S H A K E S P E A R E PA R A L L E L T E X T S Each Parallel Text title provides a line-by-line translation of the entire original play into a more contemporary paraphrase on facing pages. Newly revised for strong visual appeal, this popular series now has an increased emphasis on prereading activities, literary elements, review questions, and writing prompts for each act. These elements help students explore and analyze the play in depth.
HAMLET JULIUS CAESAR KING LEAR MACBETH THE MERCHANT OF VENICE A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM OTHELLO ROMEO AND JULIET THE TAMING OF THE SHREW A Teacher Guide is available for each title.
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Text © 2004 Perfection Learning® Corporation. 1000 North Second Avenue, P.O. Box 500 Logan, Iowa 51546-0500. Tel: 1-800-831-4190 • Fax: 1-800-543-2745 perfectionlearning.com All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America. #79594 ISBN-13: 978-0-7891-6095-9 ISBN-10: 0-7891-6095-1 1 2 3 4 5 6 PP 08 07 06 05 04 03
TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S ACT
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A C T I R E V I E W . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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ACT
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ACT
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ACT
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ACT V REVIEW
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E N D - O F - P L A Y T E S T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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V O C A B U L A R Y A N D E S S A Y Q U I Z Z E S A N S W E R K E Y . . . . . .
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E N D - O F - P L A Y T E S T A N S W E R K E Y . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Table of Contents
Romeo and Juliet
A ct I “My only love sprung from my only hate!”
Anticipation Guide True or False _____ Some things are fated to happen, and we have no control over them. Whether students consider this statement true or false, have them support their opinions with specific examples from their experience. _____ Family feuds only harm the families involved. Consider whom else they might harm—friends or neighbors of each family? Business associates of either or both families? Innocent bystanders who happen to get in the way of violent conflict? _____ Love at first sight is possible. After students have registered their opinions, ask them for examples of “instant loves” that have lasted and stood the test of time. Encourage them to get beyond peers and celebrities and look at long-term partnerships or marriages in their parents’ or grandparents’ generations that started with “love at first sight” experiences.
Before You Read 1. The Prologue to Act I suggests that the relationship of Romeo and Juliet is doomed from the start. Some people believe that things are fated to happen, no matter what. Others believe that your actions can change the course of your life. Explain your own beliefs about fate. Answers will vary based on personal beliefs. The important element of any answer is the inclusion of supporting statements as to why students believe as they do. Be sure students can support their opinions with reasonable arguments. 2. What role do you think a family should have in the selection of their child’s wife or husband? Ask students to consider their feelings about this question “here and now.” Then have them consider the different conditions existing in Europe in the Middle Ages, and how that might change their views.
Romeo and Juliet
3. As you read, notice the opposites (love/hate; light/dark) that Shakespeare provides in his language and imagery. Think about what purpose opposites might have in this play. Point out that Shakespeare’s plays are known for their emotional intensity. Shakespeare rarely writes about calm, patient, rational people who make decisions and solve problems through reflection and deliberation. Suggest that students observe how the use of opposite helps establish the emotional tone of “good/bad,” “happy/sad” that motivates these characters.
Teacher Suggestions • Have the class watch a movie version of the story before reading. The 1969 Romeo & Juliet, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, is a good choice. • Throughout the play, invite students to view paintings inspired by the story. You can identify and view many such paintings on the Emory “Shakespeare Illustrated” Web site, www.shakespeare.cc.emory. edu/ • Before reading each Act, listen to a recording of it by professional actors. Such recordings are available in libraries and bookstores. • Locate Verona, Italy, on a map. Then find a map of historical Verona to get a feel for the size and layout of the town. • After reading the Prologue, ask students to speculate on what might have caused the feud between the two families. What specific events might have triggered such a sweeping, long-lasting enmity? • Many characters are introduced in Act I, and it is important to sort out “who’s who.” Assign students to keep a Play Journal throughout their study. As they begin Act I, they might set up a chart in three columns: “Capulet,” “Montague,” and “Neutral.” On their charts they can place each character in the proper column as he or she is introduced, noting any particular alliances or relationships as they emerge.
