Romeo
and
Juliet
By William Shakespeare
“For never was a story
of more woe, than this
of Juliet and her
Romeo”
Balcony in Verona
Romeo and Juliet in an embrace
Juliet dreaming of Romeo
Name:___________________________
1
Per:___________
Romeo and Juliet Intro Notes
Please use the space below to take notes on the play’s origins and author
2
Characters in the Play
3
PROLOGUE to Act One
Your Translation:
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, nought 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. What is a prologue?
2. Translation: next to each line, translate the Shakespearean language to modern
English.
3. Main Idea: what is the main idea of the prologue?
4. What is the purpose of the prologue?
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Barbs from the Bard: Shakespearean Insults
Combineth one word or phrase from each of the colums below and addeth “Thou” to the
beginning. Make certain thou knowest the meaning of they strong words, and thou shald have
the perfect insult to fling at wretched fools. Let thyself go mix and match to find the perfect
barb from the bard!
Bawdy
Brazen
Churlish
Distempered
Fitful
Gnarling
Greasy
Grizzled
Haughty
Hideous
Jaded
Knavish
Lewd
Peevish
Pernicious
Prating
Purpled
Queasy
Rank
Reeky
Roynish
Saucy
Sottish
Unmuzzled
Vacant
Waggish
Wanton
Wenching
Whorson
Yeasty
Thou:
Bunch-backed
Clay-brained
Dog-hearted
Empty-hearted
Evil-eyed
Eye-offending
Fat-kidneyed
Heavy-headed
Horn-mad
Ill-breeding
Ill-composed
Ill-nurtured
Iron-witted
Lean-witted
Lily-livered
Mad-bread
Motley-minded
Muddy-minded
Onion-eyed
Pale-hearted
Paper-faced
Pinch-spotted
Raw-boned
Rug-headed
Rump-fed
Shag-eared
Shrill-gorged
Sour-faced
Weak-hinged
White-livered
Thou:
Thou:
Thou:
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Canker-blossom
Clotpole
Crutch
Cutpurse
Dogfish
Egg-shell
Gull-catcher
Hedge-pig
Hempseed
Jack-a-nape
Malkin
Malignancy
Malt-worm
Manikin
Minimus
Miscreant
Moldwarp
Nut-hook
Pantaloon
Rabbit-sucker
Rampallion
Remnant
Rudesby
Ruffian
Scantling
Scullion
Snipe
Waterfly
Whipster
Younker
“Romeo and Juliet” Literary Terms
1. Foil Character:
2. Foreshadowing:
3. Hyperbole
4. Pun
5. Metaphor
6. Imagery
7. Soliloquy
8. Theme
9. Oxymoron
10. Allusion
11. Dramatic Irony
12. Personification:
13. Tragedy
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Shakespeare’s Use of Figurative Language
Read the literary term examples on the board from Shakespearean plays. In the spaces below,
identify the type of literary device used (ex. metaphor, simile, alliteration, etc.) and then give a
brief explanation of what you think Shakespeare was trying to say. (What was he comparing if
he was using simile or metaphor? What was he referring to if he was using an allusion? What
human characteristics was he giving to something not human? Which letters are repeated if
alliteration is present?)
Passage #
Literary Device
Used
What Does It All Mean?
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
What does this use of figurative language tell you about Elizabethan England?
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“Romeo and Juliet” Vocabulary
The following vocabulary words are in the original text of the play. However, they are words
that are still commonly used.
Act I
Adversary:
Deformities:
Discreet:
Nuptial:
Obscured:
Pernicious:
Posterity:
Prodigious:
Profane:
Act II
Confounds:
Conjure: call up;
Discourses:
Exposition:
Impute:
Lamentable:
Repose:
Sallow:
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Act III
Civil:
Digressing:
Eloquence:
Garish:
Monarch:
Plague:
Reconcile:
Act IV
Arbitrating:
Distraught:
Entreat:
Inundation:
Solace:
Spited:
Act V
Abhorred:
Remnants:
Righteous:
Wretchedness:
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Foreshadowing
While reading “Romeo and Juliet”, we will work on our close reading skills. As we read the
play, look for the following phrases and predict what their future importance will be.
