Act 1
Vocabulary
Five Times Each:
foe
Definition:
Sentence:
Synonym:
grove
Antonym:
Definition:
Sentence:
Synonym:
nourished
Antonym:
Definition:
Sentence:
Synonym:
beauteous
Antonym:
Definition:
Sentence:
Synonym:
shrine
Antonym:
Definition:
Sentence:
Synonym:
Antonym:
Act 1
Discussion Questions
1. Sum up the reaction of the Prince and citizens of Verona to the feud between the Capulets and the
Montagues.
2. Based on his behavior in Scene 1, how would you describe Tybalt?
3. (a) In the characterization of Romeo, what do Montague’s remarks on page 4 suggest that Romeo is
like?
3. (b) What do Montague’s remarks show about his own attitude toward his son?
4. (a) Sum up what we learn about Juliet in the exchange between her father and Paris at the start of
Scene 2.
4. (b) What does Capulet say regarding Paris’s interest in marrying Juliet?
5. (a) Why is Romeo reluctant to go to the Capulets’ party?
5. (b) Why does Romeo finally agree to attend?
6. How does Tybalt react when he recognizes Romeo?
7. (a) Why does Capulet let Romeo stay at the party when he learns who Romeo is?
7. (b) What does this decision show about Capulet?
8. What does Juliet mean when she says “My only love comes from my only hate”?
Act 1
Writing Activity
Directions: Write a paragraph about the problems you foresee in Romeo and Juliet’s romance.
Act 1
Characterization
• Characterization is the way or ways in which a writer reveals information about a character.
• In direct characterization, a writer makes direct statements about a character’s appearance,
personality, and actions.
• In indirect characterization, a writer suggests information about a character through what the
character says and does, what other characters say about him or her, or how other characters behave
toward him or her.
Directions: Think about a character in the work (Tybalt, Montague, Romeo, Capulet, or
Juliet) —a character who has made an impression on you. Answer these questions about
that character, noting page references from the work that support your answers:
1. Who is that character, and what makes him or her memorable?
2a. What does the writer tell you directly about the character’s appearance?
2b. What does the writer tell you directly about the character’s personality?
2c. What does the writer tell you directly about the character’s actions?
3a. Give examples of how the writer develops the character through things that the
character says or thinks.
3b. Give examples of how the writer develops the character through things that the
character does.
3c. Give examples of how the writer develops the character through things that the other
characters’ comments about him or her.
3d. Give examples of how the writer develops the character through things that the
other characters’ behavior toward him or her.
Act 1
Characterization (continued)
Directions: Use the information to create a character wheel.
4. Based on what you have read so far, why do you think that it is important to have this
information about the character?
Act 1
Characters—Comparing and Contrasting


Comparing and contrasting characters involves examining their similarities and differences in
terms of appearance, background, personality, and actions.
When you compare, you show how things are similar to each other; when you contrast, you show
how things are different. Comparing and contrasting will help you clarify the relationships between
people, places, and things that you read about in a work.
Directions: Consider how the characters are similar and different in terms of appearance, background,
personality, and actions. Then, fill in the overlapping area with their similarities and the areas that don’t
overlap with their differences. Once you have filled in the diagram, answer the questions at the bottom of
the page. Compare and contrast Montague with Capulet, Tybalt with Capulet, or Romeo with Mercutio or
Benvolio.
Which do these two characters have more of—similarities or differences? Which seem more important to
the story—their similarities or their differences? Explain.
Do these differences or similarities reveal or contribute to a theme of the work? Explain.
Act 2
Vocabulary
Five Times Each:
scaled
Definition:
Sentence:
Synonym:
coy
Antonym:
Definition:
Sentence:
Synonym:
rash
Antonym:
Definition:
Sentence:
Synonym:
sociable
Antonym:
Definition:
Sentence:
Synonym:
abbey
Antonym:
Definition:
Sentence:
Synonym:
Antonym:
Act 2
Discussion Questions
1. Explain the dramatic irony in Scene 1. What do Mercutio and Benvolio think is true, and what do we
know is true?
2. (a) Explain why Romeo’s opening speech in Scene 2 is a soliloquy even though Juliet appears on stage.
2. (b) What feelings does he reveal?
3. (a) Explain how Juliet’s “What’s in a name?” and remark about the rose (page 23) apply to the situation
concerning Romeo.
