Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet Reading Questions

Romeo and Juliet Reading Questions 

2007-2208 

La Conquistadora OReilly 

HA Intensive English 9

As we read Romeo and Juliet in class, answer the following questions. When we take our final test on Romeo and Juliet, the questions will be based on this worksheet. You may use this worksheet in class to answer the test questions. 


Act 1—The Prologue


1. Act 1 begins with a __________________ in the form of a _________________. 

2. What is a sonnet? (See Glossary of Literary Terms on page 1216) 







3. What do we learn from the prologue? Name five facts 







Act 1.i 

1. With which two characters does the play begin. What are their names and who are they? 




2. Sampson and Gregory make many puns which connect love and sex with_________________ and ____________________. 




3. The scene begins with humour, but it rapidly becomes violent when _____________ and ________________ from the house of ______________ enter the scene. . How does that violence juxtaposed with humour connects with the themes already established in the prologue and in Sampson’s and Gregory’s jesting? 





4. Why might Shakespeare have depicted these humble characters engaged in a fight on behalf of their noble masters? 




5. What is a foil? (See Glossary of Literary Terms on page 1216) 




6. Benvolio’s foil is __________________. 

7. Benvolio’s name means_____________________. 

8. What do we learn about Capulet’s personality in this first scene of the play? 




9. What do we learn about Capulet’s relationship with his wife? 







10. After the fray Lady ___________ talks to _______________ about ____________________. 

11. We learn that Romeo only comes out at __________________. 

12. Benvolio, while questioning Romeo expresses an oxymoronic view of love. What is an oxymoron? (See Glossary of Literary Terms on page 1216 




13. Write down Benvolio’s or Romeo’s line that depicts love as oxymoronic. 





14. What do we learn about Romeo’s personality in his first scene with Benvolio? 




15. Why are the opening lines of 1.ii ironic? 




16.  In Paris’s discussion with Capulet regarding Paris's marriage to Juliet, Capulet changes his mind, how so? 

What does that tell us about Capulet? 



17. How does Capulet know that marrying young mars young girls? 



18. How does Romeo find out about Capulet’s party, and what does that tell us about Capulet’s judgment? 




19. Describe the personality of the nurse? Who would be her foil in this first scene? 




20. What does Romeo feel as he enters the Capulet’s party and how does this contribute to a theme in the play? 



21. What poetic form does Romeo and Juliet’s first conversation take? Why? 




22. Immediately after meeting, Romeo and Juliet learn that their families are enemies. How does this reinforce a theme in the play? 
















Act 11 



1. Act 2 begins with another prologue sonnet. Write down three traits of a sonnet. 




2.What does this line mean? "But passion lends them power. Time means, to meet/Temp’ring extremities with extreme sweet. 




3.  Mercutio teases Romeo by discussing Rosalind’s quivering thighs. What other character in the play resembles Mercutio in terms of salacious, sexual diction and outlook? Name the character and name an example of his/her bawdy language. 






4. What is a soliloquy? 




5. In Romeo’s soliloquy, Romeo describes Juliet as like the sun. How does this fit with other images and themes in the play? 




6. When Romeo says that Juliet, like the sun, will "kill the envious moon," how does this symbolize Romeo’s changing state of mind? 





7. In Juliet’s soliloquy, she ponders the meaning of a name. Write down the famous line where she does so. 




8. What do we learn about the power and meaning of words and names in her soliloquy at the beginning of Act 2? 

9. 



10. When Juliet discovers Romeo has overheard her soliloquy confessing her love and desire for Romeo, she is afraid that he will think she is…. 




11. Answer all three of the following: Who interrupts Romeo and Juliet as they proclaim their love for each other on the balcony? When has this happened before? Why might Shakespeare be repeatedly having this type of interruption occur? 







12. In the friar’s soliloquy at the beginning of 111.iii, what does he say about plants and people and how does what he says fit with themes in the play? 






13. What does this line mean and who said it: "Women may fall when there’s no strength in men."  How is this view different from conventional wisdom? 






14. When the friar says: "Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast," How does this echo other references to time in the play? 




15. Why does the friar agree to help Romeo? Why, in your opinion, does the nurse agree to help Juliet? 







16. In 11.iv, we see a different side to Romeo as he puns with Mercutio. What is this side to him that we see? Why is Romeo so changed? 




17.  Write down the literary allusion in Juliet’s soliloquy at the beginning of 11.v. Why is it there? What does it emphasize? 





