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Romeo and Juliet - Setting
See if you can get full marks in this quiz about setting.

Romeo and Juliet - Setting

This GCSE English Literature quiz is about setting in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The setting of a fictional work includes the location and the time in which events take place. In addition to the events explicitly depicted by a play, other occurrences taking place in the background might have an effect on characters, even if these are only mentioned in passing. These occurrences constitute a key component of a work’s setting, and are known as context (bear in mind the difference between the fictional context of a play’s setting and the author’s real-life context). Atmosphere is another important element of setting and in a play, it is usually very much a product of staging. Some playwrights explicitly describe the atmosphere they wish to be created onstage. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare creates atmosphere primarily with the language of characters, rather than with stage directions.

Ensure that you spend some time considering the setting of the text you are studying. This is an important step in analysis. How does the world in which the characters live affect the decisions made over the course of the plot? Romeo and Juliet relies on its setting especially for the relative powerlessness of the two protagonists in making decisions for their own futures. The exotic setting also provides a pretext for the young couple’s headlong rush into disaster.

Geographical setting includes country, region and city; the environment, which might be urban or rural; the buildings or other places where events occur; and even the weather or time of day. Do all the events occur in the same place? How specific is the time at which these events occur? Do characters travel, or arrive from elsewhere? Are different settings contrasted with one another? Are different characters associated with different settings? Many of these contrasts are important in Romeo and Juliet

It can be useful sometimes to compare the time a text is set with when it was written. Do these times differ? Can you think of any reasons why an author might choose to set a text in the same time, but in an exotic place? Does this change our understanding of the story? How specific is the setting for Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy?

Answer the questions below on setting in Romeo and Juliet.

1.
In which setting does the final scene take place?
The church
The Capulet vault
The Capulet orchard
The grounds of the Montagues' house
The family vault, or mausoleum, is the site of the final events of the play, including Romeo's killing of Paris. Juliet has been laid to rest within the tomb after her family believe she has died and the final stage directions involve the closing of the tomb
2.
The play takes place in which century?
The 3rd or 4th
The 6th or 7th
The 10th or 11th
The play is set in an unspecified era
While the scant detail of the play fits Renaissance Italy the era itself remains unspecified, lending an air of timelessness to the drama
3.
Where does Romeo first meet Juliet?
At church
At the Capulet house
At the Montague house
In the city square
It seems as though Romeo and Juliet have never seen one another despite the mutual rivalry of their families
4.
Romeo and Juliet marry in Friar Laurence's "cell". What is a cell in this context?
A grand church
A cavern
A cellar
A small room in a monastery or a friary
A "cell" is the room in which a monk, nun, or friar sleeps. By marrying in such a private place, Romeo and Juliet keep their marriage as secret as they are able. Marrying in public would give their families a chance to insist on their marriage being annulled
5.
Paris refers to Juliet's tomb as her "bridal bed", while Romeo addresses the tomb as which of the following?
A gaping mouth
A womb
A lighthouse
All of the above
As he wrenches open the tomb, Romeo refers to it as a "detestable maw" and a "womb of death". After seeing Juliet (who, as the audience knows, is still living), he calls the grave a "lantern", by which he means a lighthouse
6.
The events of the play take place over how many days?
Two
Five
Seven
Ten
On the first day Romeo and Juliet meet; on the second they are married and Romeo is banished; on the third Juliet is informed that she is to marry Paris. That night she takes the potion and thus the fourth day is that of her funeral. Romeo returns shortly before she awakens on the fifth day
7.
Which of the following scenes does NOT take place in Juliet's bedroom?
Juliet's mother informs her of Paris's proposal
Romeo and Juliet's wedding night
Romeo and Juliet exchange vows of love
Juliet is discovered apparently dead
On stage, Juliet is "aloft" and Romeo standing below during their exchange of vows in Act Two, Scene One. In films of the play, Juliet is usually standing on a balcony during the scene
8.
Where is Romeo and Juliet set?
Vienna
Paris
Brighton
Verona
Verona is a city in Italy and was part of the Republic of Venice during Shakespeare's life. After being banished, Romeo travels to Mantua
9.
Public places in Romeo and Juliet are associated with which of the following?
Violence
Love
Revelry
All of the above
The Capulets and the Montagues are accused of disturbing the peace of the city of Verona when the Prince charges them with public disruption: "Three civil brawls bred of an airy word / By thee, old Capulet, and Montague, / Have thrice disturbed the quiet of our streets." With the exception of Paris's death, the murders take place in the streets
10.
"And about his shelves / A beggarly account of empty boxes, / Green earthen pots, bladders, and musty seeds, / Remnants of packthread, and old cakes of roses / Were thinly scattered to make up a show." To what does Romeo refer in these lines?
Friar Laurence's cell
The Capulet vault
The Apothecary's shop
The Montague kitchen
His words describe evidence of the apothecary's poverty, which Romeo believes be in his favour as he attempts to procure poison
You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Romeo and Juliet

Author:  Sheri Smith
English Literature Play this quiz again

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