What’s Love Got to Do With it?
“ROMEO AND JULIET”
BY: WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
STUDENT NAME: ______________________________________
Need to know terms
Soliloquy: a speech given by a character alone on stage; lets the audience know what the
character is thinking or feeling.
Aside: is a character’s remark, either to the audience or to another character, that others on stage
do not hear; reveals the character’s private thoughts.
Pun: is a joke that comes from a play on words. It can make use of a word’s multiple meanings
or of a word’s sound.
Dramatic Irony: is when the audience knows more than the characters; helps build suspense.
Foil: is a character whose personality and attitude contrast sharply with those of another
character; highlights both characters’ traits – for example, a timid character can make a talkative
one seems even chattier.
Comic Relief: is a humorous scene or speech intended to lighten the mood; serves to heighten
the seriousness of the main action by contrast.
Shakespeare’s Verse and Prose
The following rhythm pattern is characteristic of Shakespeare’s writing:
dah DUM
dah DUM
dah DUM
dah DUM
dah DUM
I have
not seen.
OR
So foul
and fair
a day
(Macbeth Act I scene 3 line 39)
ACT 1 Scene 1
1. Create a sequence chain to organize the plot events.
Capulet and Montague servants fight.
2. What claim is Sampson making in line 11 about himself and anyone from the rival house
of Montague?
3. Lines 7-16 sets up the family feud by showing how even the Capulet servants express
their ill will toward the Montagues.
a. Who owns the dog that moves Sampson to stand?
b. Which members of the Montague clan will Sampson oppose?
c. What would Sampson like to do to those of the Montague clan?
d. Does Gregory agree with Sampson? How can you tell?
4. Contrast what the servants say openly in lines 35-56 with what they say in asides, or
whispers to each other. What does this contrast reveal about Gregory and Sampson?
5. How does Benvolio show that he may not be as obsessed with hate as are the other
characters in the scene? (review lines 55-58)
6. Why do you think Gregory and Sampson behave more aggressively as soon as they
realize that Tybalt is approaching? (review lines 51-52)
7. In what sense does love win over hate in this scene between the heads of the Montague
and Capulet families?
8. Why is Prince Escalus upset about what has happened in the scene? CITE EVIDENCE
FROM HIS SPEECH.
9. How might Prince Escalus’s threat in line 90 hint at a price that neither party could
understand at this moment?
10. According to Benvolio, what kind of person is Tybalt? Cite evidence from the text to
support your answer.
11. Romeo saw Benvolio coming and hid in the woods. Since Benvolio himself was seeking
solitude, he decided to respect Romeo’s privacy and did not go after him. What does this
action tell you about Benvolio?
12. Why has Romeo been so depressed? (review lines 157-163)
13. How has Montague tried to help his son? Why do you think he has not been successful?
Cite evidence from the text.
14. Does Montague have a good reason to worry about his son? Explain using textual
evidence as support for your answer.
15. What is Romeo’s opinion of love? Cite textual evidence.
16. What is Benvolio’s advice in lines 220-221?
ACT 1 Scene 2
1. Lines 6-19 offers insight into the kind of life that Juliet is expected to have.
a. How long does Capulet want Juliet to wait before getting married?
b. Does he think that Juliet will someday become a wife and mother? Explain.
c. What must Paris do before Capulet gives his consent to marry Juliet?
2. What does Capulet’s response to Paris show about Capulet’s character?
3. To what does Benvolio compare love to in lines 48-49? How do his words apply to
Romeo’s thoughts about Rosaline?
4. In lines 94-99, how does Benvolio think Rosaline will measure up against the other girls?
Cite textual evidence.
ACT 1 Scene 3
1. List 3 character traits the nurse exhibits and use textual evidence as support. (review lines
80-95)
2. What features of Paris does Lady Capulet emphasize? (review lines 80-95)
3. What do you think is Lady’s Capulet’s real motivation? (review lines 80-95)
4. Do you think Lady Capulet provides a strong and effective argument in favor of Paris?
5. (review lines 80-95) Why or why not? Cite textual evidence for support.
