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Sample Quiz on Romeo & Juliet (With ANSWERS)

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  1. According to the Prologue of the play, it took Shakespeare's company to two hours to perform the play. T – F  [True – Prologue to Act 1]

  2. At what point in his career did Shakespeare write Romeo & Juliet?        A.) early           B.) mid-career      C.) late in his career  [Early in his career]

  3. The basic appeal of Romeo and Juliet is the insight it provides of the courtship    patterns of people in the sixteenth century. T – F [False – the basic appeal is the passionate love between R&J played against a backdrop of violence and hatred.]

  4. The immediate source for the play was a poem by Arthur Brooke.  According to the      prologue of the poem, how did Brooke feel about the kids?   A.) He thought they    were victims of parental tyranny.    B.) He believed their love was transcendent          C.) He thought that they needed to listen more closely to the Nurse.     D.) He   found their behavior consistently wrong and worthy of condemnation.    E.) None   of the above.  [D – see page LXIV of the Introduction in your text.]

  5. Romeo & Juliet on the stage often emphasizes the differences between groups, based    on race, religion, politics, etc.   How does the text of the play deal with these    same differences? [It doesn’t deal with differences.  Shakespeare consistently states that the two families are “alike in dignity.” They come from the same culture, the same level of society and share common values.  The feud continues despite the lack of differences and the fact no cause is ever cited in the play.]

  6. For the servants of the two households in the opening lines of the play, the feud is           deadly serious. T – F [False – see the behavior of Sampson and Gregory in I, 1 before the arrival of Tybalt who provokes the violence.]

  7. What is an oxymoron?  Give an example from the play. [An oxymoron is a self-contradictory phrase, such as “loving hate” or “sweet sorrow.”

  8. Romeo loves Juliet from the beginning of the play. T – F [False – initially he loves Rosaline.]

  9. Why is the Italian poet Petrarch important to this play? [Petrarch created the “language of love” for the Renaissance.  He came up with such phrases as “eyes like stars” or “skin as white as snow.”  He emphasized the way love made you feel, the conflicting emotions of love and pain.  It is Petrarch that Romeo is imitating when he talks about Rosaline or in the balcony scene.]

  10. 10. Why did young gentlewomen wear masks when they went out?  A.) They could flirt             with anyone recognizing them.   B.) The sight of a woman's face was considered       too sexually provocative.   C.) To keep from getting sunburned    D.) They wanted    to hide their identities    E.) None of the above  [C – a pale complexion meant you belonged to the upper class and did not need to work outside in the sun.]

  11. 11. Why does Romeo agree to crash Capulet's party?  A.) He does it on a dare.    B.) He         figures he has nothing to lose.    C.) He goes to catch sight of Juliet.    D.) He wants to cause trouble for the Capulets.   E.) He goes to see his current girlfriend. [E – he goes to catch a glimpse of Rosaline, his current love interest.]

  12. The first speech between Romeo and Juliet takes what poetic form? [a sonnet, a 14-line poem.]
  1. In the balcony scene Juliet's solution to the feud of their families is to simply change        their family names. T – F [True – “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet./ So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called.” II, 2.]

  2. Who says, "I am no pilot; yet, wert thou as far/ As that vast shore washed with the         furthest sea, I should adventure for such merchandise"?    A.) Mercutio          B.) Benvolio     C.) Juliet          D.) Romeo       E.) Nurse  [D – Romeo in II, 2.]
    Explain what this passage refers to? [Romeo is comparing Juliet to some fabulous treasure in a distant land.  He is saying he would pilot a ship around the world to be able to claim such riches as Juliet.]

  3. .  Mercutio teases the Nurse because   A.) she dresses and behaves in a            pretentious        manner   B.) he is attracted to her   C.) he resents Romeo’s love for          Juliet    D.) she is a member of the Capulet clan   E.) all of the above  [A – Mercutio resents people who are phonies, like the French-spouting Tybalt.  The Nurse is dressed like a fine lady and tries to speak and behave like one.  He enjoys pricking her pretentions.]

  4. After the death of Tybalt and Mercutio, who argues before the Prince that Romeo         should be put to death? [Lady Capulet, Juliet’s mother, apparently takes Tybalt’s death very badly and argues that Romeo must die.]

  5. After the death of Tybalt, what does Juliet send to Romeo that restores his faith in          her love for him?  [Despite all Friar Lawrence’s learned advice, it is a ring from Juliet which restores Romeo’s faith in her love.]

  6. Who says, "I am the drudge, and labor in your delight,/ But you shall bear the burden     soon at night"?  A.) Nurse   B.) Juliet   C.) Mercutio               D.) Romeo      E.) Capulet [A – the Nurse]

  7. Who says, "Thank me no thankings, nor proud me no prouds." [Capulet – III, 5,line 152.]

  8. When Juliet meets Paris at the friar's cell, why does Paris believe Juliet is flirting with him? [Paris interprets Juliet’s reluctance to talk with the traditional courtship game of the girl playing hard to get.]

  9. Explain how one of the videos you saw differed from the original text in the        treatment of the balcony scene.  [In the Zefirelli’s version Romeo climbs a tree so he and Juliet can physically embrace near the end of the scene. In the DiCaprio version most of the scene is played in the swimming pool with no physical separation at all.]

  10. Juliet has no problem taking the potion Friar Lawrence gives her. T – F [False – IV, 3]

  11. Explain how Shakespeare changes the language of the play when the Capulets, the         Nurse and Paris discover the supposedly dead Juliet?    A.) They change to formal     lamentation.      B.) Simple words of sorrow, such as "alas" or "woeful," are     repeated frequently       C.) The language of their grieving seems emotional         removed from the audience.          D.) Shakespeare significantly changes the way the        characters have spoken up to this point.            E.) All of the above. [E – IV, 5
    ]
  12. When Romeo sees Juliet's body in the tomb, she appears almost life-like.  To what        does Romeo attribute this condition?           A.) The poison has preserved her body.          B.) Death keeps her as his lover.           C.) It's evidence her soul is in heaven.               D.) Tybalt's curse is affecting his eyesight           E.) None of the above [B – V, 3]

  13. Describe what dramatic irony is and give one example. [Dramatic irony occurs when a character does not realize the full significance of something said or done, but the audience does recognize the significance.  In the opening lines of III, 2 Juliet speaks innocently of death without knowing that Romeo has just killed Tybalt and has been banished.  Another example is found in III, 5  when Lady Capulet assumes Juliet is weeping because she cannot “get her hands on” Tybalt’s murderer, Romeo.  She is partly correct, but not in the way she thinks.

  14. (extra credit) What's the oxymoron in the last 20 lines of the play? [V, 3, line 293: “Heaven finds means to kill your joys with love.”]

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