Theme 13: Honour

Question 1

1. Tybalt at the Capulet party

“What, drawn, and talk of peace! I hate the word, as I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee.”

Answer 1

• What: Honour to Tybalt means violence and loyalty to family

• How:

• Tricolon = intense escalation of hatred

• Religious allusion “hell” = moral absolutism

• Repetition of “hate” = obsession with honour through aggression

• Why: Shakespeare criticises toxic codes of honour that glorify violence

Question 2

2. Lord Capulet warning Tybalt not to fight Romeo

“Verona brags of him / To be a virtuous and well-govern’d youth.”

Answer 2

• What: Capulet values reputation and social honour over a personal feud

• How:

• Personification “Verona brags” = society as judge

• Juxtaposition = personal pride vs public image

• Formal tone = importance of honour in status

• Why: Shakespeare explores generational differences in how honour is maintained

• Themes: Honour, Social Class, Appearance vs Reality

Question 3

3. Juliet about Romeo’s name

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other word would smell as sweet.”

Answer 3

What: Challenges the idea that names (and honour) define worth

• How:

• Metaphor “rose” = essence over label

• Rhetorical question = critical of inherited identities

• **Tone = gentle, philosophical

• Why: Shakespeare critiques blind loyalty to names and honour codes

• Themes: Honour, Identity, Appearance vs Reality, Family

Question 4

4. Mercutio mocking Tybalt’s obsession with honour and fighting

“O calm, dishonourable, vile submission!”

Answer 4

What: Believes refusing to fight is cowardly and dishonourable

• How:

• Tricolon = intense emotional outburst

• Juxtaposition “calm” with “vile” = mocks Romeo’s pacifism

• Exclamatory tone = toxic masculinity

• Why: Shakespeare shows how honour is dangerously tied to male pride

• Themes: Honour, Masculinity, Conflict

Question 5

5. Romeo avenging Mercutio

“Either thou or I, or both, must go with him.”

Answer 5

• What: Honour drives Romeo to kill Tybalt after Mercutio’s death

• How:

• Tricolon = dramatic fatalism

• **Tone = cold, resolved

• **References death with certainty

• Why: Shakespeare explores how honour can override love, mercy, and logic

• Themes: Honour, Death, Fate, Masculinity

Question 6

6. Prince Escalus after Mercutio and Tybalt’s deaths

“Mercy but murders, pardoning those that kill.”

Answer 6

• What: Honour demands punishment, not forgiveness

• How:

• Paradox = complex morality of justice

• Alliteration “murders… mercy” = bitterness

• **Tone = harsh justice

• Why: Shakespeare critiques legal and social systems built on retaliation

• Themes: Honour, Justice, Authority

Question 7

7. Paris at Juliet’s tomb

“Sweet flower, with flowers thy bridal bed I strew.”

Answer 7

• What: Paris honours Juliet with grief and ritual

• How:

• Extended metaphor “flower” = innocence and purity

• Repetition = poetic mourning

• **Tone = tender, possessive

• Why: Shakespeare complicates honour with love and public duty

• Themes: Honour, Love, Death, Social Class

Question 8

8. Romeo at Juliet’s tomb, addressing Paris

“By heaven, I love thee better than myself, / For I come hither armed against myself.”

Answer 8

• What: Romeo seeks to honour both Juliet and Paris by avoiding conflict

• How:

• Religious oath “by heaven” = sincerity

• Dramatic irony = despite honourable intent, violence follows

• **Tone = tragic restraint

• Why: Shakespeare exposes the futility of honour when systems are broken

• Themes: Honour, Fate, Death

Question 9

9. Prince condemning both families

“See what a scourge is laid upon your hate, / That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love.”

Answer 9

What: Honour-fuelled hate caused love to die

• How:

• Religious language “heaven” and “scourge” = divine punishment

• Juxtaposition “joys” and “kill” = tragic irony

• **Tone = sorrowful judgement

• Why: Shakespeare shows honour can become destructive when rooted in pride

• Themes: Honour, Love vs Hate, Responsibility