Romeo and Juliet, ACT IV - Scene II quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. What is Capulet doing at the beginning of Act IV, Scene II?

   • Visiting Friar Laurence's cell to arrange the wedding service
   • Settling the marriage terms and Juliet's dowry with Paris
   • Arguing with the Nurse about Juliet's refusal to marry Paris
   • Correct answer: Preparing for the wedding feast by hiring cooks and inviting guests

   The scene opens with Capulet sending servants to invite guests and hire twenty cooks for the wedding feast.

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2. 2

   Question 2. What does Juliet do when she first sees her father in this scene?

   • She argues with him again and refuses to marry Paris
   • She runs weeping to her closet and locks the door
   • Correct answer: She kneels and begs his pardon for her disobedience
   • She asks him to delay the wedding for a month

   Juliet falls prostrate before her father and says she has been "enjoined by holy Laurence" to beg his pardon, claiming she repents her disobedient opposition.

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3. 3

   Question 3. Why does Capulet move the wedding from Thursday to Wednesday?

   • Correct answer: He is overjoyed by Juliet's apparent obedience
   • Friar Laurence recommends the earlier date
   • He wants the wedding before Romeo can return
   • Lady Capulet urges him to have the wedding sooner

   Capulet is so pleased that Juliet has seemingly repented and agreed to marry Paris that he impulsively decides to move the wedding up by one day.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What objection does Lady Capulet raise about the new wedding date?

   • She suspects that Juliet's sudden change of heart is not sincere
   • Correct answer: She worries they will not have enough time to prepare provisions
   • She wants to consult Friar Laurence before changing the date
   • She believes it is improper to marry so soon after Tybalt's death

   Lady Capulet says "We shall be short in our provision. 'Tis now near night," expressing practical concern about the rushed timeline.

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5. 5

   Question 5. What is the primary literary device used throughout this scene?

   • Foreshadowing
   • Correct answer: Dramatic irony
   • Soliloquy
   • Personification

   The audience knows Juliet is faking obedience as part of Friar Laurence's sleeping potion plan, while her family takes her repentance at face value. This gap between audience knowledge and character knowledge is dramatic irony.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What does the Servant's joke about cooks who "lick their fingers" mean?

   • The servant is too lazy to search very hard for good cooks
   • A cook who licks his fingers is unclean, so he should not be hired
   • Correct answer: A good cook tastes his own food, so one who won't is a bad cook
   • The cooks should eat the leftovers so no food goes to waste

   The Servant reasons that a cook who cannot "lick his own fingers" -- that is, who would not taste his own cooking -- must be a bad cook and should not be hired.

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7. 7

   Question 7. Why is Capulet's praise of Friar Laurence ironic?

   • Correct answer: The Friar has actually given Juliet a potion to fake her death
   • The Friar has refused to perform the wedding to Paris
   • The Friar has already left Verona to find Romeo in Mantua
   • The Friar has told Paris that Juliet loves another man

   Capulet says the whole city is indebted to Friar Laurence for supposedly reforming Juliet, but the Friar has actually conspired with Juliet to help her escape the marriage through a death-simulating potion.

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8. 8

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

   • Juliet tells her father that she met Paris at Friar Laurence's cell.

     Happened

     Juliet says "I met the youthful lord at Laurence' cell and gave him what becomed love I might, not stepping o'er the bounds of modesty."

   • Lady Capulet enthusiastically supports moving the wedding to Wednesday.

     Didn't happen

     Lady Capulet objects, saying "No, not till Thursday. There is time enough" and later warning they will be short on provisions since it is already near night.

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9. 9

   Question 9. What does "shrift" mean in the Nurse's line "See where she comes from shrift with merry look"?

   • Brief, careless treatment
   • Careful saving of money
   • A sudden shift or change
   • Correct answer: Confession with a priest

   "Shrift" is the Elizabethan term for confession and absolution. The Nurse is saying Juliet has returned from her confession with Friar Laurence looking cheerful.

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10. 10

    Question 10. In Capulet's line "A peevish self-willed harlotry it is," what does "harlotry" mean in Elizabethan English?

    • A well-behaved and obedient girl
    • A loud and quarrelsome old woman
    • Correct answer: A worthless or mischievous girl
    • A noisy crowd of common people

    In Shakespeare's time, "harlotry" could refer to a worthless or mischievous person without the strong sexual connotation the word later acquired. Capulet is calling Juliet a stubborn, willful girl.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does "behests" mean when Juliet says she repents "disobedient opposition to you and your behests"?

    • Correct answer: Authoritative commands
    • Property left in a will
    • Gentle suggestions
    • Family traditions

    "Behests" means commands or authoritative orders. Juliet is telling her father she repents disobeying his commands, though this is part of her deception.

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