3. (b) Why do you think Juliet calls parting, or leaving, “sweet sorrow” (page 28)?
4. (a) In Scene 3, why is Friar Lawrence surprised by Romeo’s news about Juliet?
4. (b) Why is he happy to assist Romeo in his new romance?
5. Based on the dialogue in Scene 4, what would you say Mercutio is like?
6. How does the Nurse show loyalty to Juliet in Scene 4?
7. What is Friar Lawrence about to do for Romeo and Juliet when Scene 6 closes?
Act 2
Writing Activity
Directions: Contrast the Nurse and Friar Lawrence. Then, explain how the relationship between Juliet
and the Nurse is like that of Romeo and the Friar.
Act 2
Drama: Dramatic Speeches
• An aside is a brief comment made by one character that is not meant to be heard by other characters.
An aside is spoken to the audience or to the character himself or herself. It is generally assumed that the
information revealed in an aside is true.
• A soliloquy is a longer speech in which a character reveals his or her true thoughts or feelings.
Soliloquies are unheard by other characters, and they usually occur when the speaker is alone on stage.
• A monologue is a long, uninterrupted speech by one character, to which other characters may or may
not listen.
Directions: Complete the chart below with an example of a dramatic speech from the play that you are
reading, indicating the type of speech, who hears it, and what the speech reveals.
Does the audience learn anything from this speech that the other characters don’t learn or
already know? If so, what does the audience learn, and how does it affect the play to this
point?
Act 2
Paraphrase
When readers paraphrase a passage, they first think carefully about the author’s words,
using their own knowledge and experience. Then, they restate the information in their
own words. Follow these steps when you paraphrase:
1. As you read, ask yourself what the author is saying.
2. Think of ways in which you could say the same thing in your own words.
3. Look up any words that you do not know.
Directions: Choose a few difficult sentences or lines from the book that you are reading,
and paraphrase them in your own words.
Difficult sentence or line(s)
page #
“Writer’s Words”
What main ideas am I able to identify through paraphrasing?
How do these ideas help me understand the overall meaning of the work?
Paraphrase
Act 3
Vocabulary
Five Times Each:
banished
Definition:
Sentence:
Synonym:
chamber
Antonym:
Definition:
Sentence:
Synonym:
kinsman
Antonym:
Definition:
Sentence:
Synonym:
fickle
Antonym:
Definition:
Sentence:
Synonym:
fiend
Antonym:
Definition:
Sentence:
Synonym:
Antonym:
Act 3
Discussion Questions
1. (a) Why does Romeo at first try to stop the fight with Tybalt?
1. (b) Why does Romeo finally kill Tybalt?
2. At the start of Scene 2, why does Juliet want the sun to hurry?
3. How does Juliet react to the news that Romeo has killed Tybalt and has been banished?
4. Why does Romeo consider it torture to be banished from Verona?
5. What causes Capulet to change his mind and push ahead with Juliet’s wedding to Paris, even though
Juliet herself has not agreed?
6. In Scene 5, why does Juliet try to convince Romeo it is the nightingale, not the lark, that they hear?
7. Explain the dramatic irony in the exchange between Juliet and her mother in Scene 5. What does Lady
Capulet think Juliet feels about Tybalt’s murderer? How does she really feel?
8. Why does Juliet turn against her Nurse at the end of Act 3?
Act 3
Writing Activity
Directions: How would Juliet’s parents react to the news about her marriage to Romeo? Is she right not
to tell them? Explain your opinion in a paragraph.
Act 3
Predict
• A prediction is an educated guess about what will happen next in a narrative. As the events unfold,
active readers try to predict what will happen next in the plot. Look for hints in the story that suggest a
certain outcome. These hints can be found in the dialogue, action, or descriptions. Also, you might base a
prediction on your own experience in a similar situation or on what you think you would do in a similar
situation. After making a prediction, it is important to continue reading to find out whether your
prediction is correct.
Directions: In the work that you are reading, choose a section in which the outcome of events is
uncertain. Then, complete the following activities:
Page(s) on which the passage appears:_____________________________________________________
1. Based on this passage, what prediction can you make about the events to come? Briefly describe your
prediction below.
2. What hints in the narrative— such as dialogue, action, or description— are the basis for your
prediction? List them below.