18.  Why do you think the Nurse delays in giving Juliet the news from Romeo? 





19. In 11.vi, write down the Friar’s lines that emphasize the danger of moving quickly in love. These lines are examples of _________________. 





20.  Describe how Juliet’s description of her love for Romeo reveals greater depth of character than Romeo’s diction. 









Act III 


1. Why are Mercutio’s descriptions of Benvolio ironic? 




2. What is the play on words that Mercutio makes with the word "consort"? 




4. _________________ wishes to withdraw from the public haunt of men, but __________________ will not budge. 



5. Act III is the climax of the play. What is a climax? (See Glossary page 1216). 



6. Romeo and Juliet’s chances for happiness rapidly decrease and the mood changes in the play after _______________________ is killed by _______________________. 



7. Who says a "plague o’ both your houses" ( I.1, 114), and what does that line mean? 







8. Act III.ii begins with a kind of speech known as a ___________________. 








9, Define soliloquy (see Glossary page 1216). 




10. Write down 10 examples of Juliet using images of darkness or night in her opening speech in Act III.ii. 






11. Which character in the play has always been associated with night? 



12. Define literary allusion (see Glossary page 1216). 




13. What is the literary allusion in Juliet’s soliloquy? What does the allusion emphasize? 





14. When Juliet finds out about Tybalt’s murder by Romeo, she expresses her feelings with what kind of literary device? Name the device, write down an example, and briefly state how the device expresses her feelings. 





15.  By the end of the play what three actions has Juliet decided to take, and what does her change of heart tell you about her character? 




16. Contrast Romeo’s behaviour in III.iii with Juliet’s in the preceding scene. 




17. What is the friar’s advice to Romeo? 





18. What, in brief is the friar’s plan? 





19. What do the opening lines of III.iv tell you about Capulet’s character? 





20. Define dramatic irony (see Glossary page 1216). 




21. How is III.iv an ironic scene? 



22. In the opening of III.v in what kind of language do Romeo and Juliet speak? What does their language tell you about their relationship?. 



23. Who interrupts Romeo and Juliet’s love scene? 



24. "More light and light—more dark and dark our woes." What does this mean and how does this language reinforce themes in the play? 



25. What do Lady Capulet and Lord Capulet demand of Juliet after her love scene with Romeo? 



25. Why might Shakespeare have placed the love scene and the violent parent/child conflict next to each other? 



26. What is Juliet’s attitude toward the nurse and the end of III and what does her attitude symbolize? 











Act IV 



1. What does Juliet mean when she says her face is not her own? 



2. Juliet says that if the Friar can not help her solve her problem, she will ________________________. 




3. Briefly, outline the Friar’s plan for Juliet. 




4. At the beginning of IV.ii, Capulet is cheerful and preparing for the wedding. Juliet arrives and acts obedient and willing to marry Paris. What kind of irony is this and why? 




5. IV.iii begins with a _______________________. In it, Juliet has a premonition when she says goodbye to the nurse. What is it? 




6. What are Juliet’s fears about the friar that she expresses in her soliloquy? 





7. Why does Juliet fear she may go mad when she awakens? 




8. In IV.iv, we learn that Capulet was a playboy in his youth. What is the Shakespearean term for a playboy? 




9. Why is this entire scene ironic? What kind of irony is present in this scene? 




10. When Capulet discovers that is daughter is dead, he cries that she has ________________ Death. How does this reflect themes in the play? 





11. After everyone laments Juliet’s death, the friar chides the family. Why? 






12. Capulet decides that they will take all the party food and decorations and use them for a ________________. 






Act V 

1. V.i begins with a ___________________ by Romeo. In it, he recounts that he dreams that he has ___________________ and Juliet ___________________ him, bringing him back to ___________________. 




27. Balthasar’s news to Romeo is True? Or False? 



28. Have we seen other examples of messages going awry in this play? When? 




29. After Balthasar leaves, Romeo speaks another soliloquy. What does he mean by" mischief thou art swift/To enter into men’s thoughts"? And where have we seen references to swifly passing time before in the play? 





30. What is the "mischief" that Romeo is considering? 





31. The friar exclaims "Unhappy fortune!" when he finds that Romeo has missed the message that Juliet is alive. Where have we seen references to unlucky fortune before in the play? 





32. Both ___________________ and ___________________ arrive at Juliet’s tomb. This is another example of  ill ___________________. 

33. After Paris’s death, Romeo states in a soliloquy that Paris and he are alike because both their names are written in "sour ___________________  ___________________." This is another reference to the ill ___________________ in the play. 




