Romeo and Juliet

Reading Check questions are designed for in-class review on key plot points or for quick verbal or written assessments. Multiple Choice and Short Answer Quizzes create ideal summative assessments, and collectively function to convey a sense of the work’s tone and themes.

Acts I-II

Reading Check

1. What longstanding conflict is present in Verona?

2. How old is Juliet at the start of the play?

3. At what event do Juliet and Romeo meet?

4. Who seeks to fight Romeo in the street?

5. What two characters know about Romeo and Juliet’s plan to marry (besides them)?

6. On what excuse does Juliet go to the church when she is secretly wed to Romeo?

Multiple Choice

1. Which of these descriptions best explains the goals of the Chorus’s Prologue of the play?

A) to establish guidelines for audience behavior, and to promote additional performances

B) to pose a question, invite discussion and debate, and reveal the unsolved mystery

C) to mention the conflict, reveal the ending, and prepare to present the whole story

D) to forewarn sensitive audience members, and to allow those who are squeamish to leave

2. Which line spoken by the Prince best conveys his strong desire to control the feud?

A) “Rebellious subjects, enemies to peace.”

B) “You, Capulet, shall go along with me;/And, Montague, come you this afternoon…”

C) “Profaners of this neighbor-stained steel—/Will they not hear?”

D) “If ever you disturb our streets again,/ Your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace.”

3. Based on her words and actions, which set of character traits best describes Juliet’s Nurse in Acts I and II?

A) talkative and enthusiastic

B) hardworking and careful

C) virtuous and caring

D) somber and preoccupied

4. When Lady Capulet first suggests Juliet’s marriage to Paris, what can be inferred about Juliet based on her reaction?

A) She is eager to marry and grateful for such a noble match.

B) She wants to please her parents and will do as they ask.

C) She does not care about marriage; her true passion is learning.

D) She is rebellious and neither needs nor wants a husband.

5. Based on their words and actions once they meet in Acts I and II, how do Romeo and Juliet compare in terms of characterization?

A) He is more sensible and practical than she is.

B) He is less sensible and practical than she is.

C) Both are sensible, practical, and wise.

D) Both are fearful, hesitant, and cautious.

6. Which of these summary sentences best describes what occurs when Nurse returns from having found Romeo in the street?

A) She talks at length about her woeful health before revealing Romeo wants to marry.

B) She tells Juliet immediately that Romeo wants to marry but does not say where or when.

C) She calls several times for Peter, her servant, to tell Juliet the news, but he refuses.

D) She makes Juliet guess Romeo’s answer, but Juliet is too hesitant to do so.

7. Which of these series presents a correct sequence of events in Acts I-II?

A) Romeo and Juliet profess their love at her balcony, then learn each other’s family, then marry.

B) Romeo and Juliet learn each other’s family, then profess their love at her balcony, then marry.

C) Romeo and Juliet profess their love at her balcony, then marry, then learn each other’s family.

D) Romeo and Juliet marry, then profess their love at her balcony, then learn each other’s family.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. When the audience first sees and hears from Romeo, what is his general demeanor? Why is he feeling the way he does?

2. In Lord Capulet’s first conversation with Paris, what are his first thoughts about a potential wedding? Name at least two suggestions he makes to Paris regarding this topic.

3. What “cure” does Benvolio suggest for Romeo? How does the Servant who cannot read provide a convenient way for Benvolio’s “cure” to occur?

4. How does the tone of Mercutio’s “Queen Mab” monologue change by its end? What does this reveal about Mercutio’s character?

5. How does Lord Capulet react when Tybalt discovers Romeo at the feast?

6. Besides saying it plainly, how do Romeo and Juliet show their love for one another in the balcony scene?

7. What are Friar Lawrence’s concerns about the marriage of Romeo and Juliet? In the face of his concerns, why does he perform the marriage ceremony?

Act III

Reading Check

1. Which character has the nickname Prince of Cats, and is referred to as a “ratcatcher”?

2. Whom does Tybalt kill, and who kills Tybalt?

3. What hastens Romeo’s departure from Juliet’s room in the Capulet residence?

4. What is Romeo’s punishment, by the Prince’s decree?

5. Why will the marriage celebration of Juliet and Paris have no more than a half dozen guests?

6. Where will Romeo flee at the end of the act?

Multiple Choice

1. Which of these lines spoken by Benvolio describes Romeo’s most lawful behavior?

A) “Tybalt, here slain, whom Romeo’s hand did slay”

B) “But by and by comes back to Romeo,/Who had but newly entertain’d revenge”

C) “[Romeo’s] agile arm beats down their fatal points./And ‘twixt them rushes;”

D) “for, ere I / Could draw to part them, was stout Tybalt slain;”

2. According to Nurse, where are Lord and Lady Capulet when Juliet hears about Tybalt’s death and Romeo’s punishment?

A) mourning Tybalt’s death

B) meeting with the Prince

C) arranging services with Friar Lawrence

D) discussing the fight with Paris

3. In accordance with one of the themes of this act, what reaction does Friar Lawrence discourage in Romeo after Romeo speaks about his punishment?

A) fear

B) ingratitude

C) anger

D) bitterness

4. How do the reactions of Romeo and Juliet to Romeo’s punishment compare?

A) Both mourn that it is a fate just as bad as execution or death.

B) Both are relieved that the sentence is not longer.

C) He is upset at the sentence, but she is relieved.

D) Both are penitent and feel their marriage is to blame.

5. What is the significance of Romeo’s and Juliet’s discussion about the larks and the nightingales in the early dawn of Act III?

