romeo and juliet act 2 assignment

Romeo and Juliet

By william shakespeare, romeo and juliet summary and analysis of act 2, act two, introduction.

The Chorus explains that Romeo has traded his old desire for a new affection, and that Juliet has also fallen in love. Though their secret romance puts Romeo and Juliet at risk, their passion drives them to meet, regardless of the danger.

Act Two, Scene One

Out in the street, Romeo escapes from Mercutio and Benvolio . Mercutio calls to him, using lots of obscene wordplay. Benvolio finally gets tired of searching for Romeo, and they leave.

(Please note that some editions of Romeo and Juliet end Scene One here to begin a new one. Others, including the Norton Shakespeare, which this note is based on, continue the scene as follows.)

Meanwhile, Romeo has succeeded in leaping over the Capulets' garden wall and is hiding beneath Juliet's balcony. He wants to determine whether her attraction is equal to his own. She soon appears and delivers her famous soliloquy, asking "Oh Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" (2.1.75). She wishes that Romeo’s name were different, so that they would not be enemies. Romeo overhears her speech, which confirms his own feelings. He interrupts Juliet to confess his own love.

Juliet warns Romeo to speak truthfully, since she has fallen in love with him and does not want to be hurt. Romeo swears his feelings are genuine, and Juliet laments the fact that she cannot fall in love with him again. The Nurse calls to Juliet, who disappears momentarily. She comes back out and insists that if Romeo truly loves her, he should propose marriage and plan a meeting place for them. The Nurse calls Juliet a second time, and she exits. Romeo is about to leave when his love emerges yet a third time, and calls him back for some final words of parting.

Act Two, Scene Two

At the chapel, Friar Laurence is collecting herbs. Romeo arrives and confesses his new love for Juliet. He asks the Friar to marry them. Though the Friar is surprised that Romeo has forgotten Rosaline so quickly, he is nonetheless delighted, because Romeo and Juliet's union presents an opportunity to quell the raging feud between the Montagues and Capulets.

Act Two, Scene Three

Out in the street the next day, Benvolio tells Mercutio that Romeo has not yet returned home. He also reveals that Tybalt has sent Romeo a threatening message. When Romeo joins them, Mercutio mocks him, but Romeo matches his wit. Impressed, Mercutio notes,"Now art thou sociable, now art thou Romeo" (2.3.77).

Juliet’s Nurse and Peter arrive and ask to speak with Romeo. Mercutio makes sexual jokes about the Nurse, but eventually exits with Benvolio. The Nurse explains that Juliet will meet Romeo and marry him. Romeo proposes they meet that afternoon at Friar Laurence’s chapel.

Act Two, Scene Four

Back in the Capulet orchard, Juliet eagerly awaits news from the Nurse. When the Nurse eventually arrives, she comically refuses to give Juliet any information about Romeo until she has received a back rub. Finally, the Nurse tells Juliet about the plan for her to meet Romeo at Friar Laurence’s chapel.

Act Two, Scene Five

At the chapel, Romeo and Friar Laurence await Juliet’s arrival. The Friar cautions Romeo to "love moderately" (2.5.9). Juliet soon appears, and Friar Laurence brings them into the church to be married.

Act 2 is more focused than Act 1, in that it mostly serves to establish the marriage which will become the root of the play's dramatic conflict. However, within the the streamlined plot, Shakespeare explores the complications of love. The theme of love is central to Act 2 of Romeo and Juliet . Romeo and Juliet fall in love instantly, and marry one day later, sealing their future. The balcony scene is crucial to understanding their relationship because it allows Romeo and Juliet to test their initial passion and gain the courage to move forward with a marriage plan.

The love that Romeo and Juliet share is the opposite of the selfish love that Shakespeare references in the opening acts of the play. Shakespeare compares Juliet to the sun, and she is one of the most generous characters in the play. She reveals her selflessness when she declares, "My bounty is as boundless as the sea, / My love as deep. The more I give thee / The more I have, for both are infinite" (2.1.175-177). Rosaline, on the other hand, prefers to keep her beauty to herself. Shakespeare heightens this contrast when Romeo describes Rosaline as a Diana (the goddess of the moon) and tells Juliet, "Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon" (2.1.46).

