Act I Study Guide
Instructions: Answer each question in COMPLETE SENTENCES. Responses will only receive half credit if not written in complete sentences. You are welcome to use an extra sheet of paper if needed.
Image from Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet
Prologue
1. In what poetic form is the Prologue written? Define this poetic form.
2. What is the setting of the play?
3. The Prologue establishes that two families are feuding. What caused the feud?
4. Romeo and Juliet are referred to as “star-crossed lovers.” What do these words suggest about the nature of their love/relationship?
Scene i:
5. Who is fighting at the beginning of this scene?
6. Who tries to break up the fighting?
7. What do the first three pages of the scene demonstrate about the forces at work in the play? (Consider the servants episode, the Benvolio-Tybalt episode, and the Prince’s warning.)
8. Tybalt responds to Benvolio by saying, “What, draw, and talk of peace? I hate the word / As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee” (lines 70-71). What do these lines reveal about Tybalt’s character?
9. What declaration does the Prince make to Lord Montague and Lord Capulet and why does he make it?
10. How is Benvolio characterized in the first six pages of the scene? What kind of a person is he?
11. How do Benvolio and Lady Montague describe the way Romeo has been acting of late (lines 119-156)?
12. Why is Romeo so sad? Explain.
13. What is Benvolio’s advice to Romeo?
Scene ii
14. Why does Lord Capulet think that it will be easy for Lord Montague and him to keep the peace?
15. Explain Paris’s “suit.” What is Lord Capulet’s response?
16. How is Lord Capulet characterized in this scene?
17. What is the servant’s problem, and what does it result from (in other words, what can he not do)?
18. How do Romeo and Benvolio learn about the Capulet party, and why do they decide to go?
19. What role has fate played in this scene?
Scene iii
20. How old is Juliet?
21. When Lady Capulet asks Juliet how she feels about marriage, what is Juliet’s answer?
22. Following Juliet’s answer, what does Lady Capulet tell Juliet?
23. What information do we learn from the Nurse’s story?
24. Describe the Nurse. How is she characterized? Who is the Nurse’s character foil?
Scene iv
25. Who is Queen Mab, and what does she do?
26. What is Mercutio’s speech called and why does he make it?
27. How is Mercutio characterized in this scene?
28. Who is Mercutio’s character foil in this scene?
29. What is Romeo’s mood at the end of the scene? Explain.
30. What is foreshadowed by Romeo in lines 106-111?
Scene v
31. What does Romeo think of Juliet the first time he sees her/
32. How does Tybalt recognize Romeo?
33. Why is Tybalt so upset by Romeo’s attendance to the party?
34. When Tybalt is ready to seize Romeo and throw him out of the party, what does Lord Capulet say to Tybalt?
35. What promise does Tybalt make after hearing his uncle’s request?
36. Summarize the conversation between Romeo and Juliet.
37. What images are associated with Juliet in lines 44-48?
38. How do Romeo and Juliet discover each other’s last names?