Romeo and Juliet Study Guide                                                  NAME:__________________________

Maite                                                                                        PERIOD:_________________________

 

PROLOGUE

 

1. How are the two households alike?

2. Where is the scene of the action going to be?

3. What has been happening between the two families prior to the play?

4. Who are the two lovers in the play going to be?

5. What problem do they have?

6. What will happen to the two lovers?

7. What happens to the two families as a result of the lovers' deaths?

8. How long will the play take?

9. How many lines are in the prologue?

10. What is the rhyme scheme of the prologue?

11. What kind of poem is the prologue?

12. What is a chorus?

13. Paraphrase the entire prologue.

 

I, i

 

1. Define the following terms from the prologue and scene one:

                star-crossed                           mend                       marry                       exeunt                     humor     

                heavy                                      cousin                     soft                          doth                         hath

                thou                                         thy

2. What is a pun?

3. List three puns from the beginning of scene one.  Explain why they are puns.

4. What is the purpose of the first 45 lines of scene one?

5. Characterize Tybalt using textual proof.

6. Why is moved written as it is in line 74?

7. What does the Prince command done if another fight breaks out?

8. According to Benvolio in ll. 92-101, what happened?

9. According to Montague, what is Romeo like?

10. Explain Romeo's comments in ll. 200-208.

11. What is Benvolio's advice to Romeo?

 

I, ii

 

1. Define the following:           sirrah                       county

2. What has Capulet pledged to do?  Does he think it will be easy or difficult?

3. What does Paris want?

4. How old is Juliet?

5. Why is Capulet reluctant to accept Paris' offer?  How old must Juliet be before Capulet will consent?

6. In ll. 38-42, why does the servant speak in prose rather than blank verse?

7. Why does Benvolio want Romeo to go to Capulet's feast?

8. Why does Romeo agree to go?

9. What is a heroic couplet?  What do ll. 99-100 signify?

 

I, iii

 

1. Define the following:           thou'st                     marry                       move                       consent                   straight

2. How can you tell that the nurse is meant to be a comic character?

3. What does Lady Capulet tell Juliet about?

4. What does Lady Capulet instruct Juliet to do about it?

5. What does Juliet tell her mother she will do?

 

I, iv

 

1. Define the following:           heavy                      shaft                        visage                     rushes                     fantasy

2.What is a masker?

3. Explain the pun in l. 15.

4. How does Mercutio try to cheer up Romeo?

5. Who was Queen Mab and what are some of her powers?

6. Is the Queen Mab speech a soliloquy, a monologue, or an aside?

7. How are ll. 112-119 forshadowing?

 


I, v

 

1. Define the following:           within                      waxes                     dear             go to                    semblance

                                                devotion                  withal

2. In ll. 13-30, whom is Capulet addressing?

3. How is it that Romeo and friends can get into Capulet's house unrecognized?

4. How does Tybalt recognize Romeo?

5. Describe Tybalt's reaction to Romeo's presence.

6. Why does Capulet say Tybalt should not fight Romeo?

7. How does Romeo respond to seeing Juliet for the first time?  What does he now think of Rosaline?

8. How do Romeo and Juliet react upon finding out who the other is?

 

II, i

 

1. Define the following:           conjure                    consorted                                'tis

2. Why does Romeo go back to the Capulet's?

3. What familiar quote is in Mercutio's dialogue in ll. 35-44?

4. What do Benvolio and Mercutio think Romeo is actually doing?

 

II, ii

 

1. Define the following:           jests        wherefore                               doff         fain          strange    anon        contract

2. What does Romeo's first line mean?  Is he really wounded?

3. Paraphrase Juliet's speech, ll.40-51.

4. In ll. 89-110, what does Juliet admit to?  Do you agree with her?

5. Why should Romeo not swear on the moon?

6. What arrangements do the lovers make?

7. Who introduced the idea of marriage?

 

II, iii

 

1. Define the following:           baleful                     canker                     shrift                        rancor

