ACT IV - Scene II Practice Quiz — Romeo and Juliet
by William Shakespeare — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: ACT IV - Scene II
Where does Act IV, Scene II take place?
Capulet's house in Verona.
What is Capulet doing at the beginning of this scene?
He is preparing for the wedding feast by sending servants to invite guests and hire cooks.
What joke does the Servant make about choosing cooks?
He says he will only hire cooks who can lick their own fingers, meaning a good cook must be willing to taste his own food.
Where has Juliet been before she enters the scene?
She has been at Friar Laurence's cell, where she received the sleeping potion.
What does Juliet do when she sees her father?
She kneels before him and begs his pardon, claiming she has repented her disobedience.
What does Juliet tell Capulet about Paris?
She says she met Paris at Friar Laurence's cell and gave him appropriate expressions of love within the bounds of modesty.
How does Capulet react to Juliet's apparent obedience?
He is overjoyed and immediately decides to move the wedding from Thursday to Wednesday morning.
What does "Henceforward I am ever ruled by you" mean?
Juliet tells her father that from this point forward she will always obey his wishes -- though the audience knows this is a deception.
What objection does Lady Capulet raise about moving the wedding?
She says they will be short on provisions because it is already near nighttime and there is not enough time to prepare.
How does Capulet respond to Lady Capulet's concerns?
He dismisses them, saying he will stay up all night and handle the preparations himself: "I'll play the housewife for this once."
What does the Nurse observe about Juliet when she enters?
The Nurse says Juliet comes "from shrift with merry look," noting her cheerful appearance after confession.
What is "shrift" in Elizabethan English?
Confession and absolution from a priest. Juliet has supposedly been at confession with Friar Laurence.
Why is Capulet's praise of Friar Laurence ironic?
Capulet says the city is indebted to the Friar for reforming Juliet, but the Friar has actually given her a potion to fake her death and escape the marriage.
What request does Juliet make of the Nurse at the end of the scene?
She asks the Nurse to help her choose clothing and ornaments for the wedding, maintaining her disguise of compliance.
What is dramatic irony, and how does it function in this scene?
Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something characters do not. Here, the audience knows Juliet is faking obedience and plans to take a sleeping potion, while her family believes she is genuinely repentant.
Why does moving the wedding date create a crisis?
It compresses Friar Laurence's plan by a full day, leaving less time for Romeo to be notified about Juliet's faked death and return to Verona.
What does Capulet call Juliet before she arrives?
He calls her "a peevish self-willed harlotry," meaning a stubborn, willful girl.
What is the last line of Act IV, Scene II, and what makes it ironic?
Capulet says "My heart is wondrous light, since this same wayward girl is so reclaimed." It is ironic because Juliet has not truly been reclaimed -- she is deceiving him as part of a plan that will lead to tragedy.