Romeo And Juliet - Summaries Of Acts

Question 1

Act 1 - key events, effects of comedy

Answer 1

• fight between capulets and monragues stopped by prince, romeo who was in love and pining over rosaline agrees to sneak into capulets party where he meets and falls in love with Juliet but she ismeant to be meeting paris
• comic moments lighten the mood and entertian audience e.g Romeo and mercutios wordplay such as puns to create comedy, use to tease romeo about love for rosaline encouraging audience to take heartbreak less seriously, showing how immature he is

Question 2

Prologue

Answer 2

• sonnet written in iambic pentameter (sonnet usually written for love, first convo between romeo and julietis in this form)
• provides summary of whole play, audience knows this will end tragically, setting out irony for the rest of the play, prologue sets the mood and introduces the main themes, they cannot escape their fate
• e.g irony in romeos oxymorons like ‘feather of lead’, love is positive and negative, causes suffering , oxymorons shows how love is confusing

Question 3

Act 2 - summary, affect on audience, why did they decide to get married so quickly, romeo in act 1 vs 2

Answer 3

• romeo goes to juliets balcony, they swear their love and agree to get married, friar lawrence arranges weddingand romeo tells the plan to juliet via the nurse, they get married
• ominous, builds tension in audience as they know this will be shortlived
• decision quick may reflect the strength of love or because they know family wont approve and might try to stop them
• romeo is alot happier, he is more likely to joke with mercutio, extended wordplay on words ‘pump’ and ‘goose’, contrasts with sadness in act 1 where he is ‘tormented’

Question 4

Act 3 - summary, foreshadowing death, change in relationship with nurse, act 2 vs 3 tone

Answer 4

• mercutio and tybalt die in fight leading romeo banished as he then kills tybalt, capulet arranges paris and juliet wedding after juliet spent night with romeo, juliet disagrees with capulets plan and he threatens to disown her
• romeo looks as if hes ‘dead in the bottom of a tomb’ - next time she sees him he will be
• juliet stops trusting nurse after she agrees she should marry paris - bad as she confides in the nurse, she is alone (turning point of the play, she is left alone of stage)
• act 2 is joyful while 3 is gloomy and desperate, signal to audience that play has moved from romance to tragedy

Question 5

Act 4 - summary, is secrecy necessary, opposites

Answer 5

• juliet and friar lawrence make plan to prevent marriage to paris, she will take a potion that makes it look like she is dead and romeowill rescue her from tomb, juliet makes amends with fathe then takes potion and the nurse finds her
• secrecy is necessary as there would have been a scandal if the family found out and juliet disowned
• ‘wedding cheer to a sad burial feast’ emphasises change in mood

Question 6

Act 5 - summary, is friar lawrence to blame, prince in act 5

Answer 6

• balthasar tells romeo of juliets death where he buys poison and goes to juliets tomb, friar lawrence finds his letter telling romeo of plan did not reach him, romeo kills paris and drinks poison, juliet wakes up and sees romeo is dead and stabs herself, families end feud
• he is to blame as it was a risky plan and if juliet hadnt agreed to it neither wouldve died, he is not to blame as if romeo was less impulsive he wouldve seen julietwake up
• prince appers again, like he did in act 1 scene 1 and brings order, verdict sums up the play and brings to neat conclusion