Act 1
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Act Summary In the Prologue, a Chorus (or narrator) previews this play about two feuding families and the tragedy that occurs when their children meet and fall in love. One day, in the public square in Verona, Italy, two servants from the Capulet household pick a fight with rival servants from the Montague household. The Capulets and Montagues have quarreled for so many years that nobody even knows how their feud began. When the fight begins, a young Montague, Benvolio, tries to make peace. Instead, a fiery Capulet named Tybalt makes the tensions escalate. Soon, even onlookers and the elderly lords of the two warring sides are trying to join in the brawl. Prince Escalus, the ruler of Verona, arrives and demands that the fighting stop. In the quarrel’s aftermath, Lord Montague asks Benvolio, a friend of his son, Romeo, why Romeo seems so depressed. Benvolio tracks Romeo down and learns that he is in love with Rosaline, who doesn’t return his affections. Benvolio vows to make Romeo forget her. Meanwhile in the Capulet household, Lord Capulet and a nobleman named Paris discuss Paris’s proposal of marriage to Lord Capulet’s daughter Juliet. They discuss the masked banquet the Capulets will host that night and hope that Juliet will get to know Paris and agree to marry him. Of course, the hated Montagues are not invited to the banquet. When Benvolio and Romeo catch wind of it, though, they decide to go in disguise. During the party, Tybalt guesses their identity and vows revenge on Romeo, whom he assumes has come only to mock the Capulets and cause trouble. When Juliet catches Romeo’s eye at the banquet, he instantly forgets Rosaline. By the time Romeo and Juliet realize they are from warring families, it is too late: they have fallen in love.
A ct I R eview Discussion Questions 1. What does the first scene of the play reveal about Romeo’s behavior? Explain how he changes by the end of Act I. Romeo has been plunged into a state of lovesick melancholy. He is supposedly in love with the chaste Rosaline. But Shakespeare is careful to have him express his love in
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Act 1 Review
exaggerated, artificial language, including oxymorons, or contradictory terms. This signals right away that Rosaline is not Romeo’s true love; at this point, he is more in love with being in love than with any actual person. When he sees Juliet, however, Rosaline is forgotten. (“Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.”) His feelings for Juliet ring truer. Instead of romantic anguish, Romeo expresses excitement. Instead of inventing tortured contradictions, he is wholehearted. Even when he learns she is the daughter of his enemy, he chooses to risk his safety and his family’s wrath to pursue her. 2. What is your impression of Juliet’s father? Describe the relationship between Capulet and his daughter as it is shown during Scene ii. Capulet seems genial and fair-minded, and open to peace between the feuding families. At the ball he restrains Tybalt and insists that his hospitality extends even to Romeo, about whom he has heard good reports. Juliet is the Capulets’ only child; they have great hopes for her. Her father is indulgent, even allowing her some say in whom she marries. He is also protective. Although he married Juliet’s mother before she was 14, he gives Juliet’s youth as reason to delay marriage. And Capulet believes Juliet is a beauty. He encourages Paris to compare Juliet with other women who will be at his feast. 3. What concepts of love are presented by the female characters in Scene iii? Lady Capulet praises Paris’s good looks to her daughter, suggesting that love dwells in the eye. It may dwell in the purse, too, for she pointedly mentions his wealth. Lady Capulet regards love as a practical matter and believes that Juliet has reached the proper age for it. By contrast, the Nurse regards love much as the Capulet servants do—with earthy gusto. 4. Characterize Mercutio as he appears in Scene iv. What kind of friend is he to Romeo? Mercutio delights in words: his speech about the fairy-queen Mab is poetic and visionary. But when speaking of sex, Mercutio shares the bawdy viewpoint of the Nurse. Wanting to be a good friend, he tries to cheer Romeo “from the mire of love” using his gift of language. More disturbingly, Mercutio seems impulsive, even dangerously rash.
