William Shakespeare and his play ( Romeo and Juliet )

1. William Shakespeare is an English writer.

2. He was born in England in 1564. He lived in London.
3. He got married with Anne Hathaway and had three children.
4. People believed that Shakespeare worked as: a- a teacher

b- an actor

c- a play writer.

5. First theaters were opened in 1590s in England.

6. Shakespeare and a group of actors built their own theatre (The Globe) in 1598.
7. ( The Globe ) was unusual because it had a round shape .
8. Old theatres were different to modern ones in :- a- There was very little scenery .
b- There was no curtain.
c- There were no breaks between scenes.
d- Women were not allowed to act.
e- Most theatres did not have roofs.
9. Watching a play in the past was different from today because there were no breaks between scenes and there
was very little scenery and no curtain for theatres .
10. Plays were only shown in good weather and in daylight because there were no roofs for theatres.
11. A lot of people enjoyed the plays because writing and acting plays was a business and needed to make money.
12. Plays mixed together poetry and simple jokes because writing and acting plays was a business and needed to
make money.
13. Shakespeare stopped acting in 1607.
14. Shakespeare died on his birthday in 1616.
15. Shakespeare wrote about 37 plays and poems .
16. Many of his plays were published as books .
17. The plays of Shakespeare that we read today are different to the ones that he first wrote because :a- People used to write plays very quickly .
b- The actors performed plays a few times and then threw them away .
c- No one really thought of keeping plays for people to read .
18. Shakespeare's plays are still performed all over the world and people in schools and universities study them .

The Play (Romeo and Juliet)

1. Romeo and Juliet is a famous play about two young people who fall in love with each other .
2. Romeo and Juliet are from the city of "Verona" in Italy.
3. People in the story :A- The Capulet family : ( Lord and Lady Capulet ,
Juliet, their daughter
B- The Montague family : ( Lord and Lady Montague , Romeo, their son ,
C- Nurse who looks after Juliet .
D- Paris , who wants to marry Juliet .
E- Friar Laurence , a religious man .
F- Balthasar , Romeo's servant .
G- Mercutio , Romeo's friend .
H- Prince Escalus , the ruler of Verona .

Tybalt Juliet's cousin ) .

Benvolio, Romeo's cousin ).

4. The Montagues and the Capulets had an argument many years before .
5. The play shows us how Romeo and Juliet continue to love each other although their families are enemies .
6. Shakespeare wrote many tragedies ( sad plays in which people die ) . Romeo and Juliet is one of these tragedies .
7. The play is about the difficulty of being idealistic ( ) .
8. " Idealistic " means : Believing in something which is good, but very difficult to make happen ) .
9. The love between Romeo and Juliet is very strong but impossible because of the argument between their families .
10. The play is very famous because : A- It has an interesting, sad story . B- It has a beautiful , love poetry .
11. Romeo and Juliet was written first time in around 1595 .
12. The story of the lovers was well known in England before Shakespeare wrote his play because :A- There were many plays about Romeo and Juliet at that time .
B- There was a poem called " The Tragical Historie of Romeo and Juliet " .
13. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet was first published in 1597 , but this edition wasn't written by Shakespeare .
14. The second edition was published in 1599 and actually written by Shakespeare .

Teacher : Jihad Thaher

Tormos -Ayya Secondary Boys School

Romeo and Juliet

( Extract 1

Act 1

Scene 1 )

1. Servants of the Montague and Capulet families are fighting in the street .
2. Benvolio , holding his sword , is trying to stop them fighting .
3. " So you are fighting with the servants now, are you ?" " Come and fight me , and let me kill you ."
Who said this ? To whom ? When ?
Tybalt . To Benvolio . When he saw the sword in his hand .
4. " I don't want to fight with you . I'm just trying to stop these men fighting ."
Who said this ? To whom ? Who are the men ?
Benvolio . To Tybalt . The servants of the two families .
5. " How can you talk about peace when you are holding your sword?"
Who said that ? To whom ? Why was the addressee ( ) holding the sword ?
Tybalt . To Benvolio . To stop the servants fighting .
6. " I hate that word , I hate it as much as I hate all the Montagues and you ."
Who said that ? What is the word that he hates ? The pronoun " you " refers to whom?
Tybalt . Peace . Benvolio .
7. People who came to join the fighting :
( Tybalt , Old Capulet , Old Montague )
8. People who came to stop the fighting :
( Benvolio , Lady Capulet , Lady Montague , Prince Escalus , old men from the town )
9. " What's all this noise about ? Bring me my sword ."
Who said that ? To whom ? What does he want ?
Capulet . To his wife ( Lady Capulet ) . He wants his sword .
10. " No ! You are too old to fight ." Who said that ? Who was too old ? Lady Capulet . Old Capulet .
11. "You villain , Capulet ! Don't hold on to me ! Let me go !"
Who said that ? What did he mean by the word "villain" ? Whom did he want to let him go?
Montague . He meant " bad person with no value . His wife ( Lady Montague ) .
12. " Listen to me , you enemies of the peace . You animals ." Who said that ? To whom ?
Prince Escalus . To the men who were fighting .
13. What would Prince Escalus do if the men didn't stop fighting ?
He would punish them by death .
14. " You have broken the peace of our town ."
Who said that ? To whom ? How often did they break the peace ?
Prince Escalus . To Capulet and Montague . Three times .

