Romeo and Juliet, ACT II - Scene VI quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Where does Act 2, Scene 6 take place?

   • The Montague house
   • A public square in Verona
   • The Capulet garden
   • Correct answer: Friar Laurence's cell

   The scene is set in Friar Laurence's cell (his room in the monastery), where he performs the secret marriage.

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2. 2

   Question 2. What does Romeo declare at the beginning of the scene?

   • That he has told Lord Montague about the secret marriage
   • That he fears the sorrow this marriage may bring in later hours
   • Correct answer: That no future sorrow could outweigh the joy of being with Juliet
   • That the marriage will end the feud between the two families

   Romeo says "come what sorrow can, / It cannot countervail the exchange of joy / That one short minute gives me in her sight."

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3. 3

   Question 3. To what does Friar Laurence compare the lovers' passion?

   • The boundless sea, as deep as Juliet's love
   • Correct answer: Fire and gunpowder that consume each other
   • Two stars colliding in the night sky
   • A bud of love that ripens into a summer flower

   The Friar says their love is "like fire and powder, / Which, as they kiss, consume" — explosive and self-destructive.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What advice does Friar Laurence give Romeo about love?

   • Correct answer: Love moderately, for lasting love does so
   • Love secretly to avoid the families' anger
   • Love patiently and wait for the right time
   • Love boldly and without restraint

   The Friar counsels: "Therefore love moderately: long love doth so; / Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow."

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5. 5

   Question 5. How does Juliet respond when Romeo asks her to express her joy?

   • She lists all the reasons she loves Romeo
   • She recites a love poem she has written
   • Correct answer: She says true love is too rich for words
   • She weeps with happiness and cannot speak

   Juliet says "Conceit, more rich in matter than in words, / Brags of his substance, not of ornament" — meaning real love is deeper than language can express.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What does the Friar say about Juliet when she arrives?

   • Correct answer: That she moves so lightly she could walk on gossamer
   • That she shines like a bright angel from heaven
   • That she is dressed too richly for a secret wedding
   • That her light step will wear out the everlasting flint

   The Friar says "so light a foot / Will ne'er wear out the everlasting flint" and that a lover could "bestride the gossamer" without falling.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What is the primary literary device used throughout this scene?

   • Personification
   • Hyperbole
   • Alliteration
   • Correct answer: Foreshadowing

   Nearly every speech foreshadows the tragedy: the Friar's warnings, Romeo's dare to "love-devouring death," and the prayer that sorrow not follow.

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8. 8

   Question 8. Which of these events actually happened in this chapter?

   • True or False: Romeo and Juliet's marriage ceremony is performed onstage during this scene.

     Didn't happen

     The ceremony happens offstage. Friar Laurence leads the couple away at the end, saying "we will make short work" and that "Holy Church incorporate two in one." The audience does not see the actual wedding.

   • True or False: Friar Laurence warns that "these violent delights have violent ends."

     Happened

     This is one of the most famous lines in the play. The Friar delivers this warning to Romeo before Juliet arrives, cautioning that extreme passion leads to destruction.

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9. 9

   Question 9. In the line "It cannot countervail the exchange of joy," what does "countervail" mean?

   • Increase or make larger
   • Correct answer: Counterbalance or offset
   • Contradict or argue against
   • Cover or hide with a veil

   "Countervail" means to compensate for or offset. Romeo is saying no sorrow could outweigh the joy Juliet gives him.

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10. 10

    Question 10. When Juliet greets Friar Laurence as her "ghostly confessor," what does "ghostly" mean in Elizabethan English?

    • Correct answer: Spiritual or relating to the soul
    • Secret or kept hidden from others
    • Haunted or frightening, like a ghost
    • Sickly or pale in appearance

    In Shakespeare's time, "ghostly" meant spiritual — relating to the Holy Ghost or the soul. A "ghostly confessor" is a spiritual advisor or priest.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does "gossamer" refer to in the Friar's speech about Juliet's arrival?

    • A thin, high layer of summer clouds
    • A delicate silk fabric used for veils
    • Correct answer: Fine cobweb threads floating in the air
    • Morning dew resting on the flowers

    Gossamer refers to extremely fine, filmy spider-web strands drifting in the air. The Friar says a lover is so light they could walk on these threads without falling.

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