Romeo and Juliet Questions & Answers

Romeo is about 16 years old in Romeo and Juliet. The play never states his age directly, but it identifies him as a young man not yet at university and places him close in… read more

Juliet is 13 years old in Romeo and Juliet. The play makes her age explicit early on: her mother and nurse discuss that she is “not yet fourteen,” and that she is just reaching… read more

The play takes place primarily in Verona, Italy, a city marked by public streets, noble households, and the constant tension between the feuding Montague and Capulet families. Much of the action unfolds in familiar spaces… read more

In Romeo and Juliet, both lovers die by suicide in Juliet’s tomb after a chain of misunderstandings and failed plans. Romeo dies first. Believing Juliet is truly dead (when she has actually… read more

The play takes place during the Italian Renaissance, in the city of Verona. The world of the play reflects a time when Italy was divided into powerful city-states ruled by wealthy families, whose rivalries could… read more

The Chorus serves as both narrator and guide in Romeo and Juliet, shaping how the audience understands the story before and during its action. From the very beginning, the Chorus lays out the… read more

The famous “balcony scene” takes place in Act 2, Scene 2. This is the moment just after the Capulet party, when Romeo sneaks into the Capulet orchard and hides beneath Juliet’s window. Juliet appears… read more

A clear example of dramatic irony in Act 5, Scene 3 occurs when Romeo looks at Juliet in the tomb and believes she is truly dead, even though the audience knows she is only under… read more

Paris’s exact age is never given in the play, but he is quite a bit older than Juliet and Romeo. Juliet is explicitly said to be 13, and Romeo is about 16. Paris,… read more

Romeo and Juliet do kiss in Romeo and Juliet, almost immediately after they meet. At the Capulet party, Romeo and Juliet are drawn to each other right away. They flirt using playful, almost religious… read more

In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet’s final words before she dies are: “O, happy dagger! / This is thy sheath; there rest, and let me die.” She speaks these lines in the Capulet… read more

Right before he dies in Romeo and Juliet, Romeo’s final words are: “Thus with a kiss I die.” He speaks this line in Juliet’s tomb, moments after drinking poison. Believing… read more

Juliet kisses Romeo after he has died because she is desperately trying to join him in death—first by hoping some trace of poison remains on his lips, and then by choosing to kill herself when… read more

In Romeo and Juliet, Paris does appear to genuinely care for Juliet—but his version of love is conventional, distant, and less personal than Romeo’s. Paris seeks Juliet’s hand formally, going through… read more

No single character fully causes the lovers’ deaths in Romeo and Juliet. The tragedy grows out of a chain of bad decisions and a hostile social world, but the greatest blame falls on the… read more

Romeo is sad in the first scene of Romeo and Juliet because he is hopelessly in love with a woman named Rosaline who does not love him back. Before he ever meets Juliet,… read more

The main theme of the play is that intense love becomes dangerous when it is trapped inside a violent family feud and a restrictive society. Romeo and Juliet’s love is genuine, but it develops… read more

In Romeo and Juliet, Tybalt wants to fight Romeo because Romeo is a Montague who has entered the Capulet feast uninvited, which Tybalt treats as an insult to his family’s honor. Tybalt already… read more

Mercutio is Romeo’s close friend and a kinsman of Prince Escalus. He is connected to Verona’s ruling family rather than directly belonging to either the Montagues or the Capulets, which makes his death especially important… read more

The nurse warns Romeo not to deceive Juliet or toy with her feelings by leading her into “a fool’s paradise.” She gives this warning when Juliet sends her to meet Romeo and find out… read more

Romeo and Juliet do get married, but they do it secretly. After meeting at the Capulet feast and realizing they belong to enemy families, they arrange to marry with the help of Friar Laurence. … read more

Romeo is banished to Mantua in Romeo and Juliet. Prince Escalus exiles Romeo there after Romeo kills Tybalt in revenge for Mercutio’s death. The punishment is merciful compared to the death sentence the prince… read more

In Romeo and Juliet, Tybalt recognizes Romeo at the Capulet feast by hearing his voice, even though Romeo is masked. Romeo and his friends have crashed the Capulets’ masquerade, so their masks initially… read more

Romeo finds out Juliet is a Capulet by asking Juliet’s nurse who Juliet’s mother is at the end of the Capulet feast. Romeo and Juliet meet at the masked party without knowing each other’s… read more

In Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio says dreams are unreliable fantasies, produced by restless desire rather than trustworthy prophecy. When Romeo hesitates before the Capulet feast because he has had a troubling dream, Mercutio… read more