34. Later in the same soliloquy, Romeo attempts to undo the ill fortune in his life by ___________________ and shaking off the "yoke of inauspicious stars." 




10. The friar enters the tomb to be with ___________________ as she awakens. What does he do when he fears the watch is coming? ______________________________________How does he propose that Juliet solve her current problem? 





35. How does the Prince establish how Romeo, Juliet, and Paris die? 




12. At the end of the play, how many people have died? Who are they? 


Queen Mab Poster in groups of 1-3
HA English 9
OReilly
30 participation points 10 essay points

Read I.iv.58-100, Mercutio’s speech describing Queen Mab. Pay particular attention to the language pertaining to Queen Mab and her wagon.

Based on your reading, create or find a rendering of Queen Mab and her wagon. Present your rendering on a large poster. (5 points)

Label at least ten parts of the image with labels such as "Drawn with a team of atomies" (I.iv.63).
Use Shakespeare’s exact language from Romeo and Juliet with the act, scene, and line number as shown in the preceding sentence. (10 points)

Include on your poster a clever title, your names, your roles, and period number. Roles are the following: artist, scribe, analyst, writer (5 points) See the back of this handout for a guide to how to create titles.

Write a paragraph, that describes why Mercutio  gives his Mab speech speech. Why would he say this long, involved, and fanciful diatribe to Romeo? As always, have a clear topic sentence, at least two ideas (yellows), and plenty of examples, explanations, and excerpts (reds) for each key idea. (10 points)

Beautifully assemble the above elements onto a large, gorgeous poster with clear lettering (5 points)

Here is a sample paragraph. Colour code this paragraph. Turn this entire rubric in, taped to the back of your poster (5 Points):

Mercutio’s Mission: Curing Romeo of Romance

    In act one of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio attempts to cheer up the lovesick Romeo by describing Queen Mab, a fairy responsible for bringing dreams to people. Romeo mentions he has a dream, prompting Mercutio to playfully denounce dreams using imagery of different characters dreaming of the objects of their own desires. In other words, dreams foretell nothing: they are merely the products of desires. Mercutio explains "she gallops night by night through lovers’ brains, and then they dream of love"  (I.iv.75-79), but he goes on to say "lawyers will dream of "fee’s" because fees are a lawyer’s desire. Moreover, dreams, claim Mercutio, are more than reflections of desires; they are worthless images, self-indulgent fantasies in the dreamer’s mind. Mercutio bluntly declares that dreams are "the children of an idle brain, begot of nothing but vain fantasy" (I.iv.104-105). Mercutio is hoping to convince Romeo of the irrelevance of Romeo’s dreams of Roseline and true love and thereby cure Romeo of his woes and sorrows. 




Renaissance Faire Extra Credit Assignment
English 9
OReilly

As you frolic through the faire, seek to discern two facts about the Renaissance that you see reflected in some activity, game, or character. Write a tasty paragraph about these two facts about the Renaissance.

__________ Green Topic sentence: Let's make your topic sentence a power compound sentence with either a FANBOY or a conjunctive adverb.
__________Have two yellow key ideas: details or facts that you observed that were related to Renaissance life.
__________ Reds: At least three vivid, descriptive, and specific examples or explanations. Wax luscious and lyrical. Use  simile and metaphor.  Show me what you saw.
__________ Avoid ET, SW, WCL, comma and punctuation errors. Write like a monarch, not a peasant.

People who do not go to the faire--you sad serfs--must research three facts about the Renaissance and write the same paragraph.




Insults and Puns
This will be a punny assignment

In groups of no more than three

• Write a short dialogue and memorize it. (5 points)
• Your dialogue must contain a total of three Shakespearean insults. (5 points)
• Your dialogue must contain a total of three Shakespearean puns. (10 points)
• Each person must have at least two lines written in iambic pentameter (5 points)
• Make an extra copy to turn in with all your names, period numbers, proper formatting, and this rubric. (5 points)
• Every person in your group must wear a costume. A paper hat is not a costume.
• Write in the scansion on your lines written in iambic pentameter. Use the formula below. (5 points)

Wilt THOU be GONE it IS not YET near DAY?
It WAS the NIGHTing GALE and NOT the LARK,
That PIERCED the FEARul HOLlow OF thine EAR



Sonnet Rubric

Sonnet
HA English 9
OReilly

Name_________________ date________________ period____________



Write a sonnet. It must have:

_________ The proper rhyme scheme
_________ Iambic pentameter
_________ Three quatrains
_________A couplet
_________ Be properly typed and formatted
_________ Make sense
_________ Amuse me (extra credit)


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