In the balcony scene, Romeo and Juliet recognize this selfish brand of love and then transcend it. The garden setting is more than just a secretive meeting place – it invokes images of a pastoral Eden, which symbolizes both purity and virginity. Romeo and Juliet's connection is simultaneously rooted in pure love and unbridled passion. At the beginning of the balcony scene, Romeo invades Juliet's privacy without her invitation, which becomes doubly apparent when he overhears her soliloquy. Here, Shakespeare breaks the convention of the soliloquy, which is traditionally a speech where a character shares his or her inner thoughts only with the audience. That Romeo overhears Juliet's soliloquy is an invasion, on one hand, but also serves as a reminder of the cost of intimacy. That Juliet both allows and cherishes Romeo's interruption reminds the audience that true love requires two people to open their hearts to one another.

Shakespeare underscores the idea that lovers must abandon their selfishness by having Romeo and Juliet swear to themselves, rather than to other bodies. For instance, when Romeo tries to swear by the moon, Juliet remarks that the moon waxes and wanes, and is too variable. Instead, she says, "Or if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self" (2.1.155). Shakespeare often has characters encourage one another to be true to themselves first, and only then can they be true to others. In the case of Romeo and Juliet, the characters must accept their unique identities (and transcend their family names) in order to experience the purest kind of love.

Shakespeare also implies that when people fall in love, they can grow. Juliet's behavior changes after she meets Romeo. She is used to obeying the Nurse's authority, and during the balcony scene, she disappears twice. However, she also defies authority twice in order to reappear and continue her conversation with Romeo. This is a sure sign of her emerging independence, which explains her quick decision to marry Romeo and defy her parents. Juliet also reveals her practical intelligence by understanding the need for a plan for them to meet and by insisting on marriage, which is a reversal of Elizabethan gender roles. Romeo, while less active than Juliet, also becomes more confident after their meeting, eschewing his juvenile melancholy for a more gregarious personality that impresses Mercutio.

Shakespeare introduces the theme of identity in Act 2. In her soliloquy, Juliet wishes that Romeo could transcend his name. Her famous declaration – "What's in a name? that which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet" – expresses the idea that people can be more than their societal roles. Juliet understands that if she and Romeo are to be together, they must defy the limitations of society and follow their individual passions.

In this act, Shakespeare also introduces Friar Laurence a multifaceted character who understands the need for personal autonomy. Because of his underlying motivations, however, the Friar is an imperfect religious figure. He is willing to compromise the religious sanctity of marriage for the sake of a political goal. He clearly finds Romeo’s new passion suspect, but agrees to perform the marriage ceremony so that he can end the feud between the Montagues and Capulets. Friar Laurence's actions represent the dichotomy between societal convention and individual desire.

Finally, Shakespeare continues to explore the contrasts that he introduced in Act I, particularly the disparity between night and day (or darkness and light). Benvolio states, "Blind is his love, and best befits the dark," in reference to Romeo's newfound passion (2.1.32). When Romeo finally sees Juliet at her balcony, he wonders, "But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? / It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. / Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon" (2.1.44-46). Romeo then invokes the darkness as a form of protection from harm: "I have night's cloak to hide me from their eyes" (2.1.117). Unfortunately, the disorder of the day eventually overcomes the passionate and protective night - destroying both lovers in the process.

Shakespeare also underlines the contrast between youth and old age. Friar Laurence acts as Romeo's confidante, and the Nurse advises Juliet. However, both these adults offer advice that seems strangely out of place given the circumstances of the play. For instance, Friar Laurence says to Romeo, "Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast" (2.2.94). He also advises Romeo to "Therefore love moderately" (2.5.9). The Friar's advice for Romeo to love "moderately", however, comes too late. In fact, by the end of the play we even see Friar Laurence rejecting his own advice and stumbling to reach Juliet's grave before Romeo can find her. "How oft tonight have my old feet stumbled at graves?" (5.3.123).

