Study Questions & Essay Topics
Study Questions
1. What effect
does the accelerated time scheme have on
the play’s development? Is it plausible that a love story of this
magnitude could take place so quickly? Does the
play seem to take place over as little time as it
actually occupies?
2. Compare and
contrast the characters of Romeo and Juliet. How do they develop
throughout the play? What makes them fall in love with one another?
3. Compare and
contrast the characters of Tybalt and Mercutio. Why does Mercutio
hate Tybalt?
Suggested Essay Topics
1. How does the suicidal impulse
that both Romeo and Juliet exhibit relate to the overall theme of
young love? Does Shakespeare seem to consider a self-destructive
tendency inextricably connected with love, or is it a separate issue?
Why do you think so?
2. Discuss the relationships
between parents and children in Romeo and Juliet. How
do Romeo and Juliet interact with their parents? Are they rebellious,
in the modern sense? How do their parents feel about them?
3. Apart from clashing with Tybalt,
what role does Mercutio play in the story? Is he merely a colorful
supporting character and brilliant source of comic relief, or does
he serve a more serious purpose?
4. How does Shakespeare treat
death in Romeo and Juliet? Frame your answer in
terms of legal, moral, familial, and personal issues. Bearing these
issues in mind, compare the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo and
Mercutio, and Mercutio and Tybalt.
