Name__________________________________
Romeo and Juliet
Act Three
Scene One
1. What day and time of day is it in this scene?
2. What is the weather like? How is this likely to affect people’s mood?
3. What is ironic about Mercutio’s analysis of Benvolio in lines 16-31?
4. Based upon lines 1-56, what kind of a mood would you say Mercutio is in?
5. In the hope of provoking a fight, Tybalt insults Romeo. What does he say to him? Note that in upper class
Italian society at that time, insults to one’s honor had to be avenged in a duel—otherwise the man who was
insulted would be branded as a coward by his friends and by
society generally.
6. How does Romeo respond to Tybalt’s insult? What is
Romeo’s reason for “loving” Tybalt (line 63).
7. Tybalt continues to try to provoke Romeo, but Romeo will
not respond. What do you think the onlookers (Romeo’s
friends, passers-by, Tybalt’s friends, and so on) think of Romeo
at this point.
8. Mercutio steps in on Romeo’s behalf. What insult does he
hurl at Tybalt? Note that Tybalt now has no choice but to fight
Mercutio.
9. Tybalt and Mercutio would probably just have been satisfied with injuring each other. What happens to
make the fight turn deadly?
10. As Mercutio is dying, he continues to play with words and even to make a pun (a play on the double
meaning of a word). What pun does he make in line 102?
11. As Mercutio is dying, he curses the Montagues and Capulets. How many times
does he curse them?
12. Now that Mercutio, Romeo’s best friend, is dead, Romeo wants to fight Tybalt.
Who, or what, does he blame for his lack of courage, or “valour,” in failing to fight
Tybalt earlier?
13. Lines 124 and 125 mark this scene as the climax. Note that the climax of the play makes the final
catastrophe (the deaths of the lovers) inevitable. What is Romeo saying in these lines?
Note: So far this play has seemed more like romantic comedy than tragedy. There have
been comic scenes, jokes, and successful wooing between happy lovers. The climax
marks the central turning point of the play. From now on we have “falling action,” all of
which leads to the final catastrophe. The play now turns much darker. We will see many
scenes and events that parallel scenes and events that took place in the first half of the
play, only presented in a much more tragic light. As you read the remainder of this play,
please look out for references and parallels to the first half of the play.
14. After Romeo kills Tybalt, he declares that he is “Fortune’s fool!” (line 142). Note that a fool is a toy or a
plaything. In describing Romeo as the plaything of fortune, Shakespeare is reminding his audience that
Romeo and Juliet are “star-crossed lovers” (Prologue to Act I). Romeo runs away, and all of the main
characters converge on the scene. What scene that took place toward the beginning of the play are we
reminded of here?
15. As at the beginning of the play, Benvolio described how the fight between the servants, etc., began. In
this scene he again describes the fight and its causes. Is he description here fair and accurate, do you think?
Explain.
16. Who seems to be the most distraught at Tybalt’s death?
17. What kind of revenge does she want?
18. Who speaks up on Romeo’s behalf? What is his reasoning?
19. What is Romeo’s punishment? Why not death?
20. Who do you think was to blame for all of this? Who was the first person to mention fighting in this
scene? (Look back to page 117.)
21. While this scene was taking place, where was Juliet, and what was she thinking and anticipating? Note
the irony.
Scene Two
1. Complete this paraphrase of Juliet's soliloquy (lines 1-33)
Hurry up, _____________ and set so that night will come and _______________ can leap into my _________.
Lovers don't need _______________ to make love. If ____________ is blind it best agrees with
_____________. Come on, night, so I can learn to ___________ the love game. I'll _________ to Romeo, and
we'll both lose our ______________. Cover my blushing ____________ until I grow __________ enough to
act out my true __________. Come night. Come _____________, and lie with me this night. Give me my
________ and when he ___________ cut him up into little ___________, and he will light the ________ so
fine that all the _________ will be on love with ____________ and not with the _________. Oh, I have taken
the _______________ vow, yet I am
still a virgin. It's like a child who has
new _______, but is not allowed to
__________ them.
2. Count the number of times in Juliet’s
soliloquy that reference is made to the
light/day, black/white, night/day motif
that runs all the way through this play.
(Note that a motif in literature is simply
something that keeps recurring.
3. When the audience knows something the character does not, we call it “dramatic irony.” Explain the
dramatic irony in the beginning of this scene.
4. The nurse comes in with the news about the fight, about Tybalt’s death, and about Romeo’s banishment.
She essentially tortures Juliet by delaying giving her the news. When have we seen the nurse do something
like this before? Note that at that time it was comical and humorous. Now it is simply cruel. At first, Juliet
thinks who is dead?
4. When she first hears the news, she is angry with—whom? What then happens to make her defend him?
5. Juliet’s mixed feelings about Romeo are appropriately expressed
through oxymoron. Write two examples of her use of oxymoron from
lines 79 – 91.