Romeo and Juliet
5. What do you learn about Tybalt in Scene v? Tybalt hates the Montagues intensely and is willing to use violence. He assumes Romeo intends to insult the Capulets, and he wants revenge. 6. Analyze the behavior of Tybalt, Mercutio, and Benvolio in Act I. Based on your analysis, predict what their roles might be in the rest of the play. Students might respond that Benvolio is a good friend who listens to and counsels Romeo. He seems to have Romeo’s best interests at heart and may be a calming influence if things get tense. Mercutio is also a good friend, using his quick wit to entertain and influence Romeo and his friends. However, his hot temper could cause trouble. Tybalt seems to have enormous hatred for the Montagues. Like Mercutio, he is prone to fighting. The two might provoke each other into violence. 7. Compare Romeo’s reaction to Juliet’s when each discovers the true identity of the other. Both Romeo and Juliet are shaken by the discovery. Neither considers giving up their love, but they both struggle with the conflict between their love and their family’s hate. 8. Do Romeo’s feelings for Juliet seem different from his feelings for Rosaline? Explain your answer. Answers should be supported. “Yes” answers may cite Romeo’s melancholy mood in the first scene versus his excitement in Scene v. Students might also note that Juliet reciprocates Romeo’s feelings, giving him reason to feel a more genuine bond with her than with Rosaline. “No” answers may see little difference between Romeo’s feelings for Rosaline and his instant switch to Juliet. He could just be in love with love.
Literary Elements 1. A foil is a character in literature who has qualities that are in sharp contrast to another character, thus emphasizing the qualities of each. How is Mercutio a foil to Romeo? Mercutio does not seem to worry. He is lively, fun loving, quick-tempered and mischievous. Romeo is moody and brooding.
Romeo and Juliet
2. Foreshadowing refers to hints in the text about what will occur later. What examples of foreshadowing do you find in the Prologue and in Scene iv of Act I? Romeo tells his friends that he has had a dream that he will meet an “untimely death.” 3. Hyperbole means obvious exaggeration. Look at Romeo’s declaration of love for Rosaline in Act I, Scene i. What examples can you find of hyperbole? Discuss why you think he overstates his feelings. Answers will vary. Examples include Romeo’s description of love as a sea filled with lovers’ tears or his claim that forgetting Rosaline would be the same as forgetting to think. Romeo is caught up in the pleasure of romantic fantasy. He seems to enjoy torturing himself with the pain of frustrated love. 4. A pun is a play on words that have similar sounds but more than one possible spelling or meaning. Scene iv, in which Romeo and his friends banter on the way to the Capulet’s masquerade party, is filled with puns. Find a pun in this scene, and explain its different meanings and effect. Answers will vary. Examples include the use of “torch,” referring both to a torch carried for light and to Romeo’s “carrying a torch” for Rosaline. “Visor” means both a mask for the party and the face that wears it. The effect is selfmockery—in the first case Romeo makes fun of himself, in the second Mercutio mocks his own appearance. 5. Good drama has conflict: struggle between opposing forces. What conflicts are set in motion by events in Scene v? Among the conflicts are Tybalt’s resentment of Romeo’s presence at the party, Capulet’s reprimand of Tybalt’s angry threats, and the conflict between Romeo and Juliet’s feelings for each other and their loyalty to their families. The last might also be seen as the play’s defining conflict between love and hate, or fate and free will.
Act 1 Review
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Writing Prompts 1. Look up the rules for the 14-line form of verse known as a sonnet. Using the rhyme scheme of your choice, write a sonnet of romantic love. Or, you may want to write a sonnet that parodies or satirizes the form. You might suggest sources for information about the sonnet, like Merriam Webster’s Encyclopedia of Literature, and provide examples of sonnets. Find information and examples at these Web sites: Shakespeare’s Works, shakespeare. palomar.edu/works.htm or Bartleby.com Great Books Online, www.bartleby.com. 2. Write a description of Romeo based on what you have learned about him so far. Use specific quotes from the play to support your writing. Suggest to students that before they write this description, they look through the text and make a list of everything that is said about Romeo by other characters, and a second list of everything Romeo says about himself. 3. Assume that you write an advice column for a newspaper or magazine. A modern-day Romeo or Juliet writes to you asking for your advice. He or she explains what happened at the party and also mentions the family feud. First write his or her letter, and then write your response. You might want to provide students with examples of modern-day advice columns. You might also want them to write the letters as one assignment and then exchange the letters with each other to complete the response component of the assignment. 4. Choose a scene and write a brief summary of its events in one sentence. You may choose to write it in standard English, contemporary slang or street talk, or the language of Shakespeare, Elizabethan English. Or write three summaries; use a separate style in each. You might prepare students for this activity by choosing a scene from a different play or even a scene from a television show or movie, and creating a summary sentence in all three styles. This could be provided as a handout or generated together as a class.
