Character Motivations
Why does Romeo at first try to stop the fight with Tybalt in Act 3, scene 1?
Romeo wants peace between his own family and his new wife's relations.
Romeo feels connected to members of Juliet's family.
After he is wounded in Act III, Mercutio says, "A plague a both your houses! / They have made worms' meat of me." What is the best paraphrase of Mercutio's words?
Curse both the Capulets and the Montagues. Their feud has killed me.
After Tybalt's death in Act 3, how does the Prince punish Romeo?
with banishment
Which detail about Friar Lawrence, revealed earlier in the play, takes on new, important meaning in Act 4?
He is an expert on the medicinal uses of plants.
In Act 5, scene 1, what message does Balthasar report to Romeo?
Juliet is dead and has been laid to rest in the Capulets’ tomb.
Why does Romeo ultimately kill Tybalt in Act 3, scene 1?
Tybalt kills Mercutio.
In Act III, scene v, Lady Capulet believes Juliet is grieving Tybalt's death. She tells Juliet, "Therefore have done. Some grief shows much of love; / But much of grief shows still some want of wit." What is the best paraphrase of this passage?
So stop grieving. Some mourning expresses love, but too much is foolish.
In Act 3 of The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, why does Lord Capulet yell at Juliet?
In Act 4, scene 2, what decision does Capulet make after Juliet seems to agree to the wedding with Paris?
to hold the wedding the next day
According to Montague in Act 5, scene 3, what is the cause of Lady Montague's death?
grief over Romeo's banishment
Part A: In Act 5, why does the apothecary bend to Romeo's pressure and agree to break the law?
The apothecary badly needs the money.
In this passage from Act 4, scene 3, what fear is Juliet expressing?
What if it be a poison which the friar
Subtly hath minist'red to have me dead,
Lest in this marriage he should be dishonored
Because he married me before to Romeo?
Friar Lawrence has intentionally given her a poison that will kill her.
Part A: By the end of Act III, how has Juliet come to regard the Nurse?
with resentment
What most accurately describes what the nurse discovers on the morning of the wedding in Act 4, scene 5?
Juliet's body in a death-like trance
In Act 5, scene 1, why does Romeo seek out an apothecary?
He wants to poison himself later.
In Act 4, why does Friar Lawrence not encourage Paris in his plan to marry Juliet?
Juliet is already married to Romeo.
Which of the following best describes the situation as Romeo speaks these lines in The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, Act V, Scene iii?
Death, that hath sucked the honey of thy breath,
Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty.
Thou art not conquered. Beauty’s ensign yet
Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks,
And death’s pale flag is not advancèd there.
Romeo believes Juliet is dead but notes she is as beautiful as when alive.
At the end of Act III, what does Juliet decide to do?
visit Friar Lawrence in his cell to seek his advice
In Act 4, scene 3, Juliet delivers a speech as she prepares to drink the potion. On what subject does she dwell in this speech?
her fear of what may happen when she awakens in the tomb
What best describes Romeo's attitude toward Tybalt and Paris as he enters the Capulets' tomb in Act 5, scene 3?
He desires to make amends for the wrongs he has done to them both.
In Act 5, scene 3, what motivates Paris to visit the churchyard at night?
his grief over Juliet's death
Read the following lines spoken by the Prince in The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, Act V, Scene iii.
See what a scourge is laid upon your hate,
That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love.
And I, for winking at your discords too,
Have lost a brace of kinsmen. All are punished.
What theme or message is most clearly suggested by the Prince’s words?
Feuds and vengeance bring tragedy.
What is the main purpose of Act III, scene iv, in which Juliet's parents speak with Paris?
to show Capulet's decision that Juliet will marry Paris the following Thursday
Part A: At the beginning of Act 4, scene i, Paris reports to Friar Lawrence that Juliet is weeping. What is the true cause of her sadness?
Juliet loves Romeo and does not want to marry Paris.
In Act 5, scene 2, why is Friar Lawrence upset when he learns that Friar John has not yet been to Mantua?
He is fearful that failure of his message to reach Romeo may result in disaster.