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Name:_________________________
Date:__________
Romeo and Juliet Study Guide
Folger Shakespeare Library Edition
English 1H
Answer the following questions in journal form. Make sure that
you give thorough answers that demonstrate reflection. Words
in bold are literary terms.
Act Two
Act II Prologue
1. Although this prologue adds nothing new to this plot, merely acting as a
convenient summary of what has happened to Romeo and Juliet in Act I, do
you think anything would be lost if it were omitted?
Act II Scene 1
1. Lines 8-24. What is Mercutio’s attitude towards Romeo?
2. Lines 1-46. What contrasts are there between Benvolio and Mercutio in this
conversation?
Act II Scene 2
1. Line 1. How does Mercutio’s attitude towards lovemaking compare with
Romeo’s? Why do you think Shakespeare bothers to preface Romeo’s
meeting with Juliet with this conversation? How is the mood of the scene
changed by Romeo’s reaction to Mercutio’s words?
2. Lines 2-26. How does Romeo’s tribute to Juliet compare with his remarks
about Rosaline in Act I Scene 1 lines 216 onward?
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3. What kind of movements might Romeo make until the moment he reveals his
presence to Juliet?
4. Lines 41-52. What is the importance of Juliet’s speech about names in the
context of the play as a whole?
5. Line 34. The first Quarto of Shakespeare’s works reads “lacing-pacing”; the
Folio reads “lazy puffing”; one editor prefers “lazy passing”. Which do you
think gives the most appropriate image?
6. Lines 53-55. How do you think an actress might physically react to Romeo’s
revelation of his presence? Bear in mind where she may be standing and
what she may be wearing.
7. Line 63 on. What aspect of Juliet’s love for Romeo do her words reveal at
this point?
8. Line 68. In what way do you think that the rhythm of the line supports the
meaning?
9. Line 88. In what way does the line create the sound of the sea?
10. Lines 90-111. What does Juliet have to say about truth and pretence in these
lines? What does it reveal about her?
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11. Line 123. Why does Juliet’s tone suddenly change at this line? What is she
frightened of? What effect do her words have on the mood of the scene?
12. Lines 132-148. Compared to when they first met, is it possible to say that
Romeo and Juliet have already matured in their love? Look closely at the
language.
13. Lines 140-142. Comment on the imagery in these lines. Find examples of
similar imagery elsewhere in the play.
14. Line 143. What is the effect of the Nurse’s interruption?
15. Lines 165-168. Should Romeo address these lines to the audience or to
himself? Write a note to the actor playing Romeo explaining how you want
him to move and the tone of voice you wish him to employ.
16. Line 186. Where is “there” in this line? Draw a sketch illustrating your idea of
the setting for this scene and where you envisage the actors placed in it.
17. This is one of the most famous love scenes in the whole of English Literature.
What are the main impressions left by the scene?
18. What sort of balance is struck between happiness and apprehension?
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19. How does our knowledge of the family circumstances affect our view of the
love between Romeo and Juliet?
20. How far do the time and setting enhance the effect of the scene? And how
far does the language of the scene indicate time and setting?
Act II Scene 3
1. Line 1. Why do you think the night is described as frowning in this line?
2. Lines 1-22. How do Friar Lawrence’s words contrast in content and style with
the preceding conversations between Romeo and Juliet? What is the
significance of Romeo’s unseen entry at line 22?
3. Lines 23-30. How do the Friar’s words in these lines relate to the central
theme of the play? (The presence of Romeo may help to reinforce their
significance for an audience.)
4. Line 47-48. Why are there repeated references to Rosaline? How should an
actor react to this mention?
5. Lines 54-55. Explain the appropriateness of the image in these lines.
6. Line 69. In what tone should the actor playing Friar Lawrence address
Romeo in his speech beginning here?
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7. Lines 70-85. How serious are the Friar’s expressions of surprise? How
justified is he in his criticism of Romeo?
