English Final Exam
Fates, or forces over which people have no control, is an important theme in this tragedy. Many events are blamed upon fate, starting with Shakespeare's description of Romeo and Juliet as "star-crossed lover" in the Prologue. However, many events can also be blamed on the actions of characters. Do you believe fate or free will caused this tragic ending? Explain.
Answers will vary. The tragic chain of event is also attributable to human factors. Students can point to the feuding families, as well as to Juliet's impending forced marriage to Paris. They can also point to Romeo's impulsivity and to Friar Laurence's desire to help, which perhaps went too far.
Explain how Shakespeare continues to use the light/dark or day/night motif in Scene 5, lines 1-35. Why does Juliet want the darkness to continue?
As Romeo alluded to earlier, darkness provides a place for them to hide and be safe. Juliet also knows that Romeo must leave when it's daylight.
Review Juliet's dialogue with Paris in Act 4 Scene 1. If Juliet had never met Romeo, might she have fallen in love with Paris? Explain your response.
Based on the dialogue, they do not deem like a good match. Juliet is clever with words, responding to Paris's remarks in ways that either confuse him or change the subject without revealing what she is truly thinking. Paris cannot match her wordplay, nor can he understand that she does not love him. The spoiled son of a rich man who is used to getting everything he wants, he cannot realize why Juliet might take offense at a comment like "/Thy face is mine and thou has slandered it" (line 35).
The fight in Scene 1 starts when
Capulet and Montague servants quarrel over petty insults
In Scene 2, how does Shakespeare increase the pace of the plot even further? What effect is this likely to have on the audience?
Capulet is so leased that Juliet has agreed to marry Paris that he moves the date from Thursday back to Wednesday *(lines 23-26). This increases the peace and the tension for the audience because events have already been unfolding very quickly, and the dangerous plan that Juliet and the friar have devised may fail now that there is less time for all of its elements to fall into place.
What does Romeo's response to Tybalt suggest?
"Do you wanna fight little boy"
Shakespeare often employs a literary technique known as dramatic irony. Dramatic Irony exists when the reader or viewer knows something that one or more of the characters do not. For example, when Paris asks Juliet to confess to Friar Laurene that she loves him, she carefully avoids denying it. We know that Juliet loves Romeo, not Paris. Identify two other examples of dramatic irony in Act 4. Explain how these ironic moments contribute to the building tension in the play.
Examples include Paris's comment that Juliet's excessive weeping is because of Tybalt's death (Scene 12, line 6), when the audience knows she cries over Romeo's exile and her impending marriage to Paris. Also, Capulet praises Friar Laurence - "this reverend holy Friar, /All our whole city is much bound to him: (Scene 2, lines 31-32-not realizing that Friar Laurence is plotting to undermine the wedding.
In Scene 2, why is Friar Laurence in a panic when he finds out that his letter was not delivered to Romeo? Why is this a key turning point in the plot?
Friar fears what Romeo will do if he believes Juliet if dead. Here their elaborate plans begin to go tragically awry.
Whom does Prince Escalus blame for the tragic events? Support your answer with details from his words in the last scene of the play.
He blames himself for not resolving the feud between the families. He says, "I for winding at your discords too, /have lost a brace of kinsmen. All are punished" (lines 294-295).
Reread Friar Laurence's speech in Scene 3, lines 223-269. What various and possibly conflicting motivations does her have for making these remarks?
He is motivated by a desire to explain the events that led to the deaths, event that only he now about. He also wants to confess his won responsibility for what happened and to gain forgiveness form the prince and the others.
In Scene 5, Lord Capulet becomes enraged when Juliet says she will not marry Paris. In what way are his words and actions in this scene like those of Romeo and Juliet? What are the likely consequences of his actions?
He is thinking only of himself and not acting in a rational, open-minded manner. A likely consequence is driving his daughter away or somehow putting her in danger.
What plan does Romeo immediately formulate when he learns of Juliet's death? What does his response to her death expose about his character?
He says, "Juliet, I will lie with thee tonight". He immediately plots his own death without considering other options or verifying whether or not the news of her death is true. His response reveals his passions.
Which of the following details is not introduced as a complication in Act 1?
Juliet is in love with Paris
Recall Juliet's response when her mother suggests the idea of marrying Paris (Act 1, Scene 3, lines 98-100). What does this reveal about Juliet's character before she meets Romeo?How does this contrast with Romeo's character in the parallel plot involving Rosaline? By Act 5, how has Juliet changed?
Juliet wants to please her mother by considering Paris, suggesting she is obedient and trustful of her parents' judgments. Romeo, by contrast, is wildly romantic in his despair over Rosaline which immediately dissipates when he lays eyes on Juliet. Juliet, transformed by the love she feels from their first meeting, becomes more like Romeo: passionate and willing to do anything to be with the person she loves.
What dream does Romeo describe at the beginning of Act 5, Scene 1? What part of his dream foreshadows events to come?
Romeo dreams of Juliet finding him dead and then reviving him with kisses. The former part of the dram foreshadows events in Act V, Scene 3.
What is Romeo's motivation for killing Tybalt? Is his action justified or a mistake? Explain your answer.
Romeo is motivated by rage when Tybalt kills Mercutio. Romeo loses control, and while his anger and grief are justifiable, it was probably unwise to kill a member of the Capulet family. This action will only cause more violence and possibly create even more problems for him and Juliet.
Shakespeare creates a sense of foreboding in the following passage. What event does this quotation predict?
Romeo's death
In the balcony scene, Juliet says... What does she mean?
Romeo's name is an accident of birth, not an essential part
Shakespeare includes a humorous exchange between Peter and the musicians at the end of Act 4, right after Juliet's family discovers her body. What is the impact of this choice on the audience? What message is conveyed by having a humorous scene immediately follow a tragic one?
Shakespeare uses humor to provide the audience with some comic relief after an intense, tragic scene. The exchange relieve some of the tension and grief, and it conveys the message that life still goes on in the midst of tragedy.
Juliet drinks the sleeping potion, despite her fears. What does this reveal about her character? Has she changed from the beginning of the play, before she met Romeo? Explain your answer.
She is taking control of her own destiny and facing her fears,. At the beginning of the play she is sheltered and doesn't have to do much for herself or openly challenge her parents. Now she is deciding to take matters into her own hands and is showing determination.
What fears does Juliet have before going through with Friar Laurence's plan? What do her fears reveal about her state of mind?
She wonders if perhaps she can't trust Friar after all-that maybe he is not truly on here side. Then she talks about her fear of waking up in a tomb surrounded by dead members of her family. Her fears show that the haste with which she has made important decisions has contributed to her mental state of confusion and anxiety.
In what ways do Romeo and Juliet need the help of Friar Laurence and the Nurse in order to save their love and move forward? Support your response with evidence from the text.
Since they both behave emotionally and irrationally, they need older and wiser people to guide them and help them to solve problems. For example, in Scene 3, lines 110-111, Friar Laurene says, "thy wild acts denote//The unreasonable fury of a beast."
What is the meaning of Mercutio's repeated curse, "A plaque o' both your houses!" (Act 3 Scene 1, lines 85, 93)? What might this curse foreshadow?
The "houses" are those of the Capulet and Montague families, whose rivalry led to his death. Mercutio's remark foreshadows the grief that will come to both families through Romeo and Juliet's tragedy.
What role does Tybalt play in the play?
The Nurse and Juliet, Tybalt and Benvolio are examples of foils.
How and why does Juliet's relationship with her nurse change? Do you believe Juliet is justified in her feelings toward the nurse? Explain, citing details from the text.
The nurse, purely out of concern, tells Juliet she should forget Romeo and marry Paris (Scene 5, lines 214-226). In saying this, she loses Juliet's trust (lines 240-241).
Beginning the act with a fight between Mercutio; why does he start off a fight between the two?
They cannot fight in public, either they fight in private or reason on the street. If the prince catches them fighting they will be killed.
clause
a group of words that contains both a subject and a predicate
participle
a verb form that functions as a adjective; can modify a noun or a pronoun
independent clause
can stand alone; it expresses a complete thought
subordinate clause
cannot stand alone; it does not make sense without the rest of the sentence
Mercutio
clever, witty
When Friar Laurence agrees to marry the couple, his chief motive is to
end the feud between the families
All of the following words are archaic except
halt
Juliet
intelligent, obedient
Romeo
lovesick, moody
Tybalt
saucy, hotheaded
This fight between Tybalt and Benvolio in Act 1 is a bit of dramatic exposition that establishes
the long-running feud between the Capulets and Montagues
Shakespeare uses a prologue to inform the audience that
the lovers from the long-feuding families will die
Mercutio can be described as a foil to Romeo because
unlike Romeo, he does not take love seriously
