89 pages • 2 hours read
William ShakespeareRomeo and Juliet
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1595A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Essay Questions
Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.
Scaffolded/Short-Answer Essay Questions
Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the play over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.
1. Mercutio has many clever and joking lines. He often wants to cheer up Romeo and make others laugh.
- How does the tone of the play change when Mercutio is killed? (topic sentence)
- How do events in the rest of the play show that Mercutio’s death is an important turning point in the plot? Name at least three events and use details from the text to support your ideas.
- Finally, discuss in your concluding sentence or sentences how Mercutio’s death connects to the theme of feuds and rivalry.
2. Consider the setting of the famous balcony scene and the placement and movement of the characters throughout it.
- What might Shakespeare have been suggesting with the use of the balcony, symbolically? (topic sentence)
- What are three ways that the imagery of this scene relates to the theme of love’s complexities? Cite details from the scene for each imagery idea.
Related Titles
By William Shakespeare