2. What is Friar Lawrence doing at the beginning of the scene?  Why is that important?

3. Why has Romeo come to the Friar?

4. How does Friar Lawrence react to Romeo's request?

5. Why does the Friar consent to help?

 

II, iv

 

1. What do Benvolio and Mercutio think may be wrong with Romeo?

2. What letter concerns the two?

3. Describe some of the humor in this scene.  Why is the humor place here in the play?

4. What are the instructions for Juliet?

 

II, v

 

1. Define the following:           bandy                      stay                         hot                           hie

2. What is Juliet's state of mind as the scene opens?  Why?

3. What does the nurse do to Juliet in this scene?

4. What is the nurse's opinion of Romeo?

5. How does Juliet feel about the wedding plans?

 

II, vi

 

1. What effect does dramatic irony have on our reactions to this scene?

2. What advice does Friar Lawrence give the lovers?

3. How does the Friar describe Juliet?

4. How much time has passed in the play?

 

III, i

 

1. What is the weather like?  How is this a problem in the play?

2. How does Mercutio describe Benvolio?  Do you find his description accurate?

3. Why does Tybalt want to fight Romeo?

4. Why doesn't Romeo want to fight Tybalt?

5. Whom does Mercutio accuse of being a coward?  Why?

6. What role does Romeo play in Mercutio's death?

7. Why does Romeo then fight and kill Tybalt?

8. What is Romeo's punishment for killing Tybalt and why isn't it death?

III,ii and III,iii

 

Simply write a brief summary of these two scenes.

 


III, iv

 

1. What power does Capulet think he has over Juliet?

2. What is planned for the following Thursday?

3. What is Lady Capulet to do before going to bed?

 

III, v

 

1. Why is Juliet hoping she has heard nightengales?

2. What does Lady Capulet think Juliet is weeping about?

3. What does Lady Capulet promise?

4. Why does Juliet say she'll help poison Romeo?

5. What advice does the Nurse give Juliet and does that advice affect Juliet?

6. What will Juliet do if nothing else works?

 

IV, i

 

1. How does Friar Lawrence feel about Juliet's Thursday marriage?

2. According to Paris, why is Capulet in such a hurry to marry off Juliet?

3. Describe Friar Lawrence's plan.

4. What exactly will the potion do to Juliet and how long will it last?

 

IV, ii

 

1. What does Juliet say the Friar has told her to do?

2. How does that change Capulet's frame of mind?

3. Then, how might Capulet's change cause the Friar to change his plans?

 

IV, iii

 

1. What does Juliet ask the nurse to do?  Why?

2. Why does Juliet almost call the nurse back again?

3. Why have a dagger at hand?

4. What fears does Juliet have before taking the potion?

5. Why might the Friar have given her poison?

 

IV, iv

 

1. What time is it?

2. What is going on as the scene opens?

3. Why is the nurse to awaken Juliet?

 

IV, v

 

1. Who discovers that Juliet is dead?

2. Initially, how does Capulet react to is daughter's death?

3. What change is made in the marriage feast now?

 

V, i

 

1. What dream does Romeo have?  How does he interpret this dream?

2. What dramatic purpose is served by having the final Act begin in this way?

3. What news does Balthasar bring?

4. Why does Balthasar not want Romeo to go tonight?

5. What is Romeo's plan?

6. Why is he searching for an apothecary?

7. Why does Romeo call gold a poison?

 

V, ii

 

1. Who is Friar John?

2. Why had Friar John been unable to leave Verona?

3. Why could he not sent the letter to Mantua?

4. What does Friar Lawrence decide he must do alone?  Why?

5. What will he do with Juliet once he opens the tomb?

 

V, iii

 

1. Who first arrives at the tomb?  Why has he come?  What instructions does he give the servant?

2. What letter does Romeo give Balthasar?

3. What warning does he give Balthasar?

4. What two reasons has he come to the tomb for?

5. According to Paris, why did Juliet die?

6. What does Paris think Romeo is going to do?