Download Romeo and Juliet Viewing Guide

Romeo and Juliet
Viewing Guide
ROMEO and JULIET BASICS
* written around 1595
THE PLOT POINTS
• Play takes place in Verona, Italy
* Shakespeare’s second tragedy, after
Titus Andronicus
• 2 major families—the Montagues and the Capulets—
are feuding
* Shakespeare wrote romantic Petrarchan verse for
the characters
• Romeo, a Montague, thinks he’s in love with Rosaline,
a woman who wants nothing to do with him
* Petrarch – Renaissance Italian poet whose sonnets
were popular in Shakespeare’s day
The Characters
Romeo – son of Montague; falls in love with Juliet.
Montague – father to Romeo and head of the family
who is at war with the Capulets.
Lady Montague – wife to Montague and mother
to Romeo.
Mercutio – a kinsman to the Prince of Verona and a
friend to Romeo.
Benvolio – a friend to Romeo.
Juliet – daughter of Capulet; falls in love with Romeo.
• Benvolio suggests he and Romeo crash a party at
the Capulets
• Romeo meets Juliet, a Capulet and therefore a sworn
enemy of his family, at the Capulet ball and they fall
in love
• Friar Lawrence secretly marries Romeo and Juliet
• Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, tries to pick a fight with Romeo,
but Romeo refuses
• Mercutio and Tybalt begin to fight and Mercutio
is killed
• Angered at Mercutio’s death, Romeo kills Tybalt, and is
then banished from Verona
• Juliet’s family makes arrangements for Juliet to
marry Paris
Tybalt – cousin to Juliet.
• Juliet goes to the Friar for help; he gives her a potion
that will make her appear dead
Capulet – father to Juliet and head of the family who is
at war with the Montagues.
• Romeo hears of Juliet’s death and makes his way to the
Capulet burial vault
Lady Capulet – wife to Capulet and mother to
Juliet.
• Romeo proclaims his love for Juliet, drinks poison, and
dies by Juliet’s side
Nurse – caregiver and friend to Juliet.
• Juliet wakes up, sees Romeo is dead, and stabs herself
Chorus – comments on the events of the play.
Friar Lawrence – a Franciscan friar who marries the
lovers in hopes of creating peace between the two
families.
• Families put aside feud
Viewing Questions
1. What warning does the Prince of Verona give to anyone
who breaks the peace again?
Paris – a young nobleman who asks for Juliet’s
hand in marriage.
2. Why won’t Romeo fight Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin?
Prince of Verona
3. What is Romeo’s punishment for killing Tybalt?
Romeo and Juliet
Worksheet
A. Who’s Who?
Match the quotes in the left-hand column to the character who speaks these lines.
________ 1. “Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene.”
A. Romeo
B. Juliet
________ 2. “But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?”
C. Chorus
________ 3. “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any
other name would smell as sweet.”
_________ 4. “Romeo! humors! madman! passion! lover! Appear
thou in the likeness of a sigh!”
D. Nurse
E. Mercutio
F. Prince of Verona
________ 5. “I tell you, he that can lay hold of her shall have the
chinks.”
________ 6. “Capulet! Montague! See what a scourge is laid upon
your hate, that heaven finds means to kill your joys with love.”
B. A Complete Thought
Complete each sentence with the correct term.
1. A character who acts as a contrast to another character is sometimes a…
__________________________.
2. The character who shows up from time to time to comment
on what’s happening in Romeo and Juliet is the…
__________________________.
3. The early Renaissance Italian poet whose sonnets were popular
in Shakespeare’s day was…
__________________________.
4. Romeo and Juliet takes place in the city of…
__________________________.
5. The fourteen-line poem with the complex rhyming form as described in the
program is a…
__________________________.
C. True or False
Determine whether the following statements are true or false. Circle (T) if the statement is
true or (F) if the statement is false.
1. Romeo meets Juliet at a masked ball.
T/F
2. Juliet is a Montague, a sworn enemy of Romeo’s family.
T/F
3. Mercutio, Romeo’s friend, acts a foil to Romeo.
T/F
4. Romeo and Juliet are grand tragic figures.
T/F
5. Juliet’s family makes arrangements for Juliet to marry Paris.
T/F
6. The two feuding families are the Capulets and the Montagues.
T/F
Romeo and Juliet
Activity
How Would You Say It?
Rewrite the quotes below the way that you might say them today.
1. “O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night as a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s
ear—Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear!
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2. “You kiss by the book.”
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3. “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name.”
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4. “Romeo’s a dishclout to him. An eagle, madam, hath not so green, so quick, so fair an eye as Paris hath. Beshrow my
very heart I think you are happy in this second match, for it excels your first.”
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5. “I tell you, he that can lay hold of her shall have the chinks.”
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6. “He heareth not, he stirreth not, he moveth not, the ape is dead, and I must conjure
him. I conjure thee by Rosaline’s bright eyes, by her high forehead and scarlet lip…”
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Romeo and Juliet
Check Your Knowledge
Total Score
/ 50
A. Who Says?
Circle the correct character for each of the following quotes. (5 points each)
1. “Did my heart love til now? Forswear it sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.”
a) Mercutio
b) Romeo
c) Juliet
d) Paris
c) Rosaline
d) the Nurse
2. “Then have my lips the sin that they have took.”
a) Friar Lawrence
b) Juliet
3. ”Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona, where we lay our scene.”
a) Prince of Verona
b) Tybalt
c) Chorus
d) Friar Lawrence
4. “Rebellious subjects, enemies to peace, profaners of this neighbor-stainéd steel—will they not hear?”
a) Lady Capulet
b) Montague
c) Romeo
d) Prince of Verona
5. “But soft, what light through yonder window breaks.”
a) Romeo
b) Friar Lawrence
c) Juliet
d) Mercutio
B. The Crew
Cross out the characters in each list who is NOT related by blood or allegiance to the other characters in the list. But be careful–one
of the lists is correct. (5 points each)
1. Romeo, Mercutio, Benvolio, Paris
2. Lady Montague, Romeo, Montague, Nurse
3. Tybalt, Lady Capulet, Nurse, Friar Lawrence, Paris
4. Romeo, Montague, Benvolio, Mercutio, Lady Montague
C. A Complete Thought
Fill in the blank with the correct term to complete the sentence. (1 point each)
1. ____________________________ has asked Juliet’s father for permission to marry her.
2. Romeo thinks he’s in love with _______________________ at the beginning of the play.
3. A ________________________ is a character who acts as a contrast to another character.
4. The __________________________ banishes Romeo from Verona.
5. Juliet is a _____________________, therefore a sworn enemy of Romeo’s family.