Characters
The character responsible for Mercutio's death.
Tybalt
Prince Escalus gives this punishment to Romeo for killing Tybalt.
Exile
This literary device is used when the audience knows Juliet is not really dead, but Romeo does not.
“O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?”
Juliet
This is how long the sleeping potion is supposed to last on Juliet.
42 hours
Romeo's faithful servant delivers the devastating news of Juliet’s "death" to Romeo in Mantua, unaware of the Friar’s secret plan.
Balthasar
Lord Capulet makes this sudden change to the wedding plans after Juliet apologizes.
Moves the wedding to Wednesday
A speech a character delivers when they are completely alone on stage, meant to let the audience know their innermost thoughts.
Solliloquy
"Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast."
Friar Laurence
This character is the first to reach Juliet's tomb.
Count Paris
This character gives Juliet the sleeping potion.
Friar Laurence
According to the Friar's original, intended plan, this character was supposed to be waiting alongside him in the tomb when Juliet woke up to take her to Mantua.
Romeo
Hinting at future events in the plot, such as when Romeo has a looming dread of his "untimely death" right before crashing the Capulet party.
Foreshadowing
"A plague o' both your houses!"
Mercutio
Name ONE character alive at the end of the play.
This character fails to deliver his message to Romeo.
Friar John
These are two major fears Juliet has before drinking the potion.
Waking up too soon and suffocating, or the potion being real poison to hide his mistake.
A character who serves as a direct contrast to another.
Dramatic Foil
"What, drawn, and talk of peace? I hate the word, / As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee."
Tybalt
Paris fights Romeo at the Capulet tomb for this reason.
He believes Romeo is responsible for Juliet's death and thinks he's come to vandalize the tomb.
According to Mercutio, this tiny fairy queen—the "midwife" of the fairies—rides in a chariot made from an empty hazelnut.
Queen Mab
Lord Capulet and Lord Montague end their long-standing feud by doing this at the conclusion of the play.
Raised two gold statues honoring Romeo and Juliet
This rhythm of five unstressed syllables followed by five stressed syllables—mimicking the beat of a human heart—is the primary meter used in Romeo and Juliet.
Iambic Pentameter
"O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! / It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night / As a rich jewel in an Ethiope’s ear."
Romeo
This is how much money Romeo actually gives to the starving apothecary.
40 gold coins