8. At what point does the conversation take a more serious turn? Do you think
the Friar is convinced of the genuineness of Romeo’s love for Juliet? What
finally decides him to agree to Romeo’s request?
9. Line 101. Do the Friar’s closing words remind you of anything Juliet said in
the previous scene? What is the effect of this repetition?
Act II Scene 4
1. Lines 6-8. Although the opening of this scene is light-hearted, a shadow may
be said to be cast over the ending of the previous scene. How?
2. Line 14 on. Why does Mercutio’s name suit him? Show how he dominates
the action when on stage.
3. Line 48 on. How is Romeo different from the Romeo we have seen so far in
the play? Why?
4. Lines 51-59. What repeated physical actions might accompany the actors’
words during these lines?
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5. Lines 56-89. With detailed reference to the text, show how in these lines
Romeo’s good spirits make him now a match for Mercutio’s wit, and how
Mercutio is not now allowed to dominate the wordplay unchallenged.
6. Line 48 on. From the moment of his entry into this scene at this line Romeo is
slow to join in the spirit of the conversation, but having done so he then
makes no response to Mercutio’s remarks from line 90 on. What does this
suggest about his reaction to these remarks? How would Romeo’s behavior
on stage help to communicate this reaction to the audience? What do
Benvolio’s words tell us about his reaction to what has been said?
7. Line 106 on. How much can you say about the character of the Nurse from
this page?
8. Lines 114-115. In the face of joking from the boys, how does she try to
preserve her dignity? Is she shocked by Mercutio’s remark in these lines?
9. Lines 106-145. What stage movements and physical reactions would be
appropriate to this page of text?
10. Lines 122-125. Do you think the Nurse understands Romeo at this line? Or
are Mercutio’s words ironic at lines 127-128?
11. Lines 146-162. Write notes concerning anything which the actors playing the
Nurse, Romeo, and Peter might bear in mind when rehearsing these lines.
You may wish to mention such matters as tone of voice, physical movement,
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interaction with audience (will they laugh at this movement, necessitating a
pause?) and so forth.
12. Lines 175-176. Does the Nurse understand what Romeo is trying to say in
these lines? Why does she not really listen to him?
13. Lines 187-189. In many productions, the Nurse takes the money at line 189.
If the Nurse is just pretending to be reluctant to take the money, does that
change the audience’s perception of her character?
14. Lines 192-194. What is characteristic about the imagery employed by Romeo
in these lines?
15. What characteristics of the Nurse appear in this scene? How does she
compare with (a) Mercutio and (b) Romeo?
Act II Scene 5
1. Line 1. At what time did the Nurse deliver the message?
2. Lines 16-17. How far does the line reflect a theme in the play?
3. Lines 18-50. How would you describe Juliet’s state of mind at this point in the
play? What is the dramatic effect of the contrast between that and the
Nurse’s response to Juliet’s request for news?
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4. Lines 18-61. Juliet speaks in blank verse, the Nurse in prose; what is the
effect of the contrast between them?
5. Lines 51-55. Does the Nurse really want time to rest?
6. Line 75. What does this line mean?
7. Lines 18-83. Which actions and gestures might be used by an actress
playing Juliet, and at which points in the text, to show her irritation at the
Nurse’s delaying tactics?
8. Lines 73-82. What characteristics of the Nurse are particularly prominent in
the scene?
9. Line 83. In tragedy it was at the moment of highest fortune that a character
began to fall. What would be the reaction to this line by a sophisticated
Elizabethan playgoer?
Act II Scene 6
1. Lines 1-11. In what ways do these lines prove to be loaded with dramatic
irony?
2. Line 15. What effect does Juliet’s entrance here have on the Friar? How
does the affect our view of his earlier advice to Romeo?
3. Lines 35-37. What is the significance of the Friar’s closing words? How do
they contrast with his earlier caution? What is the dramatic effect of this
contrast?