Romeo and Juliet Questions Act 1, scenes 1, 2, and 3

Act 1, scene 1

1.  A pun is a play on words. What puns can you find in the scene? 

2. What words do you see repeated in the scene and how does the repetition function in the scene?

3. What kind of imagery dominates the scene? Explain and give examples.

4. How does the brawl begin? Be specific, and use lines from the text.

5. Look at Capulet and Lady Capulet's exchange on page 6 and also Montague and Lord Montague's exchange. What inferences can you draw about each character?

6. Who appears to be the peacemaker in the scene and who rejects the offer of peace?

7. What is the Prince's tone (provide evidence for your response) when he intervenes in the brawl, what warning does he pronounce, and what arrangements does he make?

8. When the scene switches to Lord Montague and Benvolio, about what does Montague question Benvolio, and later in the scene what concerns does he express about Romeo? Use lines from the text for support.

9. Look at Romeo’s speech on p. 10 (“Alas that love, whose view is muffled still . . .”). What do you notice about what Romeo says and what impression does it give you of Romeo? Do you know the literary term for the language that he uses?

10. Find one allusion on page 10 and one on page 11. Explain each.

Act 1, scene 2

1. What is the purpose of Paris’s visit to Capulet, and what is Capulet’s response (Find 4 examples that explain his response using the lines from the text.

2. What is ironic about Capulet’s request of his servant?

3. What seems to be the first occasion of “star-crossed lovers” beginning to take shape?

Act 1, scene 3

1. Why does Lady Capulet ask the Nurse to call for Juliet?

2. What do you notice about the Nurse in this scene? Back up your response with specific lines form the text.

3. When is Juliet’s birthday?

4. What incident from when Juliet was a child does the Nurse recall, and why does she remember it so well?

5. What seems most to be on the Nurse’s mind? Justify your response?

6. What kind of imagery does Lady Capulet use when advising how Juliet should approach Paris?

7. What is Juliet’s reaction to her mother’s question “How stands your disposition to be married”?