Romeo and Juliet: Key Points

Question	Answer
What family does Romeo belong to?	Montague
What family does Juliet belong to?	Capulet
Why do the Montague and Capulet family dislike each other?	It's an ancient (very old) grudge; they do not even remember what started it; at least, Shakespeare never tells us why.
Who is Romeo's cousin?	Benvolio
Who is Romeo's best friend?	Mercutio
Who is Juliet's cousin?	Tybalt
What happens at the start of the play?	There is a fight between the Montague and Capulet servants. Benvolio tries to stop it, but Tybalt challenges him.
Why does Capulet decide to hold a feast?	He says it is an "old accustomed feast."
Who tells Romeo and Juliet which family they each come from?	The Nurse
What do Romeo and Juliet do the day after the feast?	They get married.
Who organises the marriage for Romeo and Juliet?	The Nurse
Who marries Romeo and Juliet?	Friar Lawrence
What happens between Mercutio and Tybalt after Romeo marries Juliet?	Tybalt wants to fight Romeo for attending the Capulet feast. Romeo will not fight, so Mercutio fights instead and is killed by Tybalt.
What happens between Romeo and Tybalt after Mercutio is killed?	Romeo kills Tybalt in anger.
Juliet is crying because Romeo will now be banished. Why does Lady Capulet think she is crying?	Because Tybalt is dead.
Romeo and Juliet spend the night together and Romeo leaves in the morning. What happens next?	Lady Capulet tells Juliet she will be marrying Paris.
How does Juliet respond to Lady Capulet's news of marriage?	Juliet is angry and says she will NOT marry Paris.
What does Friar Lawrence hope to achieve by marrying Romeo and Juliet?	He hopes to bring the two families together.
Why does Romeo kill Paris.	Paris challenges Romeo when he sees him at the tomb thinking that Romeo has come to do harm to the vault.
Why does Romeo say that Juliet lights up the tomb?	Ironically, he notices that she does not look dead because she is still beautiful with rosy cheeks. He does not know she is about to awaken even as he speaks.
Why does Romeo say, "I am fortune's fool"?	He recognizes that he has fallen into the hands of fate and is doomed.
How does Romeo react to the word banished?	He says that it is worse that death. To live and be without Juliet is a living hell.
Why does the Prince only banish Romeo?	He takes into account the murder of Romeo's best friend Mercutio by Tybalt.
Why is the Friar absolved of guilt at the end of the play?	Romeo's letter to his father explains that the Friar was trying to help the two families resolve their differences. The Prince says, "We still know thee as a holy man."
What do the nightingale and lark represent?	The nightingale sings at night; the lark signals the rising of the sun which means Romeo must leave or be killed if caught in Verona.
How does Lady Montague die?	She dies of grief thinking she will never see her son again.
When does Juliet's turning point occur?	When she decides that she must side with Romeo because she is his wife despite the fact that he has killed her cousin.
What is the purpose of the oxymorons in Acts I and III?	To show that each character is confused about the love they feel. To show that Romeo and Juliet are very much alike in their thinking.
What do the 3 letters represent?	Miscommunication. Each of the letters is intercepted or delayed from reaching its intended recipient.
How is hatred like a plague?	The hatred between these two families is as deadly as the plagues that ravaged Elizabethan communities.
Who were the foils in the play?	Romeo and Mercutio Benvolio and Tybalt The Nurse and Lady Capulet
What poetic forms/devices does Shakespeare use during this play?	Puns Sonnets Extended Metaphors or Conceits Blank verse Iambic Pentameter Rhyming Couplets

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