Paris visits Juliet’s tomb in Romeo and Juliet because he believes she is dead and has come to mourn her by scattering flowers at her grave. Paris had been arranged to marry Juliet, and… read more

In Romeo and Juliet, Lady Montague dies from grief after Romeo is exiled to Mantua. Her death is reported near the end of the play, when Montague arrives at the Capulet crypt after… read more

In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo finds out about the Capulet party by chance when Capulet’s servant Peter asks him to read the guest list. Peter has been sent around Verona with invitations, but he… read more

Tybalt kills Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet. The killing happens in Act 3, Scene 1, after Tybalt comes looking for Romeo. Romeo refuses to fight because he has secretly married Juliet, making Tybalt his… read more

In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo convinces the apothecary by exploiting the man’s poverty and offering him far more money than the poison is worth. The apothecary first refuses because selling poison is illegal… read more

In Romeo and Juliet, Balthasar brings Romeo the false news that Juliet has died and has been buried in the Capulet crypt. Romeo is in Mantua after being banished from Verona for killing… read more

In Romeo and Juliet, Friar Laurence’s plan for Juliet is to help her avoid marrying Paris by making everyone believe she has died. When Juliet comes to him in desperation and threatens to kill… read more

The genre is a tragic play, specifically a Shakespearean tragedy. The play is a tragedy because it ends in multiple deaths, including Romeo, Juliet, Paris, Tybalt, and Mercutio, and because its central lovers struggle against… read more

In Romeo and Juliet, Friar John can't deliver Friar Laurence’s letter to Romeo because he is quarantined after being exposed to the plague. Friar Laurence had sent him to Mantua to tell Romeo… read more

Tybalt is Juliet’s cousin, Capulet’s nephew, and a hotheaded fighter fiercely loyal to the Capulet family. Tybalt’s main role is to keep the Montague-Capulet feud burning. Early in the play, when Benvolio tries to… read more

Romeo meets Juliet at the Capulets’ masquerade ball, which he attends even though he is a Montague and has not been invited. Romeo goes to the party with Benvolio, Mercutio, and other masked friends.… read more

Romeo and Juliet know each other for only a few days before they die. They meet at the Capulets’ masquerade ball, fall in love almost immediately, speak again that same night beneath Juliet’s window, and… read more

Romeo describes Juliet as dazzling, almost sacred, and unlike any beauty he has seen before. When he first notices her at the Capulet feast, he uses images of light to make her seem radiant in… read more

In Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio says Queen Mab is the “fairies’ midwife,” a tiny fairy figure who visits people while they sleep and shapes their dreams. Mercutio brings her up when Romeo says… read more

When Romeo tries to stop the fight between Tybalt and Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, Tybalt stabs Mercutio under Romeo’s arm, and Mercutio is fatally wounded. Romeo has just secretly married Juliet, so… read more

Romeo kills Paris because Paris confronts him at Juliet’s tomb, tries to stop him as a criminal, and refuses Romeo’s warning to leave him alone. Paris has come secretly to the Capulet crypt to… read more

Friar Laurence agrees to help Romeo because he thinks Romeo and Juliet’s secret marriage might end the feud between the Montagues and Capulets. At first, the friar is doubtful. Romeo comes to him early… read more

In Romeo and Juliet, the nurse’s opinion of Paris is that he is a good, respectable, and sensible husband for Juliet. Early on, when Lady Capulet tells Juliet that Paris wants to marry her… read more

Juliet is impatient for the nurse to return in Act 2, Scene 5 because the nurse is carrying Romeo’s answer about whether, when, and where he will marry her. Juliet has just fallen in love… read more

In Romeo and Juliet, Friar Laurence says, “These violent delights have violent ends.” He says this in Act 2, Scene 6, just before he marries Romeo and Juliet in secret. He is warning… read more

The Capulets are one of Verona’s two noble feuding families. They are the household Juliet belongs to and the enemies of Romeo’s family, the Montagues. The head of the family is Capulet, Juliet’s father.… read more

In Romeo and Juliet, at the end of Act 1, Scene 4, Romeo fears that going to the Capulets’ feast will begin a chain of events that leads to his early death. He… read more

In Romeo and Juliet, Lord Capulet agrees to let Paris marry Juliet because Paris is a wealthy, high-ranking match who can raise the Capulets’ social standing, and because Capulet later thinks a quick wedding… read more

Juliet says “My only love sprung from my only hate!” after learning that Romeo is a Montague. The line comes near the end of the Capulet feast. Juliet has just met and kissed Romeo… read more

The play's Prologue explains that two equally noble families in Verona are trapped in an old feud, and that their children’s doomed love will end only when both lovers die. The opening lines set… read more

