Romeo and Juliet by Wiliam Shakespeare
“A pair of star-crossed lovers.”
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is a play written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and along with A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers.
Learning Philosophy: Shakespeare's plays will seem like they are written in a foreign language, until you develop fluency. To accomplish this, a recommended strategy is to listen to a masterful reading of the text as you simultaneously read along with a quality text. In this way, most learners find they understand the passage pretty well the first time. Rereading selected passages and verbalizing a response to study questions helps build a deeper understanding of the text and build proficiency with Shakespeare.
This page includes learning activities that analyze how Shakespeare unfolds a tragedy and tells a story of fate, love, beauty, and identity. Students analyze Shakespeare’s craft and how he uses the structure of the text and elements of classical tragedy to refine central ideas, advance the plot, and create effects such as tension. The showing of a filmed version of the play in select lessons supplements learners’ understanding of plot and background points and encourages one to consider actors’ interpretations of the text.
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Resources - Romeo and Juliet
The following are links to open source text and media resources for Romeo and Juliet:
The following are other free resources:
- Shakespeare Resources - Resource page on Alyve
- Romeo and Juliet Home page - from the Library of the The Internet Shakespeare Editions. This page contains a list of primary source texts of Romeo and Juliet, extensive multimedia materials and records of this play in performance and historical information about Romeo and Juliet, including
- Quotes from Romeo and Juliet - 774 quotes in Romeo and Juliet from Goodreads
Lessons
Act I Lessons
Complete text of play
Audio recording of Act I
Act 1, Prologue and Scene 1: Verona. A public place. - Students begin their study of Romeo and Juliet by reading the Prologue, in which the Chorus introduces the events of the play and Act 1.1, in which Romeo reveals that his love interest does not return his feelings. Students begin to acquaint themselves with Shakespeare’s language and explore how his specific word choices create tone.
- Classwork - listen to a masterful reading of Romeo and Juliet the Prologue and Act 1.1, and focus on Shakespeare’s word choices and how they establish tone.
- Discussion/Study Questions - individual or groups
- QuickWrite - respond briefly in writing to the following question: How do Shakespeare’s specific word choices establish a tragic tone in the text?
- Homework - respond briefly in writing to the following question: How does Shakespeare introduce Romeo in lines 158–202?
- Optional - Watch video of Act 1, Scene 1
Act 1, Scene 2: A street - Students continue their study of Romeo and Juliet by reading and viewing all of Act 1.2, in which they encounter Paris and learn of his interest in marrying Juliet.
- Classwork - listen to a masterful reading of Romeo and Juliet Act 1.2. and pay attention to specific word choices that impact the development of Romeo and Juliet’s characters.
- Discussion/Study Questions - individual or groups
- QuickWrite - respond briefly in writing to the following question: How does Paris' suit advance the plot.
- Homework - respond briefly in writing to the following prompt: conduct a brief search into the classical figures of Cupid and Dian and write a paragraph explaining who Cupid and Dian are as well as their mythological importance.
Act 1, Scene 3: A room in Capulet's house - In this lesson, students read and analyze Act 1.4, in which we meet Juliet for the first time.
- Classwork - listen to a masterful reading of Romeo and Juliet Act 1.3. and pay attention to how Shakespeare develops Juliet’s character.
- Discussion/Study Questions - individual or groups
- QuickWrite - respond briefly in writing to the following question: How does Shakespeare develop Juliet’s character in Act 1.3, lines 64–100?
- Homework - respond briefly in writing to the following prompt:
Act 1, Scene 4: A street - In this lesson, students read and analyze Act 1.4, in which Romeo and Juliet sees the ghost of his father.
- Classwork - listen to a masterful reading of Romeo and Juliet Act 1.4. and pay attention how Shakespeare develops Romeo’s character.
- Discussion/Study Questions - individual or groups
- QuickWrite - respond briefly in writing to the following question: How does Shakespeare develop Romeo’s character in Act 1.4?
- Homework - respond briefly in writing to the following prompt: Compare Romeo and Juliet’s attitudes toward love.
Act 1, Scene 5: A hall in Capulet's house In this lesson, students read and analyze Act 1.5, in which Romeo and Juliet finally meet.
- Classwork - listen to a masterful reading of Romeo and Juliet Act 1.5. and take note of how Shakespeare develops Romeo and Juliet in this scene.
- Discussion/Study Questions - individual or groups
- QuickWrite - respond briefly in writing to the following question: How does Shakespeare use figurative language to develop the characters of Romeo and Juliet?
- Homework - respond briefly in writing to the following question: How does Romeo’s initial attitude toward Juliet compare to his approach toward Rosaline?.
- Optional - Watch video of Act 1, Scene 1
Act II Lessons
Complete text of play
Audio recording of Act II
Act 2, Prologue and Scene 1: A lane by the wall of Capulet's orchardIn this lesson, students read and analyze Act 2.1, in which Romeo doesn't want to leave the Capulet's property, so he ditches his friends and hides out in the orchard behind the Capulet house.