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Act 1 Review
5. Choose a quotation from any of the scenes in Act I that you feel best characterizes that scene. In a paragraph, discuss why you think this quotation is significant and effective at conveying the events or emotions of this scene. Students might organize their thoughts for this assignment by building on the preceding prompt. They might work with the scene they already summarized or select a different scene and start by summarizing the events or emotions of the scene in a concise sentence. Then they can look for an appropriate brief quotation and explain their choice.
Words to Know
adversary
enemy; opponent
augmenting
adding to; enlarging
deformities
irregularities;
discreet
disfigurements showing good judgment; perceptive
disparagement
criticism; censure
nuptial
wedding; marriage
obscured [obscur’d] hid; darkened
pernicious
harmful; destructive
portentous
ominous; threatening
posterity
future generations
prodigious
terrible; extraordinary
profane
dishonor; make impure
propagate
reproduce; increase
purged [purg’d]
got rid of; expelled
Note: In Part II of the Vocabulary Quiz, sentences in quotation marks come from the original of Shakespeare’s play. Any sentences in contemporary English are meant to provide students with a clearer context for responding or to show the word’s modern usage.
Romeo and Juliet
NAME
DATE
Vocabulary Quiz I. Match each vocabulary word in the first column to its closest synonym in the second column. nuptial
criticism
pernicious
terrible; extraordinary
disparagement
harmful
propagate
wedding
adversary
showing good judgment
augmenting
enlarging
prodigious
ominous; threatening
portentous
opponent
discreet
defects
deformities
reproduce
II. Circle the letter of the word that comes closest in meaning to the word in bold type.
1. “Black and portentous must this humour prove.” a. humorous c. threatening b. deceitful d. annoying
2. “Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs; / Being purg’d [purged], a fire sparkling in lovers’ eyes.” a. righteous c. honest b. expelled d. hateful
3. “For beauty starv’d with her severity / Cuts beauty off from all posterity.” a. heirs c. appreciation b. satisfaction d. health
4. “A visor for a visor! What care I / What curious eye doth quote deformities?” a. cliches c. disfigurements b. obstacles d. disguises
5. “Many a morning hath he there been seen, / With tears augmenting the fresh morning’s dew.” a. imitating c. gathering b. adding to d. replacing
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Act I Vocabulary Quiz
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NAME
DATE
6. “Prodigious birth of love it is to me / That I must love a loathed enemy.” a. hateful c. extraordinary b. long-awaited d. unexpected
7. “Rebellious subjects, enemies to peace, / Profaners [profane] of this neighbor-stained steel— / Will they not hear?” a. dishonorers c. supporters b. creators d. owners
8. “That quench the fire of your pernicious rage / With purple fountains issuing from your veins.” a. enduring c. smoldering b. righteous d. destructive
9. “Griefs of my own lie heavy in my breast, / Which thou wilt propagate to have it prest / With more of thine.” a. encourage c. remove b. increase d. heal
10. “’Tis since the nuptial of Lucentio, / Come Pentecost as quickly as it will, / Some five and twenty years; and then we mask’d.” a. birth c. marriage b. funeral d. arrival 11. “I would not for the wealth of all this town / Here in my house do him disparagement.” a. inequity c. credit b. disservice d. criticism 12. “If I profane with my unworthiest hand / This holy shrine.” a. make impure c. adorn b. injure d. flatter 13. “Here were the servants of your adversary, / And yours, close fighting ere I did approach.” a. kinsman c. household b. enemy d. hardship 14. “What is it else? A madness most discreet, / A choking gall, and a preserving sweet.” a. disrespectful c. cruel b. perceptive d. deadly 15. “And what obscur’d [obscured] in this fair volume lies / Find written in the margent of his eyes.” a. recorded c. stolen b. revealed d. hidden
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Act I Vocabulary Quiz
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NAME
DATE
III. Create a sentence using at least three vocabulary words from Act I. ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________
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Act 1 Essay Quiz
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