Act II Questions

For Act 2, you can do EITHER the essay below OR the questions that follow:

Choose this:

Essay: Below are two quotes from the play. Choose one and write an essay (intro, two to three paragraphs, conclusion) explaining how Shakespeare uses literary tools and techniques to illustrate the meaning of the quote.

II.ii.43-44

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet."

II.iii.9-10

"The earth that's nature's mother is her tomb;

What is her burying grave, that is her womb."

For example, choosing the first quote, you could discuss inner conflict and how Shakespeare uses the theme of family loyalty v personal desire to show how each of the young lovers is confused by their dueling identities. Or you could take the same idea and discuss how the inner conflicts of Romeo and Juliet illustrate Erikson's fifth stage of Psycho-Social development, Identity vs. Role Confusion,

Or these:

Questions:

Answer the following questions. Include specific quotes and line numbers to support your answers:

Prologue: The prologue consists of how many sentences?

II.i

1. Explain what Mercutio says about “blind love”.

II.ii

    1. When Juliet appears on her balcony, what metaphors does Romeo use to describe her?

    2. Paraphrase lines 43-49 and explain their significance in the play.

    3. Why is Juliet embarrassed?

    4. Juliet is going to send someone to Romeo on the following day for what purpose?

    5. How might the orchard wall be a symbol in the play?

II.iii

    1. Paraphrase lines 21-22: “Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied,/And vice sometime by action dignified” and explain its significance.

    2. What does Friar Laurence mean when he says to Romeo, “Young men’s love then lies not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes"?

    3. Why does Friar Laurence agree to marry Romeo and Juliet?

II.iv

  1. How does Shakespeare use dramatic irony at the beginning of the scene? Foreshadowing?

  2. According to Mercutio, what kind of man is Tybalt?

  3. Who upsets the nurse and how?

  4. How and when is Juliet to meet Romeo?

II.v

  1. Why are Juliet and the Nurse in conflict at the beginning of the scene?

  2. This is a very funny scene. Identify the places that might get the biggest laughs and why.

  3. Give two examples of implied stage action in the scene.

  4. What does the Nurse plan to do at the end of the scene and why?

II.vi

In this scene,

  1. how does Shakespeare use metaphor to express the theme of love?

  2. how does Shakespeare use foreshadowing to express the theme of fate?

  3. how does Shakespeare use figurative language to express the theme of duality?