Romeo learns that Juliet loves him by secretly overhearing her speak about him after the Capulet feast. After the party, he separates from his friends, climbs into the Capulet orchard, and hides beneath Juliet’s window… read more

In Romeo and Juliet, Lady Capulet thinks Paris is an ideal husband for Juliet: respectable, desirable, and useful for the Capulet family’s social ambitions. When Lady Capulet first raises the subject, she tells… read more

Benvolio convinces Romeo to go to the Capulet party in Romeo and Juliet. Romeo is miserable because Rosaline does not love him back, and Benvolio wants to cure him of that lovesickness. When… read more

In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet initially feels unsure and unready for marriage, but after meeting Romeo she wants marriage only if it is based on real love and loyalty. When Lady Capulet first… read more

In Romeo and Juliet, the nurse is Juliet’s longtime caretaker, surrogate mother, confidante, and, for much of the play, her closest ally. The nurse has cared for Juliet since Juliet was born and… read more

Juliet is to arrange the meeting by sending a messenger to Romeo the morning after the balcony scene, then following Romeo’s instructions to go to Friar Laurence’s chambers for a secret marriage. During the… read more

In Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio views love with sharp skepticism: he treats romantic longing as foolish, exaggerated, and best answered with sexual jokes and mockery. When Romeo is miserable over Rosaline before the… read more

“Star-cross'd lovers” refers to lovers whose relationship is opposed by fate and destined for tragedy. The phrase comes from the Prologue of Romeo and Juliet, where the Chorus says “a pair of star-cross'd lovers… read more

In Romeo and Juliet, Tybalt is compared to a cat through Mercutio’s mocking nickname for him as the "prince of cats." This comparison fits Tybalt’s role in the play: he is quick, aggressive,… read more

In Romeo and Juliet, Friar Laurence advises Romeo to slow down in love and control his extreme emotions. Later, after Romeo is banished, he tells him to act sensibly rather than collapse into despair. … read more

When Romeo says “Then I defy you, stars!” in Romeo and Juliet, he means that he is rejecting fate and daring to oppose whatever destiny has planned for him. He says this in… read more

Romeo reacts to the news of banishment as if it were a death sentence, because exile from Verona means separation from Juliet. After Romeo kills Tybalt, Prince Escalus spares his life and banishes him… read more

Romeo and Juliet does not explicitly state when the Capulet and Montague feud started, but it is already an old inherited hatred when the play begins. The Prologue calls it an “ancient grudge,” which means… read more

In Romeo and Juliet, the Capulet servants Sampson and Gregory fight with the Montague servants because they are caught up in the old family feud and want to provoke the Montagues while avoiding blame… read more

In Romeo and Juliet, Lord Capulet describes Juliet’s death as “untimely” and grotesquely bridal: death has taken the place of Paris and become the force joined to Juliet. The scene happens on the… read more

The tone of the play is mainly tragic, foreboding, and sympathetic toward the young lovers, while the early acts also have a playful, bawdy comic energy. Shakespeare sets the tragic tone immediately through the… read more

Friar Laurence is a kindly, thoughtful priest in Verona who becomes Romeo and Juliet’s secret helper, adviser, and ultimately one of the adults most involved in their tragedy. Romeo goes to Friar Laurence after… read more

Romeo tells the nurse to have Juliet come to Friar Laurence’s cell that afternoon by pretending she is going to confession, so that Friar Laurence can secretly marry them. He also tells the nurse… read more

Other characters view Romeo as a tender but impulsive young man: loved by his friends and family, mocked for being lovesick, adored by Juliet, trusted uneasily by Friar Laurence, and hated by the Capulets who… read more

When Juliet drinks Friar Laurence’s potion in Romeo and Juliet, she falls unconscious almost immediately and appears to be dead, though she is really in a deep sleep. Juliet drinks the potion alone… read more

In Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio acts as a foil for Romeo by making Romeo’s romantic intensity, tenderness, and hesitation stand out against Mercutio’s sexual humor, verbal aggression, and readiness to fight. Their contrast… read more

In Romeo and Juliet, Rosaline rejects Romeo because she has chosen chastity and does not return his romantic desire. Rosaline never appears onstage, so the play gives her reasons only through what Romeo… read more

Romeo kills Tybalt in Act 3, Scene 1, on the same day Romeo secretly marries Juliet. The killing happens after Tybalt comes looking for Romeo because he is angry that Romeo and his friends… read more

The falling action of the play is the brief aftermath of Romeo and Juliet’s deaths. The watchmen discover the bodies, Prince Escalus investigates what happened, Friar Laurence explains the secret marriage and failed potion plan… read more