Teacher : Jihad Thaher

Answer the questions ( Reading Plus

Page 17 )

Q.1 Why do people disagree about what Shakespeare did before he moved to London ?
Because they know very little about his early life .
Q.2 What was strange about the Globe Theatre ?
It had around shape .
Q.3 In what ways were theatres and plays in Shakespeare's time different from modern ones ?
1) They had no scenery or curtain .
2) There were no breaks between the scenes .
3) Women were not allowed to act .
4) The theatres did not have roofs .
Q.4 Why couldn't people read Shakespeare's plays while he was alive ?
Because:1) They used to write plays very quickly .
2) They didn't keep plays to read .
3) Actors performed them a few times , then threw the script away .
Q.5 Why are the Capulet and Montague families enemies ?
They had an argument many years before .
Q.6 Where did Shakespeare get the story of ' Romeo and Juliet ' from?
He used the story from a poem called ( The Tragical Historie of Romeo and Juliet) .
Q.7 Why is the second Edition of " Romeo and Juliet " more important than the first ?
Because the second edition was actually written by Shakespeare himself .

Teacher : Jihad Thaher

Extract 2 ( Act 1 , Scene 4 )

Quotations :- ( )

1. I have a terrible feeling that something will happen tonight.

Who said that ?
What will happen tonight ?
Romeo .
A fight in the party and Romeo may be killed .
What were Romeo and the guests wearing during the party ? Masks on their faces .
2. Welcome , gentlemen . Im sure the ladies want to dance with you .
Who said that ?
you refers to ?
Why do the ladies want to dance?
Capulet .
The guests ( Romeo and his friends) .
Because there is a party.
3. I remember the days when I wore a mask to parties .
Who said that ? What does he remember ?
When did he wear a mask?
Old Capulet .
When he was young .
At parties .
4. Who is that lady dancing with the man over there ?
Who asked that? To whom ?
What was the lady doing ?
Romeo .
His servant .
She was dancing .

Who was the man dancing with her ?

Paris .

5. She could teach the torches how to burn brightly. Next to the other women, she looks like a snowy dove in a
group of crows.
Who said that ? Romeo .
To whom ? To himself .
she refers to? Juliet .
What does the speaker mean by saying (she could teach the torches)? That she is very beautiful .
How does the speaker compare her with others ? A dove beside black crowds .
dove means ? A kind of white birds .
crowds mean ? Ugly black birds .
6. This man sounds like a Montague. Bring me my sword , boy ! How dare he comes here to scorn our celebrations
I will kill him for this.
Who said the words ? Tybalt .
Who is the man who sounds a Montague?
Romeo
Who is the boy ? Tybalts servant. What does the speaker mean by the word scorn? Make fun ( )
this means what ? Scorn celebrations .
7.

Whats the matter? What are you angry about?

Who asked that? Capulet . You refers to? Tybalt .
What is the addressee angry about? About how Romeo dares to come and scorn Capulets party .

8. Uncle , that man is a Montague . The villain has come to scorn our celebrations.
Who said that ? Tybalt .
Who is that man ? Romeo . Who is his uncle ? Capulet .
What does villain mean ? Bad person with no value.
Where did the man come ? Why ?
To the party . To scorn it .
9. Calm down. Leave him alone. I would never be rude to him in my house .
Who said that ? Capulet .
To whom? Tybalt .
him refers to ? Romeo .
Why does the speaker want the addressee to calm down ? Because he is so angry .
10. It is the only way to look when one of the guests is a villain.
Who said that ? Tybalt .
To whom ? Capulet .
What way does the speaker mean ? To look angry .
11. Whose house is this , mine or yours ? Do what I say! I wont allow it .
Who asked that ? Capulet . To whom ? Tybalt .
Why did the speaker say that ? Because Tybalt was angry of Romeo .
What the speaker wont allow to happen ? He wont allow Tybalt to start a fight at Capulets house .
12. You are a childish boy! You are a very rude young man .

Who said that ? Capulet . To whom? Tybalt .