- Classwork - listen to a masterful reading of Romeo and Juliet Prologue and Act 2.1. and pay attention to Shakespeare’s use of figurative language.
- Discussion/Study Questions - individual or groups
- QuickWrite - respond briefly in writing to the following prompt: respond briefly in writing to the following question: How does Shakespeare develop Romeo’s further character in Act 2.1?
- Homework - respond briefly in writing to the following prompt: Write a paragraph in which you give your impression of Mercutio.
Act 2, Scene 2: Capulet's orchard.In this lesson, students read and analyze Act 2.2, which contains the first, and most famous, of the balcony scenes in the play.
- Classwork - listen to a masterful reading of Romeo and Juliet Act 2.2 and enjoy Shakespeare's poetry.
- Discussion/Study Questions - individual or groups
- QuickWrite - respond briefly in writing to the following prompt: Analyze the effect of Shakespeare’s structural choices in this scene.
- Homework - respond briefly in writing to the following question: What is the significance of the following quote from Act 2.2, lines 43–44: “That which we call a rose / By any other word would smell as sweet”?
- Optional - Watch video of Act 2, Scene 2 from 0:36:23–0:45:01
Act 2, Scene 3: Friar Laurence's cellIn this lesson, students read and analyze Act 2.3, in which Romeo travels to the cell of Friar Laurence.
- Classwork - listen to a masterful reading of Romeo and Juliet Act 2.3, and take note of the relationship between Romeo and Friar Laurence.
- Discussion/Study Questions - individual or groups
- QuickWrite - respond briefly in writing to the following prompt: How do you know that Romeo and Friar Lawrence have a close relationship?
- Homework - respond briefly in writing to the following question: How does Shakespeare develop a central idea in this scene?
Act 2, Scene 4: A streetIn this lesson, students read and analyze Act 2.4, in which the Nurse meets with Romeo.
- Classwork - listen to a masterful reading of Romeo and Juliet Act 2.4.
- Discussion/Study Questions - individual or groups
- QuickWrite - respond briefly in writing to the following prompt: Explain one of the bawdy comments made to the Nurse.
- Homework - respond briefly in writing to the following question: How does Shakespeare develop a central idea in this scene?
Act 2, Scene 5 and 6: In this lesson, students read and analyze Act 2.5, in which Juliet receives Romeo's news and Scene 2.6 when the lovers meet at Friar Laurence's
- Classwork - listen to a masterful reading of Romeo and Juliet Act 2.5 and 2.6, focus on the similar roles played by the Nurse and Friar Laurence.
- Discussion/Study Questions - individual or groups
- QuickWrite - respond briefly in writing to the following prompt: Analyze the similar roles played by the Nurse and Friar Laurence.
- Homework - respond briefly in writing to the following question: How does Shakespeare develop a central idea in Act 2.5 or 2.6?
Mid-Unit Assessment - In this lesson, the Mid-Unit Assessment, students craft a formal, multi-paragraph response to the following prompt: How does Shakespeare’s development of the characters of Romeo and Juliet refine a central idea in the play?
Act III Lessons
Complete text of play
Audio recording of Act III
Act 3, Scene 1: A public place - In this lesson, students read and analyze the first half of Act 3.1, which contains another street fight.
- Classwork - listen to a masterful reading of the first half of Act 3.1 pay attention to how Shakespeare develops Romeo’s character in this scene..
- Discussion/Study Questions - individual or groups
- QuickWrite - Respond briefly in writing to the following question: How does Romeo's declaration, "I am fortune's fool" develop a central idea in this excerpt?
- Homework - Respond briefly in writing to the following question: Who is responsible for Mercutio’s death?
- Optional - Watch video of Act 3, Scene 1
Act 3, Scene 2: Capulet's orchardIn this lesson, students read and analyze Act 3.2, in which Juliet receives word of the fatal swordfight.
- Classwork - listen to a masterful reading of Romeo and Juliet Act 3.2 and enjpy the beautiful poetry.
- Discussion/Study Questions - individual or groups
- QuickWrite - Respond briefly in writing to the following question: How does Shakespeare create tension in this passage?
- Homework - Reread Juliet’s soliloquy (Act 3.2, lines 1–31) and complete the Act 3.2, Lines 1–31 Summary Tool.
- Optional - Visual Arts Analysis: Viewr Marc Chagall’s painting “Romeo and Juliet.” Which aspects of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet does the artist choose to emphasize and which aspects are absent?
Act 3, Scene 3: Friar Laurence's cellIn this lesson, students read and analyze Act 3.3, in which Friar Laurence tells Romeo that Romeo has been banished from Verona, and Romeo describes how living in exile, apart from Juliet, would be torture.
- Classwork - listen to a masterful reading of Romeo and Juliet Act 3.3, and take note of how Shakespeare further devlops Romeo's character in this scene.
