Download Romeo and Juliet Act 2 Scene 3-6 Questions

Words of the Week for
Romeo and Juliet Act 2
Part I: Using Prior Knowledge and Contextual Clues
Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words appear in the text. Read the sentence. Use any clues you can
find in the sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what you think the underlined words mean in the
space provided on the right.
1. “Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,/Who is already sick and pale with grief”
2. “Her eye discourses, I will answer it.”
3. “And where the worser is predominant,/Full soon the canker death eats up that plant.”
4. “I pray thee, chide not. She whom I love now/Doth grace for grace and love for love allow.”
5. “To turn your households' rancor to pure love.”
6. “Why, is not this a lamentable thing.”
Part II: Determining the Meaning - Match the vocabulary words to their dictionary definitions.
7. envious
8. discourse
9. predominant
10. chide
11. rancor
12. lamentable
Guiding Questions for
A. to express disapproval
B. the strongest element; having the most power or control
C. bitterness or resentfulness
D. to narrate or discuss; written or spoken communication
E. to express grief for or about
F. feeling, expressing or characterized by envy
Romeo and Juliet Act 2, scene 3-4
Use your margin notes, dictionaries, and what you already know about these characters and the plot to help you answer
the following questions.
Scene 3: Friar Laurence’s cell (monks live in small, plainly-furnished rooms called cells)
1. How does the friar describe the sunrise in lines 1-11?
2. What could this sunrise foreshadow?
3. What does the Friar say about herbs, plants and stones?
4. Look up the terms “virtue” and “vice” in the dictionary. How could it be that “Virtue itself turns vice, being
misapplied,/And vice sometime by virtue dignified” (lines 21-22)? Paraphrase this statement. What does the
friar suggest about human nature?
5. What powers do plants have, according to the Friar? (See lines 23-26.)
6. What prediction about the plot can you make after reading the Friar’s soliloquy?
7. What is the Friar’s first reaction to Romeo’s request? (See lines 65-80.)
8. What is Friar’s reason for following Romeo and Juliet’s plan? (See lines 91-92.)
Scene 4: Verona streets (Benvolio, Mercutio, Romeo, Nurse, and Peter)
9. What news does Benvolio have about Tybalt (lines 6-10)?
10. How does Mercutio feel about Tybalt? (See lines 19-35 and the margin notes.)
11. What does Mercutio notice about Romeo’s mood?
12. Mercutio mocks Romeo extensively about Rosaline (esp. lines 78-82), and when the Nurse appears, he makes
fun of her appearance (esp. lines 94-95). What does this tell you about the kind of person Mercutio is?
13. How does Romeo describe Mercutio in lines 129-130?
14. What does the Nurse warn Romeo about in lines 140-147? (You need to know the expressions “fool’s paradise”
and “double-dealing.”) Why might she give this warning?
15. What are Romeo’s instructions for the nurse? What does Romeo ask the nurse to tell Juliet?
Scene 5: Capulet’s orchard (Juliet, Nurse, and Peter)
16. Juliet is very impatient to hear news from Romeo (lines 1-17). What images does she use in her soliloquy to
express this?
17. How does the nurse describe Romeo? (See lines 38-44.)
18. The nurse knows Juliet is impatient, but she keeps putting her off. Why does the nurse do this?
19. How does Shakespeare create comic relief in this scene?
20. Why does the Nurse agree to help Juliet marry Romeo?
Scene 6: Friar Laurence’s cell (Friar Laurence, Romeo, and Juliet)
21. Who is aware of Romeo and Juliet’s relationship?
22. What does the Friar foreshadow at the end of this act?
23. In this scene, Friar Laurence urges Romeo to be cautious. Given what you know about Romeo, and about the
fates guiding the “star-crossed lovers,” do you think Romeo will take his advice? Explain in a paragraph.
Organize this paragraph starting with a topic sentence (that answers the questions, then evidence (a direct
quote from the play), and finally commentary (the opinion/explanation of how the quote proves your answer).
CHARACTER FOILS
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet
Acts 1 and 2
A CHARACTER FOIL is a character whose personality, emotions and actions are opposite of another in the
same piece of literature.
Think of a friend or family member that has a sharp contrast with you when it comes to your
personality. How are you different?
Myself
Friend/Family Member
Actions
Emotions
Likes
Dislikes
Based on what you have read so far, come up with a FOIL for the following characters. Be ready to explain
why you chose each character.
Romeo vs. _______________
Romeo
_________________
Tybalt
_________________
Nurse
_________________
Actions
Emotions
Tybalt vs. _______________
Actions
Emotions
Nurse vs. _______________
Actions
Emotions