ACT III - Scene II Practice Quiz — Romeo and Juliet
by William Shakespeare — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: ACT III - Scene II
Where does Act III, Scene II take place?
Capulet's orchard, where Juliet waits alone.
What is Juliet doing at the start of the scene?
Delivering a soliloquy in which she impatiently calls for night to fall so she and Romeo can consummate their marriage.
What news does the Nurse bring to Juliet?
That Tybalt has been killed by Romeo, and Romeo has been banished from Verona by Prince Escalus.
Why does Juliet initially think Romeo is dead?
The Nurse arrives wailing "he's dead" without specifying who, and her confused account leads Juliet to believe Romeo is the one killed.
What does Juliet send to Romeo at the end of the scene?
Her ring, carried by the Nurse, as a token of her love and faithfulness.
Where is Romeo hiding after killing Tybalt?
At Friar Laurence's cell, as the Nurse reveals at the end of the scene.
What object does the Nurse bring with her when she enters?
The rope ladder (cords) that Romeo had asked her to fetch so he could climb to Juliet's chamber.
How does Juliet's reaction to Romeo killing Tybalt change over the course of the scene?
She moves from confused grief, to angry condemnation (the oxymoron speech), to fierce defense of Romeo when the Nurse criticizes him.
What does the Nurse say that provokes Juliet's anger?
"Shame come to Romeo!" — prompting Juliet to snap back, "Blister'd be thy tongue / For such a wish!"
How does Juliet justify Romeo's killing of Tybalt?
She reasons that "That villain cousin would have kill'd my husband," meaning Romeo acted to save his own life.
What does the Nurse's reaction to events in this scene foreshadow?
Her quick turn against Romeo foreshadows her later advice that Juliet marry Paris, which permanently damages their relationship.
What key choice does Juliet make in this scene?
She chooses loyalty to her husband Romeo over loyalty to her Capulet family and cousin Tybalt.
How does the light/darkness motif function in Juliet's opening soliloquy?
Juliet inverts convention by longing for night (safety, intimacy, love) and dismissing the "garish sun" (public world, danger, feuding).
How does the theme of love vs. death appear in this scene?
Juliet's soliloquy imagines Romeo among the stars after death, and the scene ends with her declaring "death, not Romeo, take my maidenhead" — intertwining love and mortality.
What is the central conflict Juliet faces in this scene?
Conflicting loyalties: grief for her cousin Tybalt vs. love and duty to her husband Romeo. She must choose between family and marriage.
How does banishment function as a theme in this scene?
Juliet declares that "banished" is worse than ten thousand Tybalts' deaths, establishing Romeo's exile as a fate worse than death — a theme Romeo echoes in the next scene.
List three oxymorons from Juliet's reaction speech.
"Beautiful tyrant," "fiend angelical," "Dove-feather'd raven," "wolvish-ravening lamb," "damned saint," "honourable villain" (any three).
What is the dramatic irony in Juliet's opening soliloquy?
The audience knows that Tybalt is dead and Romeo is banished, while Juliet blissfully anticipates her wedding night.
What classical allusions appear in Juliet's soliloquy?
Phoebus (the sun god) and Phaeton (his reckless son who crashed the sun chariot), plus the cockatrice (a mythical creature whose gaze kills).
What is apostrophe, and how does Juliet use it?
Apostrophe is a direct address to an absent person or abstract concept. Juliet addresses night ("Come, civil night"), Romeo, and her own eyes ("To prison, eyes").
What does "aqua vitae" mean, and who requests it?
It means a strong alcoholic spirit (literally "water of life" in Latin). The Nurse requests it to calm herself after the shock of events.
What does "bankrout" mean in Juliet's line "O, break, my heart! poor bankrout, break at once!"?
An archaic spelling of "bankrupt" — Juliet compares her heart to something emotionally ruined and depleted.
Who says: "Come, gentle night; come, loving, black-brow'd night; / Give me my Romeo"?
Juliet, in her opening soliloquy, calling for night to bring Romeo to her for their wedding night.
Who says: "Beautiful tyrant! fiend angelical! / Dove-feather'd raven! wolvish-ravening lamb!"?
Juliet, upon learning that Romeo has killed Tybalt. The oxymorons express her anguished conflict between love and family loyalty.
Who says: "'Romeo is banished' — to speak that word / Is father, mother, Tybalt, Romeo, Juliet, / All slain, all dead"?
Juliet, declaring that Romeo's banishment is worse than the death of everyone she loves. It shows how devastating his exile is to her.