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Romeo and Juliet - Understanding the Text
Why is Romeo banished from Verona?

Romeo and Juliet - Understanding the Text

This GCSE English Literature quiz helps you check your understanding of Romeo and Juliet, from key plot events to character decisions and how the feud drives the tragedy.

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Fascinating Fact:

The feud between the Montagues and Capulets creates constant tension, turning small disagreements into violent confrontations that push events towards tragedy.

In GCSE English Literature, understanding Romeo and Juliet means following how the plot develops from a street brawl to a double death. You learn to track key scenes, link them to themes like love and conflict, and notice how characters such as Romeo, Juliet, Mercutio, Tybalt and the Nurse react to pressure from family and society.

  • Feud: A long-running, bitter quarrel between groups or families, like the ongoing conflict between Montagues and Capulets.
  • Foreshadowing: Hints or warnings about future events in a text, such as dreams, curses or worrying predictions.
  • Tragedy: A serious play in which the main characters’ choices and flaws lead to suffering and usually death.
What should I focus on to understand Romeo and Juliet for GCSE?

Focus on the main storyline, key scenes such as the balcony and the deaths, and how characters like Romeo, Juliet, Mercutio and Tybalt change or refuse to change.

How does the family feud affect events in Romeo and Juliet?

The feud turns small insults into serious fights. Benvolio tries to keep peace, but Tybalt’s anger, street violence and the Prince’s threats all push the lovers towards a tragic ending.

How can I improve my understanding of characters and themes?

Choose a character, such as Juliet, the Nurse or Friar Laurence, track their key scenes, collect short quotations, then link their actions to themes like love, fate or obedience.

1 .
What does Juliet mean when she asks, "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo"?
Juliet wishes to know where Romeo is
Juliet is telling Romeo that she knows he is in the garden
Juliet asks why Romeo is a Montague
All of the above
"Wherefore" means "why", so Juliet asks rhetorically, "Why are you Romeo". She bewails her misfortune at falling in love with a member of the Montague family
2 .
What does Juliet promise her mother she will do at the feast held at the Capulet home?
Avoid dancing with Romeo
Avoid speaking with Romeo
See whether she might like to marry Romeo
See whether she might like to marry Paris
Paris has asked to marry Juliet and Capulet responds that he will give consent if Juliet agrees. His wife asks Juliet to consider his request during the feast
3 .
Why is Romeo banished from Verona?
He kills Tybalt in revenge for Mercutio's death
He accidentally kills Tybalt
He threatens Capulet
His secret marriage to Juliet is discovered
Because Tybalt had just killed Mercutio, Romeo is banished rather than being sentenced to death as the Prince had earlier promised
4 .
Who draws his sword first in the fight which leads to Mercutio's and Tybalt's deaths and Romeo's banishment?
Benvolio
Tybalt
Mercutio
Romeo
Mercutio's eagerness to fight makes darkly ironic his repeated remark: "A plague o' both your houses"
5 .
What does Juliet's mother mean when she tells her daughter, "By my count / I was your mother much upon these years / That you are now a maid"?
She became engaged at the age of fourteen
She was married at the age of fourteen
She became a mother at the age of fourteen
She had been a mother for a while by the time she was Juliet's age
Juliet's mother encourages her daughter, who is not quite fourteen, to marry, reminding her that many girls of her age are already married with children
6 .
Which of the following is NOT a significant event in Act I, Scene 1?
Samson bites his thumb
Romeo and Juliet meet at the Capulets' home
The Prince threatens death to any Capulet or Montague who disturbs the peace of Verona
Romeo tells Benvolio of his recent disappointment in love
The first act of the play sets up the events to follow: we learn that Capulets and Montagues can descend into bloody violence at slight provocation, that Romeo is predisposed to love and that death awaits any member of the feuding families who becomes swept up in violence. Juliet and Romeo meet at the end of the first act
7 .
Who are buried together at the end of the play?
Romeo and Juliet only
Juliet and Paris only
Romeo, Juliet and Paris
Juliet is buried alone in the Capulet tomb
The play, filled with violence throughout, ends with further waste of life as Romeo and Paris battle over Juliet's tomb. Romeo lays Paris to rest in the tomb, recognising him both as a new kinsman and as one who also loves Juliet. The three young dead are sealed together in the tomb at the end of the play
8 .
What is Friar Laurence's motivation for agreeing to help Romeo?
He only wants Romeo to be happy
He hopes that the marriage will heal the feud between the Capulets and the Montagues
He does not want Juliet to marry Paris
He believes that everyone should hastily follow their desires
The Friar is familiar with Romeo's tendency to fall in love and warns against hastiness. He agrees to help the young couple nonetheless because their marriage might prevent further tragedy in Verona
9 .
Which of the following misfortunes contributes to Romeo's suicide?
He receives news from a servant of Juliet's burial
Friar Laurence's message to Romeo is prevented from being delivered
Romeo reaches Juliet's tomb before Friar Laurence
All of the above
A series of misfortunes results in Romeo believing Juliet to be dead
10 .
What is the Nurse's role in Romeo and Juliet's secret marriage?
She arranges the secret wedding with Friar Laurence
She arranges the first meeting between Romeo and Juliet
She persuades Juliet to marry Romeo rather than Paris
She passes messages between the two lovers
The Nurse also provides the ladder which Romeo will use to climb to Juliet's room
You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Romeo and Juliet

Author:  Sheri Smith (PhD English Literature, English Teacher & Quiz Writer)

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