Finally, Shakespeare introduces the contrast between silver and gold in this act through his use of imagery. Romeo says, "How silver-sweet sound lovers' tongues by night" and "Lady, by yonder blessed moon I vow, / That tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops" (2.1.210, 149-50). Shakespeare often employs silver as a symbol of love and beauty. On the other hand, he uses gold as a sign of greed or desire. Rosaline is immune to showers of gold, an image that evokes the selfishness of bribery. Later, when Romeo is banished, he comments that banishment is a "golden axe," meaning that his punishment is merely a glossed- over equivalent of death. And finally, the erection of the golden statues at the end a sign of the fact that neither Capulet nor Montague has really learned anything from Romeo and Juliet's deaths.

Romeo and Juliet Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Romeo and Juliet is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Can you find verbal irony in the play? Where?

One example of verbal irony would be Romeo's reference to the poison he has purchased as a "sweet medicine". A cordial is a sweet liquor or medicine.

Come, cordial and not poison, go with me To Juliet's grave; for there must I use thee.

What do we learn about Mercutio in queen man speech?

The whole speech is based on pagan Celtic mythology. Mercutio’s speech is laced with sexual innuendo. The words “queen” and “mab” refer to whores in Elizabethan England. As his speech goes on we notice the subtext get increasingly sexual...

What does Romeo fear as he approaches Capulet house? What literary device would this be an example of?

Romeo feels something bad is going to happen.

I fear too early, for my mind misgives Some consequence yet hanging in the stars

Looks like foreshadowing to me!

Study Guide for Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet study guide contains a biography of William Shakespeare, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Romeo and Juliet
• Romeo and Juliet Summary
• Romeo and Juliet Video
• Character List

Essays for Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.

• Unity in Shakespeare's Tragedies
• Fate in Romeo and Juliet
• Romeo and Juliet: Under the Guise of Love
• The Apothecary's Greater Significance in Romeo and Juliet
• Romeo and Juliet: Two Worlds

Lesson Plan for Romeo and Juliet

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Romeo and Juliet
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Romeo and Juliet Bibliography

E-Text of Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet e-text contains the full text of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.

• List of Characters

Wikipedia Entries for Romeo and Juliet

• Introduction

The Practical English Teacher

Free Resources for Secondary English Teachers

Free Resources for Romeo & Juliet

Updated: Jul 27, 2022

I have always been very lucky to work with smart and caring coworkers. On this blog, I only share materials that I created individually, so I don't have a ton of my own materials to share for Romeo & Juliet. This is because when I taught Romeo & Juliet , my best lessons came from my coworkers and the book Shakespeare Set Free. If you are teaching Romeo & Juliet for the first time, drop everything and go buy this book. Someone who had taught in my classroom before me had left it on the bookshelf, and I opened it in a planning panic. Besides my coworkers (both of whom had theater experience), this book was the most helpful in helping me enact active and fun lessons during my Romeo & Juliet unit.

SO, what this all means is that I cannot share my whole Romeo & Juliet unit, but below are some activities that I created that may be helpful to you.

Pre-Reading Activities for Romeo & Juliet

Action Ranking-Rank actions based on how serious of an offense they are

Agree/Disagree Discussion (You can also turn this into a more active activity by having kids move to one side of the room or other other based on whether they "agree" or "disagree" with the statement)

Character Cut-Outs (paid product) : Introduce the plot of Romeo & Juliet and the main characters by having students complete this "Character Cut-Out Activity." Basically, students cut representations of each character out of old magazines to help them start learning the characters. The TpT product has a PowerPoint and graphic organizers to walk you through the activity.

Romeo & Juliet Reader's Theater

One of the main pieces of feedback from my coworkers was to have the kids act out Romeo & Juliet using Reader's Theater. I was not comfortable with this at all at first since I have no theater background, but eventually, even I figured it out. Also, there are a million variations on Reader's Theater (ie: changing the scene and language, etc.), but I have stuck with the basics.

