Romeo and Juliet

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Romeo and Juliet

by William Shakespeare

Characters in Romeo and Juliet

The Two Warring Households

THE MONTAGUES

THE CAPULETS

Lord Montague: Head of the Montague household

Lord Capulet: head of the Capulet household

Lady Montague: The wife of Lord Montague and Romeos mother

Lady Capulet: The wife of Lord Capulet and Juliets mother

Romeo: the Montagues son, later husband of Juliet

Juliet: the Capulets daughter, later wife of Romeo

Benvolio: The Montagues nephew, Romeos cousin and friend

Tybalt: The Capulets nephew and a bitter opponent of the Montagues

Balthasar: Romeos servant

Nurse: a servant of the Capulet household who has looked after Juliet since her birth

Abraham: Montague servant

Sampson: Capulet servant

Gregory: Capulet servant

Peter: Capulet servant

Other important characters:

Prince Escalus: The Prince of Verona who wants to restore peace to the city

Paris: A young nobleman and relative of the Prince who wants to marry Juliet

Mercutio: A relative of the Prince and close friend of Romeo and Benvolio

Friar Laurence: A priest from whom Romeo and Juliet seek advice

Rosaline: Romeo thinks he loves her (before he meets Juliet)

Compare the world of Romeo and Juliet with our world now.

The World of Romeo and Juliet

Our World

Rivalry between families

Servant caring for child

Parents choosing a childs marriage partner

Carrying a sword

Masquerade party

Playing with words

PROLOGUE (this sums up the events of the play)

Two households, both alike in dignity,In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.

From forth the fatal loins of these two foesA pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;Whose misadventured piteous overthrowsDo with their death bury their parents' strife.

The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,And the continuance of their parents' rage,Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;

The which if you with patient ears attend,What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

1. What do we learn about the families status?

2. Where is the play set?

3. What do we learn about the feud?

4. How long would the audience expect the play to take?

5. What do the following mean: civil, fatal, star crossd lovers, piteous, strife, nought.

6. List three things that might happen in the play.

7. We know the couple will die. Why did Shakespeare tell us this right at the start?

8. What do the lovers achieve by dying?

9. A sonnet is a poem that has 14 lines. A sonnet can be broken down into four sections called quatrains. The rhyme scheme of a Shakespearean sonnet is ABAB / CDCD / EFEF / GG. Write the rhyme scheme for the Prologue next to each of its lines. Note that the first three quatrains contain four lines each and use an alternating rhyme scheme. The final quatrain consists of just two lines which both rhyme. (note the four distinct sections in the rhyme scheme). Sonnets are written iniambic pentameter, a poetic meter with 10 beats per line made up of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables.

10. Write a newspaper headline to match the events of each couplet.

Act 1

Read Act 1 Scenes 1, 4 and 5. Answer the following questions:

Scene 1

1. What does the first scene reveal about Romeos behaviour?

Scene 4

1. What kind of friend is Mercutio to Romeo?

2. What advice does he give Romeo?

3. How does Mercutios attitude towards love differ from Romeos?

4. What does the Queen Mab speech reveal about Mercutio?

Scene 5

1. In scene 5, what do we learn about Tybalt?

2. Read scene 5, lines 43 - 52 and then draw and complete a table like the one below. The first example has been done for you.

Example of simile or metaphor

Shakespeare compares what to what?

Purpose and effect of the comparison

O she doth teach the torches to burn bright!

This line compares Juliet to a flame.

The comparison emphasises the way Juliet glows and stands out like a light in the room. The purpose is to emphasise her beauty.

3. Compare Romeos reaction with Juliets when each discovers the true identity of the other.

4. Are Romeos feelings for Juliet different to his feelings for Rosaline? Explain.

Techniques

1. A foil is a character who has qualities that are in sharp contrast to another character, thus emphasising the traits of each. How is Mercutio a foil to Romeo?

2. Foreshadowing refers to hints about what is to come. What examples of foreshadowing are there in the Prologue and scene 4?

3. Hyperbole means deliberate exaggeration. Look at Romeos declaration of love for Rosaline in scene 1. What examples of hyperbole can you find? Why does Romeo overstate his feelings?

