Romeo and Juliet
by William Shakespeare
Before, During, and
After Reading Skills
Act IV
Literary Response
Romeo and Juliet Act IV
Read the play carefully and note the choices and decisions
the characters make and how those choices and decisions
impact the characters, events, and conflicts.
Which character do you think is in the most
danger at the end of this Act?
Explain the situation, why it is dangerous, and
how you would have handled the events and
conflicts differently.
Explain your thoughts and ideas and use evidence from
the text to support your response.
Before Reading Skills
Preview and Predictions
•Examine the text features located throughout Act
IV.
•Make a list of the things you “know” or “think you
know” based only on the text features.
•Make a list of at least 3 things you want to know,
but you need to read in order to find out.
•What major events do you predict will happen in
Act III? What information supports your
predictions?
During Reading Skills
Structure and Purpose of a Drama
•The purpose of a drama is to entertain
the audience and to present
information/details about the
characters.
•The audience will learn about the
characters in several ways. Pay
attention to the characters and try to
keep them organized as you read.
•You will be asked to create a character
chart to identify the characters and
their character traits.
How do we learn about a
character during a play?
•What the characters say
•What the characters do
•What other characters
say about them
•How other characters
treat them
Act IV Scene 4
919-921
Sidebar Questions
1. How does this peaceful domestic scene
contrast with what has just happened?
???
The Capulets and their servants are making
jokes and busily preparing for the
wedding; meanwhile, Juliet lies in her
room in a deathlike state, having risked
her life to avoid what her family
celebrates.
Act IV Scene 4
919-921
Sidebar Questions
12. What is Lady Capulet’s tone here?
???
Lady Capulet is teasingly affectionate here,
poking fun of her husband’s past
womanizing.
Act IV Scene 4
919-921
Sidebar Questions
23. The music is the bridal music, for the
wedding. What irony would the audience
sense on hearing this music and knowing
what has happened to Juliet?
???
The audience knows that Juliet will not be
Paris’s bride and that the wedding music
will give way to a funeral dirge.
Act IV Scene 4
919-921
Reading Focus Question
A. Analyzing Cause and Effect – Why do you
think Capulet is so happy to see his
daughter marry Paris? What effect will the
marriage have on his family and the feud
between the Capulets and Montagues?
???
Lord Capulet is happy to have Juliet marry Paris because
it increases the family’s social standing in Verona.
In addition, the marriage may help the Capulets gain an
ally in the feud.
Act IV Scene 5
Pages 922-927
Read the scene and all information and
questions carefully.
* Summarize the major events on each page.
* Identify 2-4 significant lines on each page
using the line numbers only. State the
importance and/or meaning of the lines.
* Select the mood, tone, or character trait
that is revealed through the lines.
Bigger Questions
1. Summarizing - After abandoning Romeo
and Juliet momentarily, the nurse
asserts herself as their accomplice.
What does she volunteer to do?
???
2. Characterization – In Juliet’s dialogue,
how does she illustrate her character
traits of being logical and practical?
???
3. Symbolism – Why does Juliet ask the
nurse to take Romeo a ring?
???
Most Significant Lines
Select a total of four lines from Act
IV that you thought were important,
interesting, funny, or odd.
Copy the lines, page(s), and
character(s) involved.
Translate any words or phrases that
need to be clarified.
Explain the meaning of the lines and
what was happening in the play as
the lines were being spoken.
Romeo and Juliet Act II Scene 3
Pages 853-857
Page 853
1. Elements of Drama – How does
the Friar’s soliloquy on page 853
help “set the stage” for this
scene?
2. Characterization – Make a list of
the details we learn about the
Friar during this scene. What
conclusions can you draw about
him based on the things you
read?
Romeo and Juliet Act II Scene 3
Pages 853-857
Page 855
A. Plot: Rising Action – Romeo enters
quietly, unseen by the friar. As the
friar explains that his flower
contains the power to heal as well
as kill, why might the audience
fear for Romeo and Juliet?
3. Making Inferences - What can you
tell about the relationship between
Romeo and the friar based on their
dialogue?
Romeo and Juliet Act II Scene 3
Pages 853-857
Page 856-857
4. Elements of Drama – In the exposition of
the play, Shakespeare keeps Romeo’s
intense love in perspective by letting the
audience see how others regard him.
What can we learn about Romeo’s “love”
from how the other characters react to
Romeo?
B. Analyzing Cause and Effect – Romeo has
gotten what he wants, and he dashes
offstage. Why do the friar’s last words
leave us with a sense that danger lies
ahead?
Romeo and Juliet Act II Scene 4
Pages 857-863
Page 858
A. Analyzing Cause and Effect – Now that
the play’s love story seems to be heading
toward marriage, Shakespeare turns
again to the feuding families. Why is
Tybalt looking for Romeo? What do you
think will happen when he finds him?
Page 860
B. Making Inferences – What does the loyal
Mercutio think he has accomplished for
Romeo by this game of wits?
Romeo and Juliet Act II Scene 4
Pages 857-863
Pages 862-863
C. Making Inferences – What warning does
the nurse give Romeo, and why do you
think she does this?
D. Plot: Rising Action – The nurse becomes
confiding as she rattles on and on. What
trouble for Romeo and Juliet does she
talk about? What is Juliet’s feeling for
Paris now?
The Language of Shakespeare
How is the language of Shakespeare’s
Romeo and Juliet different from the
language we use?
Identify the differences.
Translate Shakespeare’s words into
modern language.
Explain the meaning of important lines
from Romeo and Juliet.
Storyboard
A storyboard is a series of small
illustrations to tell a story.
You will be creating a 9-box storyboard to
summarize the most important events
from Act IV.
Be sure to select the 9 scenes carefully
and make your illustrations accurate
and clear (use labels if necessary).
On the back of the storyboard write a 9
sentence summary of Act IV.
Staging the Scene
An important part of reading drama is
the ability to visualize the scenes.
As you read the scenes in Romeo and
Juliet, try to imagine how the scene
could be created on a stage to
convey the setting to the audience.
Select a scene from Act IV that you
could “stage” for a production of
Romeo and Juliet.
Illustrate how you would create the
scene on a stage.
Be creative!!!
Index Card
Quiz Tomorrow on Act IV!!!
You may use ONE 3x5 index card
during the quiz.
No other materials will be
available to you during the
quiz.
Everything on the card must be
handwritten – no typed
information.
Predictions and Purpose Setting
• Which predictions were
accurate?
• Which ones need to be
changed/revised?
• Which questions did we find
the answers to while
reading?
• Which questions do we still
not know the answer to yet?
• Do we need to any any new
questions to look for as we
read?