Complete the following activity after you have learned whether your prediction was correct:
3. Was your prediction correct?
4. If you answered yes to question 3, briefly describe the outcome of the situation.
5. If you answered no to question 3, reread the passage. Then, list the details that could have helped you
make a correct prediction.
Act 4
Vocabulary
Five Times Each:
intrude
Definition:
Sentence:
Synonym:
portion
Antonym:
Definition:
Sentence:
Synonym:
woe
Antonym:
Definition:
Sentence:
Synonym:
gorged
Antonym:
Definition:
Sentence:
Synonym:
morsel
Antonym:
Definition:
Sentence:
Synonym:
Antonym:
Act 4
Discussion Questions
1. (a) What reason does Friar Lawrence give Paris for opposing the wedding plans?
1. (b) What is the real reason he opposes the marriage?
2. (a) Sum up Friar Lawrence’s plan to help Juliet avoid marrying Paris.
2. (b) Is his plan a good one? Why or why not?
3. What are some of Juliet’s fears about taking the potion?
4. (a) Explain the dramatic irony in the remarks and beliefs of Capulet and Lady
Capulet in Scene 5.
4. (b) How would you describe their feelings?
5. What does Paris mean when he says he is “divorced” by death?
Act 4
Writing Activity
Directions: Write a paragraph explaining the risks of Friar Lawrence’s plan. What could go wrong, and
what might happen?
Act 4
Irony




Irony is the result of a contrast between appearance or expectation and reality.
In verbal irony, words are used to suggest the opposite of what is meant.
In dramatic irony, what appears to be true to a character is not what the reader or audience
knows to be true.
In situational irony, an event occurs that directly contradicts expectations.
Directions: Focus on dramatic irony in Scene 5. Explain what the characters believe to be true and what
the audience or reader knows is true. In the left column, note ironic remarks or summarize ironic
situations. In the center column, tell what would have been expected or how things appeared at first. In
the right column, indicate whether each example represents verbal, dramatic, or situational irony.
Example of Irony
Expectation or
Type of Irony
Appearance
How do these instances of irony serve the work as a whole? Do they add humor to the work? Do they
support one of its themes? Explain.
Act 5
Discussion Questions
1. What causes Friar Lawrence’s important message to Romeo to go astray?
2. After he hears of Juliet’s death, what does Romeo decide to do?
3. Why does Paris come to Juliet’s tomb?
4. What does Romeo mean when he tells Paris, “I value your life more than mine. I have come armed
against myself”?
5. Use the stage directions and dialogue to sum up the events inside the tomb.
6. Why does the feud end?
7. (a) How would you describe the play’s ending?
7. (b) How did it make you feel?
Act 5
Writing Activity
Directions: Explain who or what you think is most to blame for the tragic ending of Romeo and Juliet. Is it
fate? The feuding families? Friar Lawrence? Or Romeo and Juliet themselves?
Act 5
Drama: Dialogue and Stage Directions
• In a drama, or play, the dialogue is the words that characters speak to one another or to the audience.
• Stage directions are the playwright’s instructions and other information for staging, or putting on, the
play.
Directions: Use the stage directions and dialogue to follow Romeo and Juliet’s actions in Scene 3.
1. Briefly describe the style of the scenes dialogue. For example, is it formal or informal? Is it realistic?
Poetic? Do some characters speak differently than others do? Cite examples.
2. Complete this chart with one or two examples of each type of information found in the stage
directions.
Setting Indications
General Character
Descriptions
Details of Characters’
Movements
Details of Characters’ Tone in
Speaking
Act 5
Irony




Irony is the result of a contrast between appearance or expectation and reality.
In verbal irony, words are used to suggest the opposite of what is meant.
In dramatic irony, what appears to be true to a character is not what the reader or audience
knows to be true.
In situational irony, an event occurs that directly contradicts expectations.
Directions: Focus on situational irony and the tragic failure of Friar Lawrence’s plan. Explain what the
characters believe to be true and what the audience or reader knows is true. In the left column, note
ironic remarks or summarize ironic situations. In the center column, tell what would have been expected
or how things appeared at first. In the right column, indicate whether each example represents verbal,
dramatic, or situational irony.
Example of Irony
Expectation or
Type of Irony
Appearance
How do these instances of irony serve the work as a whole? Do they add humor to the work? Do they
support one of its themes? Explain.