6. Juliet’s use of oxymoron parallels whose use of oxymoron at the
beginning of the play? Note that at the beginning of the play,
oxymoron was used to demonstrate faked feelings and emotions. Now,
oxymoron is used to demonstrate Juliet’s genuinely mixed feelings.
5. What does Juliet plan to do with the cords? (See lines 149-150)
6. How does the nurse console her?
Scene Three
1. Where is Romeo in this scene, and how does he react to the news of his banishment?
2. How does Romeo’s reaction compare to Juliet’s? Note the childishness of his envy of Verona’s flies.
3. What does Romeo do that causes Friar Lawrence to burst out in anger and chide Romeo?
4. Complete this paraphrase of Friar Laurence's speech (lines 108-154).
Stop! - Are you a ______? You look like a man but you cry like a ___________ and act like a ___________.
I'm surprised at you! I thought you were a better man than that. You already killed _____________. Will you
now kill _____________ and by doing so kill __________ who loves you? What are you _____________
about? You're alive aren't you? ________ on you! You are a _________ to your manhood, trying to
_________ yourself after vowing to love and _________ Juliet. Your ________ that should guide your body
and your love is ________ like a _______ soldier trying to load his _______ and kills himself instead of the
enemy. What's wrong with you ________? __________ is alive. There, you are lucky. ________ would have
_______ you but instead you killed him. There, you are lucky. The Prince could have ________ you to
______, but he only _________ you. There, you are lucky. You have much to be ___________ for, but instead
of counting your _________, you sulk and ________ like a spoiled child. Stop sulking, and go to your
__________ and ____________ her. But don't __________ too long, or you won't be able to get pass the
__________ to go to _________ where you can stay until I can tell your __________ about your
___________, reconcile them, and get the _________ to _________ you so you can come back and live
happily. Go, __________ and tell ________ to go to bed early because ______ is coming.
Scene Four
1. What day and time of day is it in this scene?
2. Where does this scene take place?
3. The Capulets assume that Juliet is grieving over whom?
4. Lord Capulet is so confident that Juliet will want to marry Paris (probably based on his wife’s report of
Juliet’s willingness earlier in the play) that he makes a “tender” (a bet) that Juliet will marry Paris, and goes
even further, stating that he “doubts it not,” as Juliet is always “ruled in all respects” by him. Here he is
committing himself--in front of a Paris, an important person in the town—by stating that his has complete
control over his daughter. If Juliet were to now turn around and tell him that she will not marry Paris, how do
you think Lord Capulet will react? Remember how he reacted at the party when Tybalt threatened to disobey
him. Any disobedience from Juliet at this point will be ten times worse, because Paris will know about it!
5. Explain the dramatic irony in this scene. What is happening as this scene takes place?
Scene Five
1. Day breaks, and the two lovers must part after consummating their wedding vows. Who is the more
practical of the two lovers here? How is this different from earlier in the play?
2. How is the light/dark, day/night, black/white motif evident at the beginning of this scene?
3. In lines 7 – 10, Romeo speaks some of the most beautiful lines in the
play. Why does Shakespeare have him speak such beautiful and
sophisticated poetry at this point?
4. Paraphrase lines 7 – 10.
5. How does line 36 directly summarize the light/dark motif?
6. Who interrupts this beautiful scene of love? When did we see her interrupt such a beautiful scene of love
before?
7. As Romeo descends from Juliet’s window, she suddenly has a premonition, or presentiment. How does
Romeo appear to her? Note that this is the last time she will see Romeo alive.
8. Lady Capulet assumes that Juliet is crying over Tybalt. What is Lady Capulet planning to do to Romeo?
9. We see Juliet again being very clever with language. How does she manage to convince her mother that
she hates Romeo, while telling the audience how much she loves him?
10. As Lord Capulet enters, he is in what kind of a mood?
11. What does Lady Capulet say about her daughter in line 145?
12. What is Juliet trying to tell her father, in line 165? How does Lord Capulet react? With what does he
threaten Juliet (lines 166-170)?
13. What does Lord Capulet say about Juliet in lines 172-174?
14. What does the nurse try to tell the Capulets in line 182?
15. In line 207, Lord Capulet says he will “not be forsworn.” What does he mean?
16. Juliet turns to her mother for comfort. How does her mother react?
17. Juliet now turns to the only other adult in the room who has not yet cast her off. What advice does the
nurse give to Juliet?
18. What does the nurse’s advice to Juliet tell us about the nurse?
19. Juliet curses the nurse (cleverly, and subtly, as is all of her
language). She decides she will break with the nurse—that is, she
will no longer make a confidante of her. Why is it appropriate that
at this particular point in Juliet’s life she should cast off her nurse?
20. Juliet resolves to do where, to do what? What is her “insurance
policy?”