Scene 1
Who are the two feuding families?
Montague's and Capulet's
Who asks Capulet's permission to marry Juliet?
Paris
Which two characters does Lady Capulet speak with about Juliet's possible marriage?
Juliet and the Nurse
What are Romeo, Mercutio, and Benvolio wearing as they head to the Capulet feast?
Masks (they go as maskers/uninvited guests in disguise)
What does Romeo say the moment he first sees Juliet?
"O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!"
Where is the play set?
Verona, Italy
How old does Capulet say Juliet is?
Not yet fourteen ("hath not seen the change of fourteen years")
What does the Nurse reminisce about at length regarding Juliet's childhood?
Weaning Juliet as a baby, and a bawdy joke her late husband made about Juliet falling over
What is the name of the famous speech Mercutio delivers in this scene?
The Queen Mab speech
Who recognises Romeo's voice at the feast and wants to fight him on the spot?
Tybalt
Which Capulet character escalates the brawl by drawing his sword on Benvolio, who's trying to keep the peace?
Tybalt
What task does Capulet give his illiterate servant, Peter?
To deliver invitations / read out the guest list for the feast
How long ago does the Nurse say the earthquake she references occurred?
Eleven years ago
According to Mercutio, what does Queen Mab do to people as they sleep?
She rides through their minds delivering dreams shaped by their own desires
Who stops Tybalt from confronting Romeo, and why?
Capulet — he refuses to let a fight ruin his party and says Romeo has a good reputation in Verona
Who is Romeo pining over at the start of the play, before he ever meets Juliet?
Rosaline
Why does Benvolio convince Romeo to sneak into the Capulet feast?
To compare Rosaline with other beautiful women in Verona and prove she isn't as unmatched as Romeo believes
What is Juliet's careful, non-committal response when her mother raises the idea of marrying Paris?
She'll "look to like, if looking liking move" — she'll consider it, but only as far as her mother's consent allows
What feeling does Romeo express just before entering the feast?
A sense of foreboding — that something set in motion tonight will lead to an early death
What poetic structure do Romeo and Juliet's first shared lines take?
A shared sonnet — 14 lines split between them, built around pilgrim/religious imagery ("holy shrine," "saints," "pilgrims")
Romeo describes love using oxymorons like "O brawling love, O loving hate... O heavy lightness, serious vanity." What does this technique reveal about him?
It shows his confused, contradictory emotional state — reflecting his emotional immaturity
What's dramatically ironic about Romeo's plan to attend the feast?
He goes intending to admire Rosaline, but instead falls instantly in love with Juliet — his own family's enemy
What does this scene reveal about the expectations placed on young women like Juliet in Veronese society?
Marriage is treated as a family and economic arrangement rather than Juliet's personal choice, reflecting the era's patriarchal control over women
Romeo says his mind "misgives / Some consequence yet hanging in the stars / Shall bitterly begin his fearful date / With this night's revels." What device is this, and what theme does it introduce?
Foreshadowing — introducing the theme of fate, as Romeo unknowingly predicts the tragedy that's about to unfold
Juliet says, "My only love sprung from my only hate." What does this line achieve?
It's an oxymoron capturing her shock at learning Romeo is a Montague — crystallising the love-vs-feud conflict at the heart of the play and foreshadowing the tragedy to come