Madysen Buckley

Romeo & Juliet: Discussion Questions

Act 1 Scene 1:
1. I think even of the slightest gesture people are willing to fight due to the tension
and feuding between the two houses.
2. I think the Prince would be justified because the fights involve lots of people and
lives that are at risk and losing two lives to save hundreds is worth the risk.
3. This means that Romeo wants Benvolio to teach him how to not think. In life
want to stop thinking so that they dont have to feel emotions they dont like to
feel.
4. An irony in the scene was that Romeo is breaking the stereotype that men are
less emotional than girls are.
5. Romeos narrative is that he loves this girl but she doesnt love him back. Romeo
believes the story about Queen Mab and how she dances through his brain
allowing him to dream of love.

Act 1 Scene 2:
1. The difference between our society and theirs is that the men can chose who
their daughters will marry.
2. Benvolio asks Romeo if he is mad as in to be crazy or mentally unstable. Romeos
analogy is that he compares himself to feeling like he is a mad man and a
tormented prisoner.
3. Benvolio tries to help Romeo understand that there are girls much more
beautiful than the girl Romeo is currently heartbroken for. Benvolios analogy is
that after the night is over, Romeo will see many more beautiful girls than
Rosaline and that he will see her as an ugly girl compared to the others.

Act 1 Scene 3:
1. The characterization of the nurse is that she is Juliets second mother, is silly,
had an actual daughter who had died, and used to breast-feed Juliet.
2. Lady Capulet tells Juliet to try and love Paris and examine him like a book.
3. Lady Capulets extended metaphor used to characterize Paris symbolizes a book
and she is trying to compare his features to a volume, spine, and cover or a
book.

Act 1 Scene 4:
1. Romeo, Mercutio, and Benvolios plan is to get into the Capulet party and find
love.
2. Romeo feels that he has a heavy sole and that without love it makes him a bad
person. Dreamers lie down.
3. Queen Mab symbolizes a mix of Cupid and the sandman.
4. Mercutio ultimately wants Romeo to be in love and happy again.

5. The thematic implication is that dreams are just fantasy to get away from our
reality.

Act 1 Scene 5:
1. The direct characterization is that he is old but having a great time. The indirect
characterization is that he is slightly bipolar in his emotional highs and lows.
2. Romeos extended metaphor is saying that he wants to kiss Juliet.
3. I dont think love at first sight is possible because what happens to blind people
in that perspective?
4. Then have my lips the sin that they have took., O she doth teaches the torches
to burn bright. , AS a rich jewel in Ethiops ear.

Act 2 Scene 2:
1. What does a name mean and why does it mean so much? Cant Romeo just deny
his name and me deny mine so we can both be together and happy?
2. Romeo- Had I it written, I would tear the word. = if I had written and made up
the name I would get rid of it.
Juliet-Be but sworn my love, and Ill no longer be a Capulet.= If you call me your
lover I will not be a Capulet anymore.
3. Metaphors- O, that I were a glove upon that hand., The brightness in her cheek
would shame these stars
Simile- As glorious to this night
Pun- Her vestal livery is but sick and green, and none but fools do wear it. Cast
it off.
Personification- do entreat her eyes to twinkle in their spheres till they
return.
Imagery- Her vestal livery is but sickly green.
Irony- that Juliet cant hear Romeo but Romeo can hear Juliet when she talks.
Oxymoron- Beautiful tyrant!
4. Juliet agrees that she should have played hard to get for a longer time.

Act 3 Scenes 2 and 3:

A. Women seem to have a stronger control of emotions in this scene. Lines 131-133
Juliet says, Wash thy his wounds with tears? Mine shall be spent when theirs
are dry, for Romeos banishment. Which shows womens control over their own
emotions. Lines 82-83 the friar says, There on the ground, with his own tears
made drunk. Which shows how unstable Romeo is compared to Juliet.
Shakespeare is trying to accomplish a sense of understanding using over
exaggeration by focusing on this theme.
B. Juliet rationalizes to control her emotions by constantly finding a negative in the
positive and then picking out which negative is the worst.
C. Juliet rationalizes to control her emotions by finding the negative from the
positive.
D. In lines 97-125, Juliets emotions go up and down. Tybalt is dead, but Romeo is
alive., Romeo is alive but he is banished from Verona.

E. W. Juliet controls her emotions by finding the good in the bad and the bad in the
good during the death of Tybalt and banishment of Romeo.
C. Shakespeare uses figurative language to show Juliets mental state so the reader
can better understand what she is going through. Line 131, Wash thy his wounds
with tears?
D. Ways Friar Laurence tries to help Romeo
1. Lines 10-11, A gentler judgment vanished from his lips: Not body death, but
bodys punishment.
2. Lines 25-29, Thy fault our law calls death, but the kind Prince, taking thy part,
hath rushed aside the law, and turned that black word death to punishment.
This is dear mercy, and thou seest it not.
The Friars motive for trying to help Romeo is to lighten the actual truth by
explaining how it could be much worse.
E.
C: The Friars argument to Romeo is full of the Friar insulting Romeo but
telling the truth all at the same time.
D: Lines 110-113, the Friar is calling Romeos tears womanish and
comparing him to an ill-diseeming beast
W: The Friars argument towards Romeo is trying to have Romeo see he isnt
acting like a man but an ugly woman or ill-diseeming beast.

Act 4 Scene 3:
1. Lady Capulet is trying to show her motherly side to Juliet because she is coming
to the realization that this will be one of the last times with her daughter alone.
2. Line 21, What if this mixture do not work at all? = what if the potion doesnt
work at all?
Lines 25-26, What if it be a poison, which the friar subtly hath ministered to
have me dead. = what if the friar gave me poison to kill me?
Lines 31-33, How if, when I am laid in the tomb, I wake before the time that
Romeo come to redeem me? = What if I wake up before Romeo finds me?
Line 36, And there die strangled ere my Romeo comes? = Will I suffocate
before Romeo comes?
Lines 38-40, Or, if I live, is it not very like the horrible conceit of death and
night, together within the terror of the plan. = If I live, will I be surrounded by
death and terror by myself?

Act 4 Scene 4:
1. Tone- secretive/ unaware
Mood- urgent, joyful
I think Shakespeares purpose of putting this scene in is to show how fooled and
oblivious the other characters are to Juliets plan.

Act 4 Scene 5:

1. Capulet is all giddy and excited unlike the other scenes where he was harsh and
mad.
2. The conversation between Peter and the musicians is important because it sows
how low ranked they both are Job wise.

The End:
1. Paris presence complicates the story at the tomb by complicating how Romeo
wanted to kill himself. Paris is characterized as the antagonist.
2. The metaphor Romeo creates is, So shalt thou show me friendship which
means that is the way to show me friendship.
3. In this scene, Romeos mental state is that he is furious and going a little more
crazy. Thou detestable maw, thou womb of death, gorged with the dearest
morsel on earth, thus I enforce thy rotten jaws to open, and in despite Ill run
cram thee with more food!
4. The climax of the story is when Romeo and Juliet died.
5. One literary element is a metaphor when Romeo says, Death, That hath sucked
the honey from your breath
6. There are four people dead at the end of the scene. (Lady Montague, Paris,
Romeo, Juliet)
7. I think the Friar should be punished for the tragedy because he was the one who
offered to marry them.
8. I believe the friar is most at fault because he was the one who offered to marry
them. Also, I think Benvolio as well because he was the one who encouraged
Romeo to go to the Capulet party in the first place.
9. When Lord Montague told everyone that his wife had just died. Alas, my liege,
my wife is dead tonight. Greif of my sons exile hath stopped her breath.