Romeo and Juliet, Act 2: Quiz Prep
Scene by scene through Act 2 of Romeo and Juliet, with the lines, plot beats, devices, and quote attributions you need for the quiz.
A 24-hour stretch from the orchard wall to the wedding altar. Six scenes plus a sonnet prologue.
Learning objectives
By the end of this guide you can:
- Place every event in Act 2 in chronological order across its 24-hour span
- Identify the speaker, scene, and meaning of the most testable quotes
- Explain the function of the Prologue (and recognize it as a sonnet)
- Trace light/dark and religion-of-love imagery through the balcony scene
- Spot the foreshadowing in Friar Laurence’s two warnings
- Distinguish the literary devices Shakespeare uses (soliloquy, antithesis, allusion, foreshadowing)
TL;DR
That is the whole act in one breath. Everything below is the texture: who says what, where, and why it matters.
Glossary
The archaic words you will trip over. Hover any underlined term for the modern translation.
- Wherefore : why
- Doff : take off
- Prorogued : postponed
- Orison : prayer
- Bescreen : hide, conceal
- Hist : quiet
- Bounty : generosity
- Countervail : outweigh
- Idolatry : worship of an idol
- Ghostly : spiritual
Drill the vocab
Type the meaning. Articles like “a” and “the” are optional.
The 24-hour chronology
Act 2 covers Sunday night through Monday afternoon. Seven chunks total: the Chorus + six scenes.
Scene-by-scene walkthrough
Prologue (Chorus): the sonnet recap
Sonnet · 14 lines · ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
“Now old desire doth in his death-bed lie,
And young affection gapes to be his heir…”
The Chorus delivers a full Shakespearean sonnet (three quatrains plus a couplet, iambic pentameter). It tells us Romeo has forgotten Rosaline and is now in love with Juliet, but their families make this impossible.
Scene 1: Romeo escapes his friends
A short comic scene that exists mostly to set up the balcony. Romeo cannot bear to leave the Capulet grounds, so he climbs the orchard wall. Mercutio launches into a long bawdy “summoning” speech invoking Rosaline (he still does not know about Juliet), then gives up and leaves with Benvolio.
Scene 2: The balcony scene
The centerpiece of the act and one of the most famous scenes in English literature.
Romeo, soliloquy, alone in the orchard
Romeo overhears Juliet at her window. She speaks not knowing he is there: “O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?”. The line is asking why he has the name he has, not where he is. She is wishing he were not a Montague.
Then the famous philosophical bit:
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet…”
Romeo reveals himself. They exchange vows. Juliet proposes marriage and promises to send a messenger at 9am tomorrow. They part with what may be the act’s most-quoted line:
“Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow.”
Imagery to track: light vs dark, religion of love
The balcony scene runs on two image clusters:
- Light/dark: Juliet is the sun, the moon is envious, her eyes are stars, the night veils Romeo. Light = love. Dark = the world that would forbid it.
- Religion of love: Romeo calls Juliet’s love a “blessed, blessed night”; he calls himself her devotee. This continues the religious-pilgrim language from Act 1 (the shared sonnet).
Try it: rewrite a passage in modern English
Pick any 3 to 4 lines from the balcony scene and rewrite them in your own words. Saved to your browser only.
Scene 3: Friar Laurence’s cell at dawn
Friar Laurence opens with a soliloquy about the duality of plants: the same flower that contains medicine also contains poison. This is a metaphor for human nature .
“Within the infant rind of this weak flower
Poison hath residence and medicine power.”
Romeo arrives, confesses he loves Juliet, and asks the Friar to marry them. The Friar is shocked: yesterday Romeo was wallowing over Rosaline, today it is Juliet. He warns:
But he agrees, hoping the secret marriage will end the Capulet/Montague feud.
Scene 4: A street in Verona, mid-morning
Two pieces of information drop in this scene:
- Tybalt has sent Romeo a written challenge to duel. (This sets up Act 3.)
- The Nurse arrives looking for Romeo. He gives her the marriage plan: Juliet should come to Friar Laurence’s cell that afternoon.
Where everyone is right now
Drag a character onto the location they are at after Scene 4. