Romeo and Juliet, ACT IV - Scene IV quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. What time does Capulet say it is when he enters the scene?

   • Five o'clock
   • Midnight
   • Eleven o'clock
   • Correct answer: Three o'clock

   Capulet declares "The second cock hath crow'd, The curfew bell hath rung, 'tis three o'clock," establishing the very early morning setting.

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2. 2

   Question 2. What does Lady Capulet ask the Nurse to fetch at the beginning of the scene?

   • Juliet's wedding dress
   • Correct answer: More spices
   • Wine for the feast
   • Fresh flowers

   Lady Capulet gives the Nurse keys and tells her to "fetch more spices," indicating that valuable spices were kept locked away.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What does the Nurse call Capulet when she tells him to go to bed?

   • Correct answer: A cot-quean
   • A whoreson
   • A loggerhead
   • A mouse-hunt

   The Nurse calls him a "cot-quean"—an Elizabethan term for a man who meddles in women's household work—teasing him for interfering in the kitchen preparations.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What does Lady Capulet imply when she calls her husband a "mouse-hunt"?

   • That he once worked all night at his business
   • That he was once an excellent hunter of vermin
   • Correct answer: That he once chased women in his younger days
   • That he was always timid and quiet like a mouse

   "Mouse-hunt" was Elizabethan slang for a man who pursues women. Lady Capulet teases that his past late nights were spent in romantic pursuits, not work.

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5. 5

   Question 5. By what personal name does Capulet address the Nurse in this scene?

   • Beatrice
   • Margaret
   • Correct answer: Angelica
   • Rosaline

   Capulet tells her to "Look to the bak'd meats, good Angelica," revealing her given name—one of the rare instances it is used in the play.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What signals to Capulet that Paris has arrived?

   • A servant announces his arrival
   • Correct answer: He hears musicians playing
   • Paris knocks loudly at the gate
   • Lady Capulet calls out to him

   Capulet says "The County will be here with music straight, For so he said he would" and then "I hear him near," indicating Paris's arrival is announced by music.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What is the servant's joke about finding logs?

   • He says Peter has already stacked them by the kitchen
   • He says there are no drier logs available in the house
   • He says he will purchase drier logs at the market
   • Correct answer: He says he has a head that can find logs without Peter's help

   The servant puns on "loggerhead" (blockhead), saying his head will find logs on its own. Capulet appreciates the wordplay, calling him a "merry whoreson."

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8. 8

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

   • True or False: The Capulets know that Juliet has taken a sleeping potion during this scene.

     Didn't happen

     The Capulets are completely unaware that Juliet has taken Friar Laurence's potion. This is the scene's central dramatic irony—they prepare joyfully for a wedding while Juliet lies in a deathlike sleep.

   • True or False: Capulet sends the Nurse to wake Juliet at the end of the scene.

     Happened

     Capulet's final orders are "Go waken Juliet; go and trim her up," sending the Nurse to rouse and dress Juliet for the wedding—setting up the devastating discovery in Scene 5.

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9. 9

   Question 9. In Elizabethan English, what does "baked meats" refer to?

   • Correct answer: Pies, pastries, and other oven-baked dishes
   • Meat preserved by salting and drying
   • Bread loaves baked with meat filling
   • Roasted game such as venison and pheasant

   "Baked meats" in Shakespeare's time referred broadly to pies and pastries prepared in an oven, a staple of Elizabethan feasts and celebrations.

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does "loggerhead" mean as Capulet uses it in this scene?

    • A trusted servant
    • A skilled woodcutter
    • A type of fireplace tool
    • Correct answer: A blockhead or fool

    Capulet plays on the servant's pun: a "loggerhead" is a blockhead, but the servant joked about using his "head" to find logs. Capulet says "Thou shalt be loggerhead" as an affectionate joke.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does "pastry" refer to in the line "They call for dates and quinces in the pastry"?

    • Correct answer: The room where baked goods are prepared
    • A bakery where bread and cakes are sold
    • The dough used to make the crust of a pie
    • A sweet dessert made from baked dough

    In Elizabethan households, "the pastry" was the specific room designated for preparing pastries and baked goods, not the food itself.

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