4. A pun is a play on words that have similar sounds but more than one spelling or meaning. Scene 4 has many puns. Explain one of these and what its effect is.

5. Good drama has conflicts: struggle between opposing forces. What conflicts are set in motion in scene 5?

6. Oxymoron: An oxymoron is an expression that contains two words that are the opposite in meaning and therefore seem to contradict one another. Oxymorons are sometimes used to

create a striking impression or idea in the reader or listeners mind. Some examples of oxymoron are: slow haste (speed); loving hate. In scene I, Romeo uses many examples of oxymoron to express his feelings. He is the typical courtly lover, longing for Rosaline, an unattainable woman. Find 2 examples of oxymorons from scene 1, lines 167172. Explain the meaning and effect of each oxymoron. Why do you think Shakespeare chose to use this poetic technique in this scene? What impression of Romeo does the audience develop?

Act 2

Compare the balcony scenes from Luhrmanns and Zefferellis films. How are they similar and how do they differ? Why might this be?

Techniques

Imagery refers to language that appeals to the 5 senses (sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell) It adds emotion and power to writing.

1. What are some of the images of light, dark and fire used by Shakespeare in scene 2?

2. What is their dramatic purpose?

Act 3

Read Act 3 Scenes 1 and 4 and answer the following questions:

Scene 1

1. Why does Mercutio fight Tybalt?

2. How does Mercutio describe his wound?

3. List some of the words that are comical and sad.

4. How does Mercutios joking add to the pathos (sadness) of the scene?

5. Mercutio repeatedly calls out A plague on both your houses! Why does Shakespeare use this image?

6. Who is to blame for the fight?

7. Is Romeos punishment fair? Explain.

8. Did the Prince handle the situation well? Explain.

Scene 4

1. What are Lord Capulet and Paris planning for Juliet?

2. Is Paris a good choice for Juliet?

3. What has Juliet already done?

4. What complications does this create?

5. What might Juliet do?

Techniques

A theme is the underlying message. How does Mercutios speech in Act 3 Scene 1 a plague o both your houses reflect one of the main themes of the play?

Act 4

Read Act 4 Scenes 1 and 3 and answer the following questions:

Scene 1

1. Why does Lord Capulet agree to Juliets marriage taking place so soon? Lines 12-14

2. What does Juliet tell Friar Laurence as soon as Paris leaves? Line 45

3. What plan does the Friar suggest to Juliet? Lines 68-76, 89-120 (one paragraph)

4. How does Friar Laurence intend to let Romeo know of his plan? Lines 123-124

Scene 3

1. What advice would you give Juliet? (one paragraph)

2. Write a farewell letter to Romeo, in case the plans go wrong, telling him what you are doing, describing your fears and telling him how you feel about him now.

Techniques

Find 2 examples of dramatic irony between Juliet and Paris and explain them.

Act 5

Read Act 5 Scene 3 and answer the following questions:

Scene 3

1. What happens to Paris and what does Romeos treatment of Paris reveals about him?

2. What hints are there that Juliet is only asleep? Lines 91-102

3. What is Juliets reaction to finding Romeo? Lines 161-170

4. Should the Friar have left Juliet on her own? Explain.

5. Could either Romeo or Juliet have changed the course of events by acting differently? Explain

6. Show how inevitable delays led to disaster.

7. Show also how reckless haste precipitated disaster.

Techniques

A tragedy tells the story of the defeat of a tragic hero. His or her downfall results from a tragic flaw or character weakness. Who is the tragic hero in this play and what was their tragic flaw?

Name 3 themes addressed by the events in this last act.

Shakespeare's techniques

Oxymoron

When Romeo is leaving Juliet after their exchange of vows, imagine Juliet says: 'Parting is very sad.'

Well, yes, it can be sad, but her words do not sound very special or interesting. This is the person she is desperate to marry and dedicate her life to. So instead Juliet says:'Parting is such sweet sorrow.'

'Sweet' and 'sorrow' seem to be opposites - they do not normally fit together like this. But we can appr