Act, Scene
Act I, Scene IV
Act I, Scene V
Lines
“I fear, too early: for my
mind misgives…by some vile
forfeit of untimely death:
(112)
“My grave is like to be my
wedding bed” (141)
“Wisely and slow; they
stumble that run fast”
Act II, Scene III (97)
Act III, Scene I
“No tis not so deep…ask for
me tomorrow, and you shall
find me a grave man” (93)
Act III, Scene V
“O God, I have an ill-divining
soul!..As one dead in the
bottom of a tomb” (54)
Act IV, Scene
III
“ What if it be a
poison…subtly hath to have
me dead…I fear it is” (25)
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Prediction
I Love You! No, how do you really feel!
Directions:
1. Find the lines in the correct act and scene.
2. Write the lines down in the appropriate box
3. Draw conclusions about the character’s feelings toward, attitudes about love or
marriage, and personal experiences with love.
Character
Romeo 1.1
Lines: 185-192
Actual Lines
Your conclusions
Benvolio 1.1
Lines: 222223
1.2
Lines: 45-50
Paris 1.2
Lines:
Capulet 1.2
Lines: 13
1.2
Lines: 16-19
Juliet 1.3
Lines: 67
1.3
Lines: 99-101
Lady Capulet
1.3
Lines: 70-75
Nurse 1.3
Lines: 97
Mercutio 1.4
Lines: 27
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Close Reading Questions for Act I Scenes 3-5
1. In Scene 3, line 80, the Nurse says, “Why he’s a man of wax.” What do you think this
means? What is the importance of looking like Was” in Elizabethan society?
2. The Nurse appears to be quite a talker in Scene 3. In what ways are her long-winded
speeches funny/satirical/ironic? Give examples.
3. A pun is when you use words that sound the same but have different meaning. Examples
are measure/measure, soles/souls, soar/sore, bound/bound. Find Three examples in lines 10-25
of Scene 4 and decide if the character is trying to be funny, or confusing.
4. In Scene 4, Mercutio gives a speech about Queen Mab (lines 57-75). What does she look
like? What does she bring to people? What is her equivalent in our time?
5. In Scene 5, Romeo is struck by love at first sight (lines 44-54). Paraphrase his speech in
your book. Are his emotions realistic?
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6. In lines 96-115, Romeo compares Juliet to a shrine. Religious imagery runs throughout
their conversation (profane, holy shrine, sin, pilgrims, devotion, palmers, faith, despair, purged,
trespass). Why do you think Romeo uses this religious imagery?
7. How is Romeo’s language different in this scene from how he has spoken earlier?
8. Do you think Romeo is genuinely in love? Explain your reasoning
9. In lines 140-143, Romeo and Juliet realize each other’s identity. Describe Juliet’s feeling at
this moment.
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Close Reading Questions for Act II
1. After the party, where does Romeo go?
2. Who is Romeo talking to in the garden?
3. What is Juliet’s reaction to Romeo hearing her?
4. What does Romeo ask the Friar to do? What does this tell you about their relationship?
5. What does Mercutio accuse Romeo of?
6. Who comes to see Romeo?
7. What is the Nurse’s reaction to Mercutio?
8. What is Romeo’s man going to give to the nurse?
9. What does the Nurse do to torment Juliet?
10. Who meets with Friar Laurence, and why?
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Close Reading Questions Act III
1. What sentence does the Prince give Romeo for killing Tybalt?
2. In contrast to the first balcony scene (Act II.ii) how has Romeo and Juliet’s relationship
changed?
2. What changes do you notice in Juliet’s relationship with her parents?
R&J Act IV
Zeffirelli’s Review
Having just viewed Zeffirelli’s version of Act IV of Romeo & Juliet (the old version) please
answer the following using complete sentences.
1. In your own words, summarize the events in Act IV. How does it differ from the play?
2. What is the tone of the act? What words helped you to identify the tone?
3. What does Juliet’s willingness to take this powerful poison show about her?
4. Why is the Friar willing to help Juliet?
5. According to the Friar’s plan, how are Romeo and Juliet going to be reunited?
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“Romeo and Juliet” Act V Study Questions
1. What news does Romeo’s servant bring him about Juliet?
2. What is an apothecary? Why did Romeo go to one?
3. What does Paris think Romeo is doing when Romeo forces open the Capulet’s tomb?
What is Romeo really doing?
4. What does Romeo find in the tomb? What is his reaction? How would you react?
5. At the end of the play, what effect do Romeo and Juliet’s deaths have on the feud
between the Capulets and the Montagues?
6. In your opinion, is love or hatred a stronger emotion? Explain
7. Who was your favorite character in the play? Explain why
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