William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet

Stratford-Upon-Avon, EnglandThe Bard of AvonWriter & Entrepreneur WordplayNot highly educatedIntroduced 3,000 wordsExplores human experience

Shakespeare (1564 – 1616)

1597Tragedy: protagonist is favorable yet flawed;

doomed for destructionComic relief: humor to break up intensity or

strong emotionSub plot: secondary strand to the main plot

Imagery: light and darkThemes: love, fateSetting: Verona, Italy

Key Facts

The Montagues

Lord MontagueLady MontagueRomeoBenvolioMercutioFriar LawrenceBalthasar

Main Characters“Two houses, both alike in dignity,

In fair Verona where we lay our scene”The Capulets

Lord CapuletLady CapuletJulietNurseTybaltParis Sampson & Gregory

Sit with your assigned acting troupeRead summary of your sceneRead actual scene and assign rolesPractice acting out scene and add necessary propsWrite a detailed summary of what transpires in

your scenePick out most important line(s) and write analysis Be ready to perform

1.1: 1.2: 1.3: 1.4:1.5:

Act 1

Sit with your assigned acting troupeRead summary of your sceneRead actual scene and assign rolesPractice acting out scene and add necessary

propsWrite a detailed summary of what transpires in

your scenePick out most important line(s) and write analysis Be ready to perform

1.1: 1.2: 1.3: 1.4: 1.5:

Act 1

1. What does the Prologue reveal? What is an important theme set up in the Prologue?

2. In 1.1 we learn that Romeo is suffering from unrequited love – he loves someone who does not love him back. What suggestion does Benvolio make to Romeo to help him get over his unrequited love for Rosaline? Whose party does Benvolio’s plan involve? Why?

3. Capulet tells Paris that he believes Juliet is too young for marriage. However, on what condition does he agree to their marriage?

4. Why does Romeo feel uneasy about going to the party? What dream-like premonition has he had?

5. Who stops Tybalt from throwing Romeo out of the party? Why?

6. In lines 92-105 of Act 1 Scene 5, Romeo and Juliet speak to each other. Their lines form a sonnet. What is a sonnet? Paraphrase the lines of the sonnet.

Act 1 Study Questions

1. When Juliet appears on her balcony, to what does Romeo compare her?

2. When Juliet leans her cheek on her hand, what does Romeo say?

3. Explain what Juliet says about names.4. What do Romeo and Juliet plan to do the very next day?5. What does Friar Lawrence mean when he says to Romeo,

“Young men’s love then lies not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes?”

6. Friar Lawrence agrees to perform the marriage ceremony for Romeo and Juliet for what reason?

7. What is a malapropism? Who speaks several? Give an example. (Hint: Act 2 Scene 4)

8. How is the nurse behaving when she comes back from seeing Romeo?

9. What does Friar Lawrence mean when he says, “These violent delights have violent ends”?

Act 2 Study Questions

Soliloquy: A speech in which a character, alone on the stage, addresses himself or herself to let the audience know his/her inner thoughts/feelings.Ex: In Act 2 Scene 3, Friar Lawrence is alone on

stage and expresses his thoughts

Aside: A dramatic convention by which an actor directly addresses the audience but is not heard by other actors on the stage.Ex: When Romeo is eavesdropping on Juliet during

the balcony scene (2.2), he says, "Shall I speak at this?" Juliet does not hear this.

Literary Elements + Dramatic Devices

Foreshadowing: hints dropped as to foretell the action of the storyEx: When Friar Lawrence is marrying Romeo and Juliet he says,

"These violent delights have violent ends," meaning although their romance is starting off so passionately and wonderfully that it is bound to end badly in an equally dramatic way.

Theme of FATE: central or dominating idea of the story (NOT the moral)*Fate (noun): The development of events outside a person's

control, regarded as pre-determined; (verb): To be destined to happen, turn out, or act in a particular way: "it was fated to end badly".Synonyms: destiny; fortune

Ex: In the Prologue, the Chorus identifies Romeo and Juliet as a "pair of star-cross'd lovers" who will "take their lives." In other words, their destined to meet each other, fall in love, and die.

Literary Elements + Dramatic Devices

Sonnet: poem consisting of 14 lines; rhyme scheme is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG (couplet at the end) Ex: Prologue

Comic relief: comic episodes or characters that offset the intensity of serious sections in a dramatic work Ex: Mercutio and Benvolio poking fun at the Nurse; Peter

the serving man claiming to defend the Nurse, but being to unintelligent to realize that they were in fact making fun of the Nurse. "A sail, a sail!"

Monologue: A lengthy, uninterrupted speech that a character speaks in front of other characters Ex: At the very end of the play, Friar Lawrence explains his

part in the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet

Literary Elements + Dramatic Devices

Malapropism: The unintentional misuse of a word by confusion with one that sounds similarEx: The Nurse saying she desires a "confidence" with

Romeo, when she should have said "conference"

Light and dark MOTIF: images that continually reoccur Ex: In the balcony scene, Romeo compares Juliet to the

sun calling her a great light, so light that the moon is envious

Personification: an inanimate object or abstract noun is given human-like qualities or abilities Ex: Upon discovering Juliet dead on the morning of her

wedding day, Capulet calls Death his son-in-law because Death "hath lain" with his daughter that night

Literary Elements + Dramatic Devices

*For each item on the list, record the act, the scene, and if possible, the lines in which your example occurs

1. Find two more soliloquies and paraphrase what the speaker is saying in each

2. Find two more asides3. Identify three more instances of foreshadowing4. Find two details from the text that support the theme of fate 5. Find the sonnet embedded in the first lines spoken between Romeo

and Juliet when they meet at Capulet's ball. Write out the 14 lines and label the rhyme scheme Challenge: what kind of imagery dominates the sonnet?

6. Find two more instances of comic relief7. Find two more monologues and paraphrase what the speaker is

saying in each8. Identify another malapropism spoken by the Nurse. Then, make up

a humorous one of your own that someone might say in the modern day

9. Find three more examples of the recurring light and dark motif10. Find one more example of personification

Romeo + Juliet Scavenger Hunt

What is the second dream that Romeo describes at the beginning of Act 5, Scene 1? What significance could this hold for future events?

What does Romeo mean when he says, "I defy you stars"? (Act 5, Scene 1). What are some other examples of Romeo referring to fate?

What does Romeo decide to do after hearing some terrible news from Balthasar?

Why does Paris think Romeo has come to Juliet's tomb?

Describe the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. How do Montague and Capulet plan to honor their

children's deaths?

Act 5 Discussion Questions

Go back and re-read Juliet’s soliloquy in Act 4, Scene 3

Make a list of all the fears she expresses (in your own words) paralleled with the exact lines (in Shakespearean English) that correspond with each fear)

Place yourself in Juliet’s shoes. Think of her situation and try to identify with the limitations of her time period. Would you drink the potion? Explain why or why not.

Juliet’s Fears

Find two templates for a FB profile and FB information page under ELA eChalk page >> Assignments

Open them and edit them based on a character from R+J

Incorporate as many characters as well as dramatic devices and examples from the scavenger hunt as possible.

Only one person in the group must complete this on his/her iPad but you must complete both templates (profile page and info page)

R+J FB Profile Assignment