The handouts below are from a few years of trial & error. One page is directions for the kids on how to do Reader's Theater and the other pages are charts that show how I divided up Romeo & Juliet and assigned the scenes to kids. Overall, when we started an act, I would give the kids an overview of the act and then assign them a scene. Sometimes, some scenes were very long and some scenes were very short, so I would divide up the scenes as needed to try and give each group and equal amount of work. Then, students had to get into their groups and create the script for their scene, and lastly, they would have to present their assigned scene to the class. There is a rubric that you can use as a starting point for grading. You may want to add more detail to it, depending on your grading preferences. The charts below still have my student names on them so that you can see how I assigned kids; you just need to delete my kids and add yours and then you'll be good to go.

Basic Acting Techniques PowerPoint

Reader's Theater Directions

Reader's Theater Rubric

Romeo & Juliet Act II Group Assignments (I started with Act 2 for Reader's Theater because we read Act I together as a class to get used to the language. The page numbers were from the textbooks we had that-Holt Elements of Literature )

Romeo & Juliet Act III Group Assignments

Romeo & Juliet Act IV Group Assignments

Romeo & Juliet Act V Group Assignments

Romeo & Juliet Scene Summary Charts

After each group presented their scene, I would give the rest of the class time to summarize the scene on a graphic organizer. The kids who presented the scene had to field any questions from their classmates about plot points that their classmates were confused about. I always warned the presenters that if their classmates had no clue what happened in their scene, then they did not do a good job bringing the scene to life in their presentation. The q & a was also a good time for me to gauge who in the presentation group did all the work, as the kid who stepped up to answer the questions was typically the only one who understood what was going on, overall.

Act I Summary Chart

Act II Summary Chart

Act III Summary Chart

Act IV Summary Chart

Act V Summary Chart

Romeo & Juliet Handouts & Activities

Understanding Syntax

Act 1 Questions

Small Review Activities for the Balcony Scene (paid product)

Close Reading of Friar Lawrence's Soliloquy (Act 2, Scene 3)

Romeo & Juliet Character Review

Romeo & Juliet Act II Quiz

Written Conversations: For this activity, put students into groups of four and give each of them a different "question." This makes it so that when students pass their papers, they are discussing different questions all at once. Give the everyone 5-10 minutes to respond to their given question, and then have students pass their paper clockwise. The next student has to respond to the ideas of the first student. Repeat this one more time, and then have the students pass the "conversations" back to the original owner.

Literary Terms w. Examples from Romeo & Juliet

Intro to Puns

Romeo & Juliet Literary Terms PowerPoint

Romeo and Juliet Multiple Choice Unit Test (no answer key)- The formatting is all crazy and I don't know where the answer key is, but the questions are good. Mix of plot and analysis.

Other Books That Connect to Romeo & Juliet

There are so many great books that you can use in place of Romeo & Juliet OR as an extension of your Romeo & Juliet studies. Below are some of my current favorites.

Romeo & Juliet Movies

Again....there are so many. Here are just a few.

There's almost an endless amount of resources out there for Romeo and Juliet , but hopefully these are still helpful for someone. If you have any resources that you would like to share with others, please post them in the comments below.

• Free Resources
• Classic Literature

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10 Activities for Teaching Romeo and Juliet

z Romeo and Juliet is one of those classic pieces of literature I think everyone has read. Even students who haven’t read the Shakespeare play have probably heard of the story or will relate to the plot as it has been retold in various films and literature. If you need some fresh ideas before you start this unit, read on. 

Here are 10 activities for teaching Romeo and Juliet

1. teaching romeo and juliet: relatable bell ringers.

If you’re going to focus on a Shakespeare play, you must go all in. Immersing students into a unit from start to finish is such a perfect way to help students understand a topic in-depth. Start off each class with these Shakespeare Bell Ringers . Each one includes a famous Shakespearean quote and a quick writing prompt. Students will explore various writing styles based on the quote.

