is Juliet’s reaction when Nurse curses Romeo? Quote the line(s) to support your answer.
5. Where is Romeo hiding?
Scene Three:
1. What day is it in Scene 3?
2. Where does Romeo run to hide after the murder of Tybalt?
3. How does Romeo react to the news that he is banished from Verona? 4. Who tells Romeo that the Prince has banished him?
5. What upsets Romeo the most about being banished?
6. The Friar gives three reasons that Romeo should be happy. What are they? 7. What does the Nurse give to Romeo?
8. Where is Romeo to go before daybreak?
10. Who is to tell Juliet the ‘good news?’ Scene Four:
1. Where would Capulet be if it wasn’t for Paris’ visit?
2. On what day does Capulet initially want Paris to marry Juliet? Why does he change his mind? What day does he finally decide that Paris and Juliet will be married on? 3. Does Capulet plan to have a big or a small wedding? Why?
Scene Five
1. What is the significance of the lark and the nightingale? 2. Explain the line “I must be gone and live, or stay and die.” 3. What vision does Juliet have as Romeo is leaving?
4. What news does Lady Capulet give to Juliet?
5. What is Juliet’s reaction to the news that Lady Capulet gives to her? 6. Who does Juliet turn to for help when her parents leave?
7. What advice does the Nurse give Juliet?
8. Why does Juliet tell the Nurse that she is going to see Friar Laurence? 9. If the Friar cannot offer a solution, what does Juliet state she will do? ACT IV QUESTIONS
Scene One
1. Why is Paris in Friar Laurences’s cell?
2. How does Paris explain the reasons for the quick marriage to the Friar? Quote the lines to support the answer.
3. Explain what Juliet is planning to do in order to escape her marriage to Paris. What plan that the Friar propose to Juliet instead?
4. How long will the effects of the sleeping potion last?
5. Where will Juliet be put after her family believes she is dead and who should be waiting for her when she awakens?
Scene Two
1. Who is supervising the preparations for the wedding? What assumption does he make?
2. Explain what Capulet means in line 14.
3. What change does Capulet make to the wedding plans and why? Explain lines 46-47.
Scene Three
1. Why does Juliet tell Nurse to leave?
4. What does Juliet do at the end of the scene? Scene Four
1. What day does Scene four take place on?
2. What does the word ‘cot-quean’ mean and why does Nurse refer to Capulet in this way?
3. What does Capulet order Nurse to do at the end of the scene? Scene Five
1. Describe Juliet’s condition when Nurse finds her. 2. What does Nurse ask for in line 16? Why?
3. What does Capulet mean in lines 37-43? What is being personified? 4. What, specifically, does Lady Capulet grieve over in lines 49-51?
5. How does the Friar attempt to comfort Juliet’s parents? Briefly summarize his arguments in line 68-86.
ACT V QUESTIONS
Scene 1
1. Identify and explain the poetic devices used in line 3.
2. What news does Balthasar deliver to Romeo? How does it affect him? 3. What is Romeo determined to do in line 36? How does he plan to do this?
4. Why is the apothecary hesitant to help Romeo? Why does finally agree to help him? Scene 2
1. What is important information is revealed to Friar Lawrence? What are the implications of this news and why is it tragic?
Scene 3
1. What metaphor does Paris use in reference to Juliet? 2. What threats does Romeo make to Balthasar? Why? 3. What does Paris determine is the cause of Juliet’s death? 4. What does Romeo ask Paris to do?
5. Identify and explain the poetic device used in lines 103-105.
6. What does Romeo think of death as? (What does he compare death to?) 7. What does the Friar discover as he enters the Capulet Tomb?
8. What does the Friar try to persuade Juliet to do? 9. Who finds the two dead lovers?
10. Identify and explain the metaphor Lady Capulet uses in lines 212-213. 11. What does the Friar tell the Prince?