- Discussion/Study Questions - individual or groups
- QuickWrite - respond briefly in writing to the following prompt: How do Romeo’s responses to Friar Laurence develop a central idea in this excerpt?
- Homework - Collect evidence of Romeo's character development in this scene using the Character Tracking Tool
Act 3, Scenes 4 and 5: Capulet's house and orchardIn this lesson, students read and analyze Act 3.4 and 3.5, in which Capulet agrees to wed Juliet to Paris as the young lovers spend the night together upstairs.
- Classwork - listen to a masterful reading of Romeo and Juliet Act 3.4 and 3.5.
- Discussion/Study Questions - individual or groups
- QuickWrite - respond briefly in writing to the following question: How does Act Act 3.4 create dramatic irony in Act 3.5?
- Homework - respond briefly in writing to the following question: How does Shakespeare develop a central idea in Act 3.4 or 3.5?
Act IV Lessons
Complete text of play
Audio recording of Act IV
Act 4, Scene 1: Friar Laurence's cell - In this lesson, students read Act 4.1, in which Juliet tells Friar Laurence that she will kill herself to avoid marrying Paris, and Friar Laurence suggests a plan to save Juliet from the marriage.
- Classwork - listen to a masterful reading of Romeo and Juliet Act 4.1, and focus on how Juliet's character development.
- Discussion/Study Questions - individual or groups
- QuickWrite - Respond briefly in writing to the following question: How does Shakespeare develop Juliet’s character in Act 4.1?
- Homework - Respond briefly in writing to the following question: Compare Friar Laurence’s words to Romeo in Act 3.3 and his words to Juliet in Act 4.1. How does Shakespeare develop Friar Laurence from one scene to another?
- Optional - Watch video of Act 4, Scene 1
Act 4, Scene 2 and 4.3: Hall and Room in Capulet's house - In this lesson, students read and analyze Act 4.2 and 4.3. .
- Classwork - listen to a masterful reading of Romeo and Juliet Act 4.2 and 4.3, and pay attention to how the other characters react to Juliet's apparent death.
- Discussion/Study Questions - individual or groups
- QuickWrite - Respond briefly in writing to the following question: How does Shakespeare develop a central idea in Act 4.2 or 4.3?
- Homework - Respond briefly in writing to the following question: Analyze the use of figurative language in Juliet's soliloquy in Act 4.3
Act 4, Scenes 4 and 5: Hall and Room in Capulet's house - In this lesson, students read and analyze Act 4.4 and 4.5.
- Classwork 1 - read the short Act 4.4 without listening to a masterful reading
- Classwork 2 - listen to a masterful reading of Romeo and Juliet Act 4.4 and 4.5.
- Discussion/Study Questions - individual or groups
- QuickWrite - Respond briefly in writing to the following question: How does Shakespeare develop a central idea in Act 4.4 or 4.5?
- Homework - Collect evidence of Nurse's character development in these scenes using the Character Tracking Tool
Act V Lessons
Complete text of play
Audio recording of Act V
Act 5, Scene 1 and 2 - In this lesson, students read Act 5.1 and 5.2..
- Classwork - listen to a masterful reading of Romeo and Juliet Act 5.1.
- QuickWrite - Respond briefly in writing to the following question: How does Shakespeare develop a central idea in Act 5.1?
- Homework - Read Act 5.2 independently and briefly answer the following question: Of what is Friar Laurence unaware that may cause unintended difficulties to arise?
Act 5, Scene 3: A churchyard; in it a tomb belonging to the Capulets - In this lesson, students read Act 5.3 of Romeo and Juliet, in which in which Romeo arrives at Juliet's tomb.
- Classwork - listen to a masterful reading of Romeo and Juliet Act 5.3 and focus on how Shakespeare develops central ideas in this section. (This is a long scene and probably requires more than one class.)
- Discussion/Study Questions - individual or groups
- QuickWrite - Respond briefly in writing to the following question: Why is the ending of the play tragic?
- Homework - Respond briefly in writing to the following question: How does Shakespeare develop Romeo and Juliet as a tragedy over the course of the play?
End-of-Unit Assessment - students draft a multiparagraph response to the End‐of‐Unit Assessment prompt: Identify two central ideas from the play. How do these ideas interact and build on one another over the course of the play? In your response, identify and discuss at least one literary device that Shakespeare uses to develop or relate these central ideas.
- Collection Tool - collect evidence to support your analysis of how central ideas interact and build on one another in Romeo and Juliet.
- End-of-Unit Assessment - Because it is a formal writing task, the End-of-Unit Assessment should include an introductory statement that presents a central claim, well-organized supporting claims and counterclaims with supporting evidence and clear reasoning, and a concluding statement that articulates the importance of the argument. Remind students to use domain-specific vocabulary, as well as proper grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling to achieve a formal style and objective tone. .
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