2. Teaching Romeo and Juliet: Character Focus

The second organizer focuses on tracing emotions and motivations throughout the play. It’s a creative way for students to organize the play’s characters and is also a great resource for ESL students and struggling readers. 

3. Teaching Romeo and Juliet: Get Interactive

I can remember interactive notebooks becoming all the rage. And while the paper notebooks are creative, a motivator for some students, and it’s generally pretty easy to put an interactive spin on old ideas already at hand. Having a digital version is just one more layer to add something unique to the interactive notebook. My digital notebook resource can work as its own unit and includes analysis activities covering characters, symbols, major events, writing tasks, and response questions. Digital notebooks are great for classrooms trying to limit paper use, use more technology, prepare students for tech demands, and for any classes that need to work with mobile options.

4. Teaching Romeo and Juliet: Engaging Writing Tasks

Help students understand and analyze the play by giving them unique writing assignments. Have students explore different writing styles, analyze universal themes, and study character development. My Writing Tasks resource does all this and more. Each act has its own unique writing assignment, and I’ve included brainstorming organizers for each. You’ll be able to use this with differentiated instruction, and there are several additional resources and organizers included. 

5. Read “Cloze”ly

Prep passages for students to summarize to help them understand events from the play. This is an ideal activity for review, comprehension, or even assessment. Cloze reading is an ideal way to help students understand what is happening. Cut your prep time down by using this resource, with 6 passages ready to use AND written in modern-day English. Use as an individual assignment or collaborative activity. 

6. Use Office Supplies

Increase student engagement with hands-on activities using sticky notes. You can use various colors to coordinate different aspects of study (literary elements, major events, character development, etc). It’s an easy and quick way for students to organize thoughts and notes, and the bits of information can be manipulated and moved around for different assignments. Students can gather relevant information for various essays, or can organize their sticky notes in a way that makes sense to them (by topic, or chronologically, as an example). Check out my Sticky Note Literary Analysis activity that includes 12 sticky note organizers. 

7. Make Use of Bookmarks

Consider a foldable version like this one where you can jam-pack a variety of questions, vocabulary, literary analysis and more. These are foldable, interactive, fun, engaging – and it saves you time passing out one activity to be used throughout the play. 

8. Plan an Escape 

Escape rooms live up to the hype. Challenge your students with a fun and engaging review escape challenge. Have students work together in groups to complete collaboratively and spark authentic discussion. This escape room activity includes 40 timeline events to sort from the play correctly.

9. Don’t Forget Vocabulary

Vocabulary is an important aspect of understanding any work, but Shakespeare is on a whole other level. In addition to reading an older version of English in poetic form, students must grasp key vocabulary to understand the play more deeply. Engage your students with hands-on activities to learn vocabulary, whether that be through graphic organizers, visual dictionaries, or word puzzles. Check out my ready-to-print vocabulary packet that includes word lists, puzzles, organizers and quizzes for the entire play. 

10. Practice Annotations

Start at the very beginning with an engaging activity for the prologue. This will allow students to explore the Shakespearean language and the set-up to the drama that is Romeo and Juliet’s tragedy. Using this resource , students will read and annotate the prologue, be introduced to Elizabethan English, and have context and background information before reading the play. Students then will rewrite the prologue in modern-day English following the same sonnet form. I love having students explore language, and this activity fits perfectly into the unit. 

If you’re starting fresh with activities to fill a unit, or you’re looking to refresh your tried-and-true activities, check out my 5-week unit plan for Romeo and Juliet here . It’s full of goodies including a pacing guide, pre-reading activities, bookmarks, vocabulary, passages, writing tasks, essays, review activities, and more. 

Put a new spin on the classic tragedy by refreshing your activities and finding new ways to present to students. Just a few simple updates and changes can keep students engaged and help them relate to the material. I love seeing what others do in their classrooms, so please share your favorite ideas in the comments below. 

Is Teaching Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet Still Revelant?

In an earlier blog post , I discuss if teaching Shakespeare is still relevant.

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