A) They are comparing their love to the beauty and sounds of nature.

B) The birds sing competing songs, symbolic of the strife between their families.

C) It is a coded conversation about the Nurse and Peter, who are keeping watch.

D) Depending on which bird it is they hear, they might have to part ways soon.

6. When Lady Capulet broaches the idea of obtaining poison to kill Romeo, what is she ironically doing?

A) praying with Friar Lawrence

B) trying to comfort Juliet

C) arranging Juliet’s marriage with Paris

D) attending the funeral Mass for Tybalt

7. Why might Juliet feel particularly betrayed near the end of Act III?

A) Romeo left her to deal with a new conflict on her own.

B) Her mother seems to want her out of the house.

C) Nurse says that she should just marry Paris.

D) Friar Lawrence will not hear her confession.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How do Romeo’s actions and dialogue show his change in feeling over the course of the street fight scene?

2. When she arrives at the cell of Friar Lawrence, how does Nurse describe Juliet’s behavior and emotions in reaction to the street fight tragedy?

3. What message does Friar Lawrence convey to Romeo in his lengthy monologue in Scene 3 that begins “Hold thy desperate hand”?

4. How does Lord Capulet react to Juliet’s refusal to marry? What does he say about Juliet, and about his role in her upbringing?

5. At the end of Act III, Juliet visits Friar Lawrence’s cell just as she did at the end of Act II. How do her motivations and emotions for taking that action differ dramatically between Act II and Act III?

6. Out of the play’s cast of characters, who proves to be most the lovers’ most supportive advocate in Act III? Justify your answer with evidence from the text.

Acts IV-V

Reading Check

1. Whom does Juliet meet when she arrives at Friar Lawrence’s cell?

2. Juliet tells Nurse she wants privacy for prayer the night before the marriage to Paris, but why does she actually wish to be alone?

3. By what method does Romeo plan to kill himself, and where?

4. How and where does Paris die? Why is he there?

5. What does Friar Lawrence intend to do with Juliet as she wakes in the tomb, now that Romeo is dead?

6. According to the Prince, what evidence supports Friar Lawrence’s version of events?

Multiple Choice

1. Based on her reaction, how does Juliet feel about Friar Lawrence’s plan that would allow Juliet and Romeo to be together?

A) She is willing to go along with the plan, but afraid.

B) She is unwilling and must be talked into the plan.

C) She is not hesitant and not fearful about the plan

D) She finds one problem with the plan but solves it.

2. Which of these lines spoken by Lord Capulet most directly states his feelings when Juliet agrees to the marriage to Paris?

A) “…go tell him of this;/I’ll have this knot knit up tomorrow morning.”

B) “Now afore God, this reverend holy friar/All our whole city is much bound to him.”

C) “…let me alone;/I’ll play the housewife for this once.”

D) “…my heart is wondrous light/Since this same wayward girl is so reclaim’d.”

3. Which is the most likely reason Shakespeare wrote lines for Lord Capulet joyfully directing wedding preparations and Nurse excitedly calling out to wake Juliet?

A) He wanted to juxtapose the extreme grief they feel about Juliet’s “death” against extreme joy.

B) He wanted to symbolize the peace and prosperity sought by the Capulets in making the match.

C) He wanted to foreshadow eventual good tidings and a title of nobility for Count Paris.

D) He wanted to depict the scenes with dramatic imagery full of color, sights, sounds, and smells.

4. Considering the manner in which he arrives on the morning of the wedding, what can be inferred about Paris?

A) He heard a rumor from servants the Juliet is dead but does not believe it.

B) He received the message sent by the Capulets and knows that Juliet is dead.

C) He had a strange sense of foreboding that morning and is now worried about Juliet.

D) He does not have any idea that Juliet is dead and believes this will be a happy day.

5. Which of these statements best paraphrases Romeo’s line: “Death, that hath suck’d the honey of thy breath,/Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty:/ Thou are not conquer’d,; beauty’s ensign yet/Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks/And death’s pale flag is not advanced there.” (5.3.92-96)?

A) Juliet’s face is just as beautiful in death as it was when she was alive.

B) Juliet appears to be sleeping, and she looks peacefully relaxed.

C) Death has started to advance across Juliet’s face but has not fully conquered it yet.

D) Juliet has been dead just a short time but she has already lost her beauty.

6. Judging by his word choice, which of these traits best describes the tone of Friar Lawrence’s speech in which he reveals events to the Prince, the Montagues, and the Capulets?

A) curt and rude

B) direct and straightforward

C) bitter and resentful

D) apologetic and remorseful

7. On what factor does the Prince lay blame for the tragic deaths?

A) the hostility between the families

B) the passion and recklessness of youth

C) Friar Lawrence’s misguided involvement

D) the Nurse’s choice to keep secrets

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What are at least three things that must happen if Friar Lawrence’s elaborate plan is to succeed?

2. Which specific details about Juliet’s appearance convince her parents and Nurse that she is dead?

3. What does Lord Capulet order to be done with all the wedding preparations?

4. Balthasar is a new character in Act V. What is the significance of his role?

5. How does the apothecary feel about selling the poison that Romeo wants? Why is the apothecary motivated to sell it to him?

6. What was Friar John’s task, and why was he unsuccessful in it?

7. Based on his actions and haste, what can you assume Friar Lawrence intends to do when he discovers that Friar John was unsuccessful?

8. Dramatic irony occurs when the audience’s awareness of plot events is not the same as a character’s awareness—i.e., the audience knows something a character does not. How is dramatic irony evident in Act V?