6. Lady Capulet describes Paris’s looks to persuade Juliet to take an interest in him. What
do her words have in common with what Romeo has said about love in scenes 1 and 2?
Cite textual evidence as support.
7. Create a Venn diagram to compare how Capulet and his wife are alike and how they
differ on the subject of Juliet’s marriage.
8. How might Lady Capulet’s desire for Juliet to marry Paris lead to conflict later in the
play? Explain your answer.
ACT 1 Scene 4
1. Identify 2 puns in lines 11-22. What effect do they have on the mood of this scene?
2. Paraphrase lines 53-58.
3. Identify the many unusual descriptions of Queen Mab’s appearance in Mercutio’s speech
in lines 53-95.
4. What is Mercutio’s explanation for where dreams come from? Cite textual evidence.
5. What do Mercutio’s comments about Queen Mab reveal about his character?
ACT 1 Scene 5
1. Romeo’s awestruck speech in lines 42-51 is in rhymed couplets, not blank verse.
Why do you think Shakespeare chose to use rhymed verse here? Explain your
answer.
2. In lines 42-51, Romeo first sees Juliet and declares his sudden love, even though he
has not yet met her.
a. To what objects does Romeo compare Juliet? Cite textual evidence. How are
these objects similar?
b. What does Romeo imagine will happen when he touches Juliet’s hand?
c. How does Romeo feel about Rosaline now? How can you tell?
3. In lines 52-57, Tybalt recognizes Romeo’s voice and tells his servant to get his sword
(rapier). He thinks Romeo has come to make fun of (fleer) their party. What does
Tybalt want to do to Romeo?
4. Why does Capulet refuse to let Tybalt act upon his hate for Romeo? Cite textual
evidence.
5. In lines 91-107, what are the religious references in the dialogue? What is meant by
them?
6. What do you think each lover has learned about the other in this brief scene?
7. In lines 87-90, Tybalt says he will restrain himself, but his suppressed anger (choler)
makes his body shake. What do you think he will do about his anger?
8. What great irony has Juliet just begun to grasp about love and hate?
9. In lines 134-144, Juliet’s thrill over her first meeting with Romeo is challenged by the
realization that Romeo is a Montague.
a. What is wrong with Juliet’s new love? How do you think that her feelings
about him have changed?
b. How can you tell that Juliet is worried about the future?
c. Why does she hide from her nurse the truth about what happened?
10. In lines 126-130, Juliet asks the nurse to identify various guests as they leave. What
does she really want to know?
11. How does Juliet feel about the fact that she’s fallen in love with the son of her
father’s enemy? (review lines 137-138)
ACT 1 REVIEW
1. What warning does Prince Escalus give the Capulets and Montagues?
2. What agreement do Paris and Lord Capulet reach?
3. Why does Romeo go to the Capulet’s party?
4. What is the chief obstacle to Romeo’s and Juliet’s love?
5. Identify two characters in Act 1 who are foils for each other. What do you learn about
the characters by seeing them in contrast to one another?
ACT 2 Scene 1
1. What attracted Romeo and Juliet to each other?
2. Consider Romeo’s plans as Act 2 opens. Why do you think Romeo does not want to talk
to Mercutio and Benvolio at this time?
3. Identify 2 examples of parallelism in Mercutio’s speech, lines 7-21.
4. Paraphrase Benvolio’s closing comment in lines 42-43.
ACT 2 Scene 2
1. To whom is Romeo speaking in lines 2-25? Explain what this soliloquy tells you about
Romeo’s thoughts.
2. Near the end of scene 1 (lines 30-34) Benvolio and Mercutio both speak about Romeo’s
“blind” love. How does Romeo’s description of Juliet at the beginning of scene 2 suggest
that Benvolio and Mercutio might be right? Cite textual evidence.
3. Lines 2-25 are a classic soliloquy that uses figurative language to express the poetic
nature of Romeo’s love.
a. Who is the “fair sun” (line 4)? Why, according to Romeo, does this sun make the
moon envious?
b. With whom does Romeo imagine that Juliet is speaking? About what topic?
c. As he finishes his speech, why does Romeo wish that he were a glove on Juliet’s
hand?
4. What does Juliet ask Romeo to do? What does she promise to do?
5. What warning does Juliet give Romeo (lines 63-65)?
6. Reread lines 75-78, and explain what Romeo means. Do you think he is seriously
thinking of death here, or is he just exaggerating because he is head over heels in love?
Explain.
7. Why is Juliet embarrassed that Romeo overheard her (lines 85-89)?
8. Why doesn’t Juliet want Romeo to swear by the moon (lines 109-111)?
9. Reread lines 116-124, and describe Juliet’s attitude at this point.
a. How does she feel about Romeo?
b. Why does she seem uneasy about their relationship?
10. Lines 143-148 advance the plot by revealing a plan for the lovers’ next meeting.
a. What kind of message may Romeo send to Juliet the next day?
b. How will Juliet receive that message?
c. What specific information will Romeo send to Juliet?
d. What is Juliet willing to do when she receives the message? Why?
11. Explain Romeo’s and Juliet’s rationale for running away to marry without parental
knowledge or consent.
ACT 2 Scene 3
1. Why is Friar Laurence a particularly good character to counsel Romeo? Cite textual
evidence to support your answer.
2. By acting as a counselor and performing the marriage of these young lovers, what risk
does Friar Laurence take?
3. Where does Friar Laurence think Romeo has been (line 44)?
4. What does Romeo want from Friar Laurence (lines 66-68)? Why?
5. Why does Friar Laurence agree to help Romeo marry Juliet, despite his worry that
Romeo falls in love too easily? Explain the Friar’s motives.
6. What does Friar Laurence mean when he says that Rosaline “knew well/Thy love did
read by rote, that could not spell” (lines 87-88)?
7. What do you think is the Friar’s tone of voice when he calls Romeo “young waverer”
(line 89)?
8. According to Friar Laurence, why might Romeo’s marriage to Juliet be a happy thing?
ACT 2 Scene 4
1. Why did Tybalt send a letter challenging Romeo to a duel?
2. According to Mercutio, why is Tybalt particularly dangerous? Cite textual evidence to
support your answer.
3. Does Mercutio’s assessment of Tybalt seem like an objective assessment?
4. After scenes 1 and 3, which focus on words of romance and plans for a marriage, scene 4
opens with witty talk and comedy. In what sense, however, is there still a focus upon
love? How does the dialogue reveal this focus? Refer to lines 42-16. Cite textual
evidence to support your answer.
5. In lines 77-81, Mercutio expresses his relief that Romeo seems to be himself again. What
is Mercutio’s opinion about people who brood over love? Why do you think he feels this
way? Cite textual evidence to support your answer.
6. What can you tell about Mercutio and Benvolio, who ridicule the nurse? Who treats her
worse? Why do you think they are so unkind? Cite textual evidence to support your
answer.
7. Romeo is not nearly as unkind as his friends. In fact, once his friends leave, he is
respectful to the nurse and even offers her an apology of sorts (lines 129-130). How do
you explain his behavior?
8. Paraphrase the nurse’s words to Peter (lines 134-135) and Peter’s reply (lines 136-139).
9. How is the nurse’s love for Juliet shown in her response to Romeo? Refer to lines 140147. Cite textual evidence to support your answer.
10. Lines 155-168 lays out the specifics of Romeo’s plan for marrying Juliet.
a. To whom is Romeo speaking?
b. When and where does Romeo want Juliet to meet him?
c. What will he send to the nurse first? Why do you think it will be needed?
ACT 2 Scene 5
1. What do Juliet’s allusions to Venus and Cupid emphasize about her state of mind as she
waits for the nurse to return?
2. What reason might the nurse have for teasing Juliet by not telling her the news right
away?
3. Who do you think is the wiser counselor – Friar Laurence or the Nurse? Explain your
answer.
4. Considering the nurse’s feelings for Juliet, do you think lines 50-51 is really an angry
curse? Explain.
ACT 2 Scene 6
1. What words or phrases in Romeo’s speech (lines 3-8) suggest a tragic future? Cite
specific textual evidence to support your answer.
2. Do you think Friar Laurence understands that the marriage could lead to tragedy?
Does Romeo understand? Cite textual evidence when explaining your answer.
3. Consider what you know about Shakespearean tragedy. Do you think Romeo will
take the advice Friar Laurence gives him in lines 9-15?
4. Lines 24-37 present a moment before the wedding.
a. How does Romeo want Juliet to express her joy?
b. What does Juliet say she cannot “sum up”? Why?
c. According to Friar Laurence, what power will join Romeo and Juliet? Why is
this an important statement?
ACT 2 REVIEW
1. Who challenges Romeo to a duel and why?
2. What important message from Romeo does the nurse bring to Juliet?
3. Why does Friar Laurence agree to marry Romeo and Juliet despite his reservations?
Explain what he hopes this marriage will accomplish.
4. Why do Romeo and Juliet rush to get married after declaring their love? Support your
answer with textual evidence.
ACT 3 Scene 1
1. Based on the opening lines (1-4) what will be the focus of Scene 1: love or hate? Explain
your answer.
2. As you read lines 31-79, think about the play’s mounting conflict. Who is responsible for
starting this sword fight? Cite evidence to support your viewpoint.
3. What does Benvolio want Tybalt and Mercutio to do? Review lines 45-48.
4. What motive does Romeo have for not wanting to fight Tybalt? Who else knows about
this motive? Cite textual evidence.
5. Why do Tybalt and Mercutio fight?
6. Was the fight between Mercutio and Tybalt fair? What factors made it fair or unfair?
Cite textual evidence.
7. What happens to Mercutio? Why do you think he cries, “A plague o’ both your houses!”
(line 85)?
8. What curse does Mercutio repeat three times in this scene? Explain what this ominous
curse might foreshadow?
9. What drives Romeo to challenge Tybalt to fight?
10. Paraphrase lines 102-105.
11. According to Benvolio’s story, in what sense did hate prove stronger than love in the
encounter with Tybalt? Review lines 145-168.
12. Why does Lady Capulet think Benvolio is lying?
ACT 3 Scene 2
1. How do love and hate play a role in the prince’s decision to banish Romeo?
2. How is Juliet’s belief that her new husband is dead an example of dramatic irony?
3. What is Juliet’s first reaction to the news that Romeo has killed Tybalt?
4. What does the speech by Juliet, lines 73-85, suggest about the nature of her love for
Romeo or about the nature of love in general?
5. Compare Juliet’s initial reaction to the news of Tybalt’s death with her response to the
nurse in lines 90-95. What internal conflict is Juliet wrestling with in this scene?
6. Why is Juliet happy? Why is she sad?
7. By this point in the scene, what decision has Juliet made about her loyalty? How does
her decision threaten her relationship with her nurse?
8. At the end of Scene 1, Prince Escalus chose to banish Romeo rather than execute him for
killing Tybalt. In what sense does Romeo’s love make him ungrateful for the prince’s
mercy?
ACT 3 Scene 3
1. How does the friar attempt to help Romeo deal with his grief about being banished?
2. Why does Romeo think banishment is a worse punishment than death? Cite textual
evidence.
3. What is Romeo about to do in lines 106-108?
4. According to Friar Laurence, Why should Romeo’s marriage – his commitment to a
lifelong love – prevent him from killing himself?
5. What three blessings does the friar mention? Review lines 135-140.
6. Lines 146-152 present Friar Laurence’s solution to Romeo’s problem.
a. According to Friar Laurence’s plan, where will Romeo go after seeing Juliet?
b. When will he leave?
c. What will Friar Laurence do while Romeo is in Mantua?
d. Whose help will the friar seek? Why?
7. Despite Romeo’s and Juliet’s anguish, their problem at this point seems solvable.
Summarize the plan that has been made to resolve their dilemma.
ACT 3 Scene 4
1. What do Juliet’s parents think is causing Juliet’s sorrow?
2. How does Capulet understand the role of love when he offers Juliet in marriage to Count
Paris?
3. Predict how Juliet will react to the news that her parents have promised her to Paris.
How might this turn of events add to the play’s mounting conflict?
ACT 3 Scene 5
1. Think about the proverb “Love is blind.” How does Romeo’s love blind him and put him
in danger?
2. What is Juliet trying to get Romeo to believe? Why?
3. What is Juliet’s vision in lines 54-56?
4. How can Juliet’s words to her mother, lines 81-102, be words of hate and words of love
at the same time?
5. What does Lady Capulet think Juliet is crying about in lines 69-70? In reality, what is
Juliet crying about?
6. In lines 149-168, what has Juliet done to cause her father’s anger? Is Capulet’s hate well
founded?
7. In lines 176-196, Capulet has harsh words for his daughter.
a. What good qualities about Paris does Capulet name?
b. Paris is a kinsman of Prince Escalus. What effect might that relationship have
upon Capulet’s anger toward Juliet?
8. In lines 213-219, the nurse begins her attempt to change Juliet’s mind.
a. According to the nurse, what is the status of Juliet’s marriage to Romeo? Cite
textual evidence.
b. What specific action does the nurse suggest Juliet take? Cite textual evidence.
c. What is the nurse’s opinion of Paris? Cite textual evidence.
ACT 3 review
1. How is Romeo accidentally responsible for Mercutio’s death?
2. Why does Prince Escalus banish Romeo from Verona?
3. What promise does Lord Capulet make to Paris?
4. Why does Lord Capulet become so enraged with Juliet?
ACT 4 scene 1
1. What is the friar’s real motive for wanting to slow down the wedding preparations?
2. According to Paris, why does Capulet want Juliet to marry so quickly?
3. How does Paris’s expression of love compare to Romeo’s expression of love when her
first met Juliet? Cite textual evidence.
4. Lines 50-59 reveal Juliet’s fragile state of mind as she asks for Friar Laurence’s help?
a. Why is Juliet so upset?
b. What help does Juliet want from Friar Laurence?
c. What is Juliet prepared to do if Friar Laurence does not help her?
d. How does she want him to feel about her decision?
5. In lines 77-88, how would the actions of Juliet’s list get her out of the marriage with
Paris?
6. Why is Juliet so dramatically upset? Does she really dislike Paris so intensely, or does
she simply want to avoid the shame of betraying her husband?
7. According to the friar’s plan, what will happen when Paris comes to wake Juliet?
Review lines 107-112.
ACT 4 scene 2
1. What reason does Juliet give for offering an apology to her father?
2. What is the real reason for Juliet’s apology?
3. By making an apology, Juliet regains her father’s favor. Why do you think Capulet is
so quickly convinced?
4. By presenting Capulet’s response to Juliet’s apology, lines 23-37 introduce a further
complication to the story.
a. How does Capulet react to the apology? Cite textual evidence.
b. Which words show his feelings? Cite textual evidence.
c. When will the wedding take place? Was this the original plan? How does
Juliet’s mother feel about Capulet’s decision? Cite textual evidence.
d. Who will help Juliet prepare for the wedding? Does Capulet approve? Why
or why not? Cite textual evidence.
5. What is ironic, line 32, about Capulet’s praise of Friar Laurence?
6. Think about how the plot of this tragedy is unfolding. What does moving the
wedding up by one day do to Friar Laurence’s plan? Cite textual evidence.
ACT 4 scene 3
1. In her anxious state, what does Juliet suspect about Friar Laurence’s motives for giving
her the potion? Do you really think she believes this to be true? Explain.
2. In lines 55-58, Juliet musters her courage and drinks Friar Laurence’s potion.
a. Who is the ghost that Juliet imagines she see? What is it doing and why?
b. What does Juliet mean when she says, “I come!” (line 58)?
c. What fateful action does Juliet take as Scene 3 concludes?
ACT 4 scene 5
1. Once they realize that Juliet is dead (or so they think) how do the nurse and Lady Capulet
express their love for Juliet? Cite textual evidence.
2. In lines 28-29, what simile does Capulet use to describe what has happened to Juliet?
3. According to Friar Laurence, what is the highest form of human advancement?
4. How might Friar Laurence’s advice to the family be different if he did not know that
Juliet was alive?
5. In lines 84-95, Capulet and Friar Laurence conclude this scene’s grieving mood.
a. What does Friar Laurence say should be done with Juliet?
b. What things for Juliet’s wedding will now be used for her funeral?
c. How does Friar Laurence suggest that Juliet’s “death” may be her family’s fault?
Do you think he means it?
6. Reread lines 96-99. The musician is talking about the case for his instrument. What
“case” is the nurse referring to?
7. Do the risks that Juliet has taken justify in her desperate attempt to avoid marriage with
Paris? Cite details from Act 3 Act 4 or both to support your answer.
ACT 4 review
1. What reason does Paris give for Lord Capulet’s decision to move up the wedding?
2. At first, what does Juliet believe is the only solution to her problem?
3. What plan does Friar Laurence devise for Juliet, and what reservations does Juliet have
about this plan?
ACT 5 scene 1
1. Paraphrase lines 1-11. What part of Romeo’s seemingly happy dream foreshadows the
tragic events to come?
2. Lines 17-23 uses Balthasar’s news to set the tragic conclusion of the play in motion.
a. What information has Balthasar brought?
b. How does Balthasar know it?
c. Why does Balthasar bring the news to Romeo?
d. Why does he ask forgiveness for doing so?
3. What does Romeo mean in line 34? Explain whether he thoughtfully considers his
options or plunges immediately into action.
4. Why does Romeo refer to the poison as a “cordial”?
5. Which of these two characters; Romeo or the apothecary; has a greater fear of death?
Explain and use textual evidence.
6. What does the apothecary’s hesitancy to give Romeo the poison reveal about his
character? Cite textual evidence.
ACT 5 scene 2
1. Why does Friar John not go to Mantua?
2. The message to Romeo has not been delivered. What implication does this have on the
plot?
3. Explain what you learn about the friar’s new plan in this soliloquy. Why is it essential
that the friar reach Juliet before Romeo does?
ACT 5 scene 3
1. How does Paris indicate that he indeed has love for Juliet?
2. Reread lines 25-39 and think about how tragedies usually end for the main characters.
Paraphrase the two reasons Romeo gives for going to the tomb. What third reason does
he hint at?
3. Who else besides Balthasar is hiding in the cemetery at this point?
4. Consider what you know about Romeo’s traits and flaws. Is Romeo at fault for fighting
Paris? Why or why not?
5. What features of Juliet’s face, mentioned by Romeo, should lead Romeo to doubt his
intent to commit suicide?
6. What does Romeo hope to accomplish by killing himself?
7. In lines 71-87, Romeo removes one more obstacle between himself and Juliet: Paris.
a. When does Romeo figure out who Paris is?
b. How did he find out that Paris was going to marry Juliet?
c. What does Romeo do and say after killing Paris?
8. On what does Romeo blame his imminent death?
9. Does Romeo really prove his love for Juliet by drinking the poison? What action might
he have taken to show his love more effectively? Refer to lines 110-120.
10. Why is the friar so anxious to leave?
11. Prince Escalus refers to “this foul murder” (line 1988), and the chief watchman says that
Romeo has been “slaughtered” (line 199) seem to interpret the scene as one of hate. In
what ironic sense is it actually a scene of love?
12. Why is it appropriate that Friar Laurence be the one to explain the events that led to the
three deaths?
13. Does Friar Laurence think he has done anything wrong? Should he think so?
14. Reread lines 291-295. On what does the prince blame all the deaths? What theme or
message might this passage suggest?
15. In lines 298-310, the concluding passage, the families settle their feud and make plans to
honor Romeo and Juliet.
a. What will Montague do to honor Juliet?
b. What will Capulet do to honor Romeo?
c. How will their actions settle the feud?
d. How will Prince Escalus follow up on what has happened?
ACT 5 review
1. What prevents Friar Jon from delivering the letter to Romeo?
2. Why does Paris attack Romeo at the Capulets’ tomb?
3. How do the bodies of Paris, Romeo and Juliet all end up in the Capulets’ tomb?
4. Explain how each character loses his or her life.
a. Paris:
b. Romeo:
c. Juliet: