Irony
Read about dramatic irony on page 122 and identify 2 ironic moments in Act 3 scene 4.
How does this scene portray the relationship between Juliet and her parents?
It’s ironic that her parents think Juliet is mourning Tybalt when she’s really upset about Romeo’s banishment, and it’s ironic that her parents plan her marriage to Paris when she’s already married to Romeo. This scene portrays Juliet’s relationship with her parents as distant and her parents as authoritarian because they are controlling who and when Juliet marries without regards to her feelings.
How does Juliet’s bird choice on line 2 help her convey her meaning trying to persuade Romeo to stay?
Juliet claims it is a nightingale, who typically sings at night time, that is out instead of a lark, which sings in the daytime.
Paraphrase Capulet’s lines, “I tell thee what: get thee to church a ‘Thursday, / Or never after look me in the face” (3.5.161-2).
I tell you what, go to church on Thursday or never look at me again.
What does Romeo mean when he says, “I must be gone and live, or stay and die” (3.5.11)
If he stays with Juliet and gets caught, he will be put to death for not obeying the banishment.
How does Juliet personify fortune in line 60? What does she say about Fortune through this personification?
How much power do you think fortune or fate has in the play thus far?
She says that men call Fortune fickle (or ever changing) and she asks for Fortune to be fickle so that Romeo does not have to be banished for a long time. Various answers to how much power you think fate has.
Find 2 examples of dramatic irony when Lady Capulet speaks to Juliet in scene 5 lines 60-91.
Many possible answers
What does Romeo mean when he says “night’s candles are burnt out” on line 9?
The stars and moon are no longer light because the sun is coming up.
Do you think Juliet’s changed attitude toward the Nurse (and her parents) reveal her maturity or her immaturity?
O wicked lady (the Nurse)! Is it a worse sin to want me to break my promises or to criticize Romeo when she had praised him so many times before? Varied answers about Juliet’s changed opinion of the Nurse.
How is death foreshadowed in lines 3.5.54-9?
Juliet says that she thinks she sees Romeo “as one dead in the bottom of a tomb,” and he will die at the end of the play.
What does Lady Capulet mean when she says “some grief show much of love, / But. Much grief show still some want (lack) of wit” (3.5.71-2)? Do you agree with this point?
Some amount of grief shows how much you love a person, but too much grief shows that you are not smart. Various answers on if you agree with her.
Find 2 examples of irony when Lady Capulet speaks to Juliet in scene 5 lines 94-125.
Many possible answers.
Why does Juliet say the lark “sings out of tune” on line 28?
She says the lark is out of tune because any song sung in the morning is “out of tune” with what Juliet wants, which is for it to still be night so that Romeo can stay longer.
Paraphrase the Nurse’s lines, “I think you are happy in this second match, / For it excels your first, or if it did not, / Your first is dead.” (3.5.222-4). Are you surprised at the Nurse’s perspective?
I think your second match to Paris is better than your first one to Romeo. Even if it weren’t a better match, your marriage to Romeo is over. Varying opinions on if you’re surprised that the Nurse supports the marriage to Paris.
What does Juliet mean at the end of scene 5 when she says “I’ll to the Friar to know his remedy; / If all else fail, myself have power to die.” (3.5.241-2)
Juliet wants to see if Friar Lawrence can help her get out of her marriage to Paris, and if he can’t help her, she can commit suicide.
Note the stage directions on line 3.5.81 aside. What does that mean? Why would these lines need to be spoken as an aside?
An aside means to speak something to the audience and not the other characters on stage. These lines need to be an aside because Lady Capulet does not know that Juliet loves Romeo and would be angered that Juliet says that he is not a villain.
How is Juliet’s misleading of her mother in 3.5.93-102 ironic in light of the ending of the play?
Juliet asks her mother to find someone to poison Romeo, which is ironic because at the end of the play, Romeo dies because of his love for Juliet.
Explain the light and dark imagery Romeo uses when he says on lines 35-6 “O now be gone, more light and light it grows. / More light and light, more dark and dark our woes!
As the morning (light comes), their woes (or the fact that they must part) becomes “dark.”
Paraphrase Capulet’s lines, “Thank me no thanking, nor proud me no prouds” (3.5.153). Why does he say this line?
Juliet isn’t thanking me or showing me any pride. Capulet is furious that Juliet does not want to marry Paris because he is such a good match.
Find where Capulet threatens to kill Juliet if she doesn’t marry Paris. How does this portray father/daughter relationships in the play?
“But fettle your fine joints ‘gains Thursday next, / To go with Paris to Saint Peter’s Church, / Or I will drag thee on a hurdle thither. (3.5.153-6)
Find where Lady Capulet threatens to have Romeo poisoned. You have 3 minutes.
“We will have vengeance for it, fear though not: / Then weep no more. Ill send to one in Mantua, / Where that same banished runagate doth live, / Shall give him such an unaccustomed dram / That he shall soon keep Tybalt company, / And then I hope thou wilt be satisfied. (3.5.87-92)
Explain how Juilet’s lines, “He shall not make me there a joyful bride. / I wonder at his haste, that I must wed / Ere he that should be husband comes to woo” are ironic in two different ways (3.5.114-119).
It’s ironic that her father does not know that Juliet is already married to Romeo and wouldn’t want to marry Paris and it’s ironic that Juliet accuses her father of being “hasty” when she herself married Romeo very quickly.
Explain Juliet’s use of opposites on line 41 when she says “Then window let day in, and let life out.”
Once the light comes “in,” she feels she will die or her life will be let “out.”
I will prepare the poison myself so that Romeo will die soon after he drinks it. O how I hate to hear his name and not be able to go after him. I want to take the love I had for my cousin and get revenge on the man that killed him.
I will weaken the poison myself so that Romeo will just sleep and not die. O how I hate to hear Romeo’s name and not be able to be with him. I want to take the love I had for my cousin and pour it into Romeo.
Note that Juliet easily deceives her mother into hearing what her mother wants to hear.
Find where Juliet says she will die if her marriage to Paris is not delayed. You have 4 minutes.
“Delay this marriage for a month, a week, / Or if you do not, makes the bridal bed / In that dim monument where Tybalt lies” (3.5.200-1)
Time to test your memory! Name one insult Capulet calls Juliet when she refuses to marry Paris.
Green-sickness carrion, baggage, tallow-face (3.5.156)