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 Questions and
answers about Romeo and Juliet:
What
do you know of Shakespeare’s life?
William Shakespeare
was born in Stratford upon Avon on St. George’s day, April
23rd
1564. He could have a very good education but he
couldn’t go to university. He got married at the age of
eighteen with Anne Hathaway. They had three children,
Susanna, Hamnet and Judith. Shakespeare went to London and
only there he began to be involved in the theatrical life.
The reason of his departure seems to be the fact that he was
caught stealing a deer. He wrote many tragedies and
comedies, such as Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, King Lear,
Macbeth.
What do you know of
Shakespeare’s times?
William Shakespeare
was born in England during the XVI century. At that time
Queen Elizabeth I drove the country through a great period
of richness. We don’t know much about Shakespeare’s life
but nowadays if you go to Stratford you can visit his grave
in Holy Trinity Church and enjoy a theatre performance by
the Royal Shakespeare Company (this year the RSC is staging
“The Complete Works Festival 2006”, which is its biggest
ever theatrical celebration of Shakespeare’s complete
works). He wrote many different plays as Romeo and Juliet,
Macbeth, Hamlet. His plays were extremely appreciated during
his lifetime, which was the age of the Elizabethan Theatre,
and so he became very popular in England. Probably his
favourite subject in his plays was love, that was the reason
why he wrote many works about passionate love.
Who
is Romeo?
 Romeo was the only son
of the Montagues’, an important family in Verona who had
always been fighting with the Capulets, Juliet’s family.
Romeo was a dreamer, a romantic boy, he knew much about
love’s importance during his life, even if he would discover
what love really means only that unforgettable evening when
he saw Juliet for the first time: it had been love at the
first sight. During the play he has to quarrel, to suffer
and to die to defend their love: he is the best example of
how love’s strength can win men’s silly fights.
What was wrong with
Romeo at the beginning of the play?
At the beginning of
the play Benvolio, Romeo’s cousin, told Lord Montague, his
uncle, that Romeo was very upset but he didn’t know the
reason. Later on the guy tried to discover what was wrong
with Romeo and he found out that he was in love.
Romeo spent his days
locked in his room, crying alone in the fields, thinking of
his love. The girl loved by Romeo was Rosaline;
unfortunately she didn’t love him, so he was desperate.
Benvolio tried to help his cousin but he didn’t know what to
do.
One day a serf of the
House of the Capulets met Romeo and Benvolio in the street
and asked them to explain to him what was written on a piece
of paper his master had given him, as he couldn’t read. It
was the list of the guests invited to the Capulets’ party.
Also Rosaline’s name was written on it. So Romeo decided to
go to the party and wear a mask to hide his real identity
and meet Rosaline there.
Who was Romeo in
love with at the beginning of the play?
 Romeo was in love with
Rosaline, a noble girl who didn’t love him. It was just to
meet her that he went to the Capulets’ party.
Who
is Juliet?
Juliet is the daughter
of Lord and Lady Capulet. She was thirteen years old. Her
father wanted her to marry Paris, a noble gentleman of
Verona and friend of the Prince of the city. Her Family was
one of the most prominent families of the city.
The Capulets’ enemies
were the Montagues, members of the second oldest Family of
Verona. They had hated each other for many years and it was
forbidden to have any relationship between the two Families.
Where did Juliet
see Romeo for the first time?
Romeo, Mercutio and
Benvolio went to the Capulets’ party in the Capulets’ House
and nobody recognized them except Tybald, the most violent
member of the Capulet Family. He wanted to fight with Romeo
but fortunately Lord Capulet stopped him. While his friends
were enjoying themselves, Romeo met Juliet and forgot
Rosaline. Juliet was so beautiful that he couldn’t resist
and kissed her. Juliet was surprised by that mysterious guy
and her nurse later told her that he was Romeo, a Montague.
The girl was upset and also Romeo was sad because he knew he
couldn’t love a Capulet.
 What
happened when Romeo saw Juliet for the first time?
Romeo saw Juliet for
the first time during the party. He went to her and told her
that his lips wanted to kiss hers. At the very beginning
Juliet was a bit surprised but she couldn’t resist any
longer: Romeo was very charming and they kissed each other
twice. Unfortunately the nurse arrived to take Juliet home
and introduced each lover to the other, as they didn’t know
the partner’s identity (they were wearing masks).
 Where
did Romeo and Juliet meet after the party?
They met in the garden
of the Capulets: Juliet was there thinking of her first
love. She was conscious that their love would meet many
difficulties owing to their parents. Romeo listened to her
monologue and then told her that he would always love her.
So they decided to get married in a secret way.
How do you know
that Juliet fell in love with Romeo?
The same night, when
Romeo, Benvolio and Mercutio left the party, Juliet went to
her room and started speaking to the moon. She said she was
in love with the wrong person because of their names and
their Families. Suddenly she heard a voice: it was Romeo. He
hadn’t left the Capulets’ House and had jumped over the
garden wall and arrived under Juliet’s balcony. The two
lovers promised love to each other and decided to have a
secret wedding the following day.
Who agreed to help the two lovers?
Romeo went to Friar Laurence who was in his garden: he was a
friend and a teacher of him and agreed to help the two
lovers.The monk decided to marry them because he tought that
marriage could Caoulets and Montagues make friends. Another
person who agreed to help Romeo and Juliet was Juliet’s
nurse who loved the girl a lot.
 What
happened when Tybalt arrived and wanted to fight?
Juliet’s cousin met Mercutio and wanted to fight with him
because he was e friend of Romeo. At the moment Romeo
arrived and Tybalt attacked him but the boy didn’t want
because he had just married his cousin Juliet. Mercutio
decided to fight with Tybalt, but unfortunately he was
killed. Romeo was very sad and angry, so he murdered him
with his sword.
What were the consequences of killing Tybalt?
After killing Tybalt, Romeo escaped because the prince of
Verona was arriving and was very angry. Benvolio tried to
explain to the prince the real events but when Juliet’s
mother saw her nephew dead, the prince agreed to send Romeo
away from the city of Verona and he forbade him to return.
Did Juliet hate Romeo for killing Tybalt?
When the nurse told Juliet what happened, she tought that
her lover was a villain but she continued loving him, the
girl was discouraged and unhappy.
What did Juliet decide to do to avoid her wedding to
Paris?
Juliet’s parents told her she had to marry Paris but the
girl didn’t want:her father obligated her! When her parents
went out of the room, Juliet went to Friar Laurence for a
help but there was Paris, too, who confided to the monk he
wanted to marry Juliet because he loved her. Juliet asked
Paris to go away: she wanted to speak to the monk
alone.Friar Laurence had a plan: the night before the
wedding, the girl had to drink a potion and with it could
deceive her family because they would have thought she was
dead.
What was wrong with Friar Laurence’s plan?
Friar Laurence sent a monk to inform Romeo but before
his arriving, a servant of Romeo’s told him the bad
news which was spread in Verona: Juliet’s death.
How did Romeo kill himself?
Romeo was so disperate that decided to kill himself: he went
to Juliet’s tomb after having defeated Paris and he poisoned
himself.
What did Juliet do after she had woken
up?
When Juliet woke up, she saw her lover
dead and so she decided to kill really herself:she didn’t
accept the monk’s help and she took a knife and she killed
herself.
What
was the prince’s speech at the end of the play?
The prince of Verona was very sad and had a short speech:he
said that there were too people dead and that Capulets and
Montagues had to become friends...
What did the Capulets and the Montagues finally decide to?
Finally they agreed to finish hating and
lord Capulet and lord Montague shook their hands.
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