Romeo and Juliet Group at eNotes

Sampson, along with Gregory, are servants of the Capulet family. Both...

Fri, 4 Jul 2008 09:51:19 PST

Sampson, along with Gregory, are servants of the Capulet family. Both men appear in Act I, Scene 1 in a confrontation with the Montague servants which begins half in jest but quickly escalates in seriousness. It is Sampson who instigates the fight, purposely insulting the Abram, a servant of the Montague family, by "biting his thumb" at him. The altercation quickly spreads to involve other servants and friends of both the...

Is Sampson a Montague or Capulet in the play "Romeo and Juliet"?

Fri, 4 Jul 2008 07:31:58 PST

Is Sampson a Montague or Capulet in the play "Romeo and Juliet"?

How about Ray Liotta? Classic hothead movie role...

Thu, 3 Jul 2008 21:22:09 PST

How about Ray Liotta? Classic hothead movie role...

It entirely depends what you mean by 'climax'. The classical notion of a...

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 15:12:25 PST

It entirely depends what you mean by 'climax'. The classical notion of a climax, usually thought to occur at the centre of a play (and usually a major event which entirely changes the course of events) is usually unhelpful in studying Shakespeare, because he refuses to play by generic rules! Yet it does apply, in a sense, to Romeo and Juliet. Tybalt arrives to try and kill Romeo, but Mercutio steps in, and is hurt under Romeo's arm - at first,...

Up until this point in the play, Juliet's Nurse has been very supportive...

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 06:51:00 PST

Up until this point in the play, Juliet's Nurse has been very supportive of Juliet's decision to marry Romeo and has helped Juliet to put the plan into action. However, after Lord Capulet's outrage at Juliet's refusal to marry Paris, the Nurse takes a different stance. It seems that she wants to protect Juliet. Capulet has declared that if Juliet refuses to marry Paris, then Capulet will disown her and the Nurse doesn't want that to happen to...

I want to know why the Nurse changed her mind about Romeo. Why did she...

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:31:51 PST

I want to know why the Nurse changed her mind about Romeo. Why did she support Juliet's marriage to Paris, not Romeo?

Romeo - son the Montagues, in love with Juliet, kills himselfBenvolio -...

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 07:40:16 PST

Romeo - son the Montagues, in love with Juliet, kills himselfBenvolio - friend of Romeo, also a MontagueThe Friar - friend and mentor of Romeo first, then Juliet; marries Romeo and Juliet and gives Juliet sleeping potionThe Nurse - caretaker of Juliet; helps to arrange marriageMercutio - friend of Romeo, cousin to the Prince, light-hearted and carefree, gets killed by TybaltTybalt - cousin to Juliet, angry young man, kills Mercutio, gets...

Briefly identify the role that the characters of the play "Romeo...

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 17:39:25 PST

EG.Juliet- daughter of capulets, in love with romeo, also dies

I love questions like these! It's so fun to imagine good actors in...

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 09:30:28 PST

I love questions like these! It's so fun to imagine good actors in Shakespearean roles!I can see Philip Seymour Hoffman as Tybalt. He plays just about any role he touches incredibly well (did you see "Capote"??? Holy cow, he was good!), and he already has that snide, sarcastic edge to him down pat.After seeing R&J in Ashland, I always picture Tybalt as a red-head - weird, huh? The actor who played him at the OSF was AMAZING!

Mercutio's death serves a few functions in the play. In reference to the...

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 07:20:49 PST

Mercutio's death serves a few functions in the play. In reference to the plot, it is Mercutio's death that sparks Romeo's feelings of honour and loyalty for his friend, which in turn leads Romeo to kill Tybalt. Subsequently, Romeo is punished for his actions by being banished from Verona and kept from Juliet. Mercutio's death is also the catalyst that leads to the climax of the play, which is Romeo killing Tybalt. At the beginning of Act III,...

In what ways in Mercutio's death important in the development of the...

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 04:54:39 PST

In what ways in Mercutio's death important in the development of the plot in "Romeo and Juliet"?

I like Draco Malfoy for the "evil" factor, but he's far too...

Mon, 9 Jun 2008 13:17:09 PST

I like Draco Malfoy for the "evil" factor, but he's far too blond in my mind!I picture Tybalt as a fit and preppy type of guy. Like the Socs from "The Outsiders". He'll be young and tempermental. If we are staying true to the setting, he will be of Italian looks as well. I like Josh Hartnett or Steven Strait.

In Act I, Romeo explains to Benvolio that he is feeling sad and...

Mon, 9 Jun 2008 08:17:20 PST

In Act I, Romeo explains to Benvolio that he is feeling sad and depressed because he is in love with Rosaline and she does not love him back, and has vowed that she will never fall in love. Benvolio tries to get Romeo to move on, to look at other girls and he will see that Rosaline is not any more beautiful than any other, but Romeo believes this will make him think Rosaline is even more beautiful.This moment with Romeo emphasizes his...

What explanation does Romeo give his friend Benvolio for his behaviour?

Sun, 8 Jun 2008 16:48:58 PST

What explanation does Romeo give his friend Benvolio for his behaviour?

It is against the law to sell such strong poisons to just anyone who...

Sat, 7 Jun 2008 10:26:20 PST

It is against the law to sell such strong poisons to just anyone who walks in the door. The reason for this is that when the practice was legal, many people used these quick poisons to exact revenge on their enemies. To protect the citizens of Mantua and other nearby cities, the law was passed that apothecaries must not sell the strong, quick-acting poisons to just anyone off the streets. The buyer must have the proper government papers...

In Mantua, it is illegal to sell the kind of poison that Romeo wants. ...

Sat, 7 Jun 2008 04:09:14 PST

In Mantua, it is illegal to sell the kind of poison that Romeo wants. He wants a strong, quick-acting poison that will kill him immediately. However, because the apothecary is poor and really needs the money, Romeo is able to convince him to sell it. Romeo pays him with, "Here is your gold,/Worse poison to men's souls", indicating that gold has caused more harm in the world than the little dram of poison that he is about to...

Why doesn't the apothecary want to sell poison to Romeo?

Sat, 7 Jun 2008 03:01:09 PST

Why doesn't the apothecary want to sell poison to Romeo?

Hmmm...I think Ryan Philippe would be a GREAT choice for that role. :)

Fri, 6 Jun 2008 16:05:42 PST

Hmmm...I think Ryan Philippe would be a GREAT choice for that role. :)

I love Draco Malfoy as a choice. Alec Baldwin, Matt Damon, any one of...

Fri, 6 Jun 2008 15:14:29 PST

I love Draco Malfoy as a choice. Alec Baldwin, Matt Damon, any one of those NFL stars who think they're also actors would also suffice.Good Luck!

Shakespeare's best tool for creating suspense and tension is that fact...

Fri, 6 Jun 2008 14:49:21 PST

Shakespeare's best tool for creating suspense and tension is that fact that he tells you in the prologue what is going to happen to the "star-crossed lovers". We hope against all hope that they will find a way to get around the prophesy, but to no avail.First, there is the tension between the two families. It begins with thumb-biting and quarreling in public which is quelled by the Prince.We have tension in Romeo's sullen and...