What does the speaker mean by childish ? A stupid boy who cant think well .
Is the word rude a good or bad word? Its a bad word .
13. Madam, your mother wants to speak to you .
Who said that ? The Nurse . Who is madam? Juliet . Who is the addressees mother ? Lady Capulet .
When did the speaker say that? When Juliet was with Romeo .
14. Her mother , young man , is the lady of the house .
Who is the speaker ? The Nurse .
Who is the addressee ? Romeo .
Who is the lady of the house? Lady Capulet . ( Juliets mother ) .
15. I tell you, the man who wins her love will have plenty of money !.
Who is the speaker ?
The Nurse .
Who is the addressee ?
Romeo .
The pronoun her refers to ? Juliet .
What will the man who loves her get ? A lot of money .
16. She is Capulet! Now my life is in the hands of my enemy .
Who is the speaker ?
Romeo .
She refers to? Juliet .
Why is his life in the hands of his enemy? Because Juliet is from Capulet and theres a fight between them .
17. Thank you for coming and good night , gentlemen .
Who is the speaker ? Capulet . Who does he thank ? Romeo and his friend Benvolio .
Why did the speaker thank them? Because they came to the party .
18. Come on , then , Lets all go to bed . Its very late. I must go and get some sleep.
Who is the speaker ?
Capulet .
all refers to ?
Lady Capulet and other guests .
When did the speaker say that ?
After the party was finished .
19. Come here , nurse . Who is that gentleman ?
Who is the speaker ? Juliet .
Who is she talking with ?

The Nurse .

20. Go and ask his name, Nurse . If he is married, I will die !

Who is the speaker ? Juliet .
Who is she talking with ? Her Nurse .

Who is the gentleman ? Romeo .

Who is she talking about ? Romeo .

21. He is Romeo , and hes a Montague! Hes the only son of your great enemy.
Who is the speaker? Nurse . Who is the addressee ? Juliet . He refers to ?
Who is Juliets great enemy ? The Montagues . ( Old Montague )

Romeo .

22. The only man I have ever loved is from the only family I have ever hated . I fell in love with him and now its
too late .
Who is the speaker ?
Juliet .
Who is the only man? Romeo.
Which family has the speaker ever hated?
The Montague.
What is too late for the speaker?
To fell in love with Romeo.
Why is it too late for the speaker?
Because the two families are enemies.

Teacher : Jihad Thaher

Tormos -Ayya Secondary Boys School
Questions on page 30 -31 ( Reading plus )

Q.1 Do you think Tybalt really misunderstands what Benvolio is doing?

No. Hes probably looking for an excuse to fight .
Q.2 Tybalt seems to be an / a ..person .
a. understanding
b. aggressive

c. friendly

Q.3 Lord Capulet and Lord Montague reacted in a .way when they saw the fight .
a. brave
b. wise
c. silly
d. funny
Q.4 How did Prince Escalus describe the men who were fighting ?

Enemies of the peace , animals .

Q.5 Why was Prince Escalus so angry ?

1- Because that was the third time there had been fighting in the street .
2- They were disturbing everyone in the city .
Q.6 What does Prince Escalus say he will do if they fight again?
He will punish them by death .
Q.7 What do you think Prince Escalus will say to Capulet and Montague in private ?
He will warn them to stop fighting or there will be bad results . ( punishment )
Q.8 Why might it be dangerous for Romeo and Benvolio to go to the party ?
Because Capulets might discovered them and be angry that there were Montagues in the house.
Q.9 What do you think might happen at the party ?
Their might be a fight between Capulets and Montagues.
Romeo might see Juliet there .
Q.10 Choose the correct answer:1- Lord Capulet likes watching the young people dancing because:
A. It shows they are enjoying the party.
B. It reminds him of when he was young .
C. It might make some of them fall in love .
2- When Tybalt recognises Romeo , he is angry as:
A. He thinks Romeo has insulted the Capulets by being there .
B. He is sure that Romeo has not been invited to the party .
C. He notices that Romeo is wearing a mask to hide his face .
3.

Lord Capulet is angry with Tybalt because:

A. He thinks the argument between the families should stop.
B. He doesnt want any trouble or fighting in his house .
C. He would rather fight Romeo himself later .

4.

How do Romeo and Juliet react when they are told who they have been talking to?
A. Juliet is more shocked than Romeo.
B. Romeo doesnt care , but Juliet is sad .
C. They both realise there will be problems .

Q.11 The language shows very strong feelings , but what does it really mean?
For example , do jewels really shine at night , and does Juliet really believe she will die ?

They arent meant literally, they are figurative.

Q.12 Are these ideas about love and beauty Shakespeares own , or is he making Romeo and Juliet say them?
If so , what do you think he might be saying about the two young lovers ?
What the characters in the play say arent necessarily what the writer thinks.
Shakespeare shows Romeo and Juliet as a pair of lovers who have emotions as teenagers .
Q.13 We know that Juliet is nearly fourteen years old .How old do you think Romeo might be?
He might be at least sixteen years old . ( He carries a sword in the street and could go out at night on his own)

Teacher : Jihad Thaher

Tormos -Ayya Secondary Boys School