Romeo & Juliet - Study Guide 2 PDF

Preview

Summary

study guide of romeo and juliet...

Description

1. “He jests at scars that never felt a wound.” Again (but for the last time), we hear “the Chorus” in sonnet form, here introducing Act 2 and Romeo’s switch of allegiance from Rosaline to Juliet. One of the things the sonnet does is ritually note that the object of Romeo’s affections is not a simple swap (as the Friar at first mistakes it to be). What then is different about Romeo’s new passion? -Juliet actually likes Romeo back The Chorus says that he is “Alike bewitched by the charm of looks (2.1.6), but something radically different about this new passion must account for Romeo’s obvious transformation as a character, no longer groaning but praising—in some of the most famous love poetry every written. The key lies in line 11 (“And she as much in love…”). We can also note that Romeo’s “foe supposed” (line 7) is now no longer an “un-requiting” lover (Rosaline) but the anciently feuding house of Capulet. As Romeo himself says at the end of the first act, upon hearing that Juliet is a Capulet, “O, dear account! My life is my foe’s debt.” (242) After the feast, Romeo avoids his friends so that he can stay near the Capulet house. How do we know he probably overhears Mercutio and Benvolio when they call him? (2.1.3; 8-10; 2.1.46) -because Mercutio is joking about Romeo’s love and desire for Juliet, and Romeo says to himself “he jests at scars that never felt a wound” towards what Mercutio is saying What is Mercutio ranting about in lines 2.1.9-23? -he goes on about how Romeo is so in love and that he’s pathetic for being so love sick with Rosaline What does “conjured” mean in ll.17-18 and in l.28 (see glossarial notes 8-28). -to call upon with magic What would anger Romeo, according to Mercutio, is not overhearing himself mocked for loving Rosaline, but something else. What is it and how does it show Mercutio an astute psychologist of male desire? (2.1.25–28). -being mocked for not having sex with a mistress Mercutio conjured -? 2. Gendered Love? From the start, Romeo and Juliet love with equal intensity but differently How does Romeo answer Juliet’s question about how he arrived at her balcony window? -he says that love guided him to her What does Romeo’s answer show us about his character at this point in the play? (2.1.115118) -he’s completely head over heels for Juliet, nothing would stop him to get to her Why does Romeo not tell Juliet at once who he is after he speaks to her in the balcony scene? (2.1.103-105) -because his name is the thing that prevents them from being together When Juliet says that she would not want her kinsmen to find Romeo there (2.1.113-114), he

says, "I have night's cloak to hide me from their eyes." (2.1.124) What do these lines suggest about differences in their characters? -she is sensible and practical, while Romeo is impulsive and reckless Are these differences between them developed elsewhere in this scene? -? 3. An exchange of vows… Why does Juliet tell Romeo not to swear his love for her by the moon? (2.1.158–160) -because the moon changes throughout the month and she doesn’t want their love to be like the ever-changing moon cycle How does Juliet further counsel her Romeo about their new found love? (2.1.167-171) -she says their love will grow like a beautiful flower, and that they don’t have to move so fast What “satisfaction” does Juliet think Romeo might mean at 2.1.177? -sex 4. “Love wil nat be constreyned by maistery”: — —line 54, from “The Franklin’s Tale” by the medieval, master poet, Geoffrey Chaucer, which roughly means: “love will not be abused by power”; in other words, mutuality replaces domination. What does Juliet’s playful fantasizing at 2.1.230-235 convey? - ? Does it signal some important turning of events in the play? -now Juliet wants to get married even though she JUST said they were moving too fast, like..??? Notice that the word bondage comes up elsewhere in this scene; if Juliet’s fantasies here are about bondage, they are playfully so. Where is Romeo going when he leaves Juliet at the close of the balcony scene? (2.1.247-48) -he’s going to Friar Laurence to ask the Friar to wed him and Juliet 5. No more Chorus, but Enter the Friar What is Friar Laurence doing when he first appears? (2.2.5-8) -picking plants from his medicinal garden How would you describe the tone of his language (high, low, comic, sad, grand?) -i’d say the tone is pensive, philosophical, high botanical diction What is he talking about exactly when Romeo enters the picture? -he’s talking about a flower, where its scent cheers the entire body, but if ingested will poison someone

According to the Friar’s thoughts, all things of nature have the power to heal and cure or the power to slay and destroy. What is the human version of this dualism in nature (2.2.27–28). -reciprocity

6. Romeo transformed by reciprocity in love Why does the Friar agree to marry Romeo and Juliet? (2.2.93-95) -he thinks it’ll fix the ancient feud between the two families Find several moments in this scene where we hear Romeo significantly altered by his love for Juliet. (2.2.52-54, 2.2.87-89) -”I’ll tell thee ere thou ask it me again. I have been feasting with the enemy… etc” -”Then plainly know my heart’s dear love is set … etc” -”I pray thee, chide me not. Her I love now // Doth grace for grace… etc” 7. Tybalt’s family and manly honor offended Why has Tybalt apparently sent Romeo a challenge? (2.3.6-7) - probably still holding onto the grudge from him crashing the Capulet’s party How does Mercutio characterize Tybalt, at 2.3.18–24. -he tells Benvolio that Tybalt is a very skilled fencer 8. “Now art thou sociable, now art thou Romeo…” When Romeo appears in Act 2, Scene 3, how does his interaction with Mercutio reveal him a changed man? -he banters back and forth with Mercutio, acting like one of the boys again and not so lovesick Do lines 78-79 remind you of earlier lines in the play, when Romeo’s behavior was contrary to what it is now? (cf.1.1.198-199) -no because he seems happy now, as opposed to act 1 where he was all weepy and heartbroken What message does Romeo send Juliet by the Nurse? (2.3.162-165) -he tells the Nurse to tell Juliet to be at the chapel in the afternoon to wed Romeo Juliet is impatient to hear Romeo's message, but the Nurse does not tell her at once what it is. Why not? (Scene 4) -she doesn’t think it’s wise for Juliet to love Romeo 9. “So smile the heavens on this holy act…”

How much time elapses between Romeo and Juliet's first meeting and their marriage? -not even a full 24 hours How is their marriage handled? -secretly & quickly Is there something significant about the size of this scene (2.5)? -it’s a very fast and short scene about something that was extremely against the conventions of Elizabethan society and also seems too fast for the grandeur of what they’re doing aka promising themselves to each other forever Compare and contrast Romeo and Juliet’s speeches to each other as they are about to be married. Are the differences between them, which we first glimpsed during the balcony scene, still intact? (2.5.24–34). -Romeo is saying how he doesn’t care what happens in the future -like death- as long as he has Juliet, nothing matters, being impulsive as per usual -Juliet is equally as passionate, however her speech sentiments more on desire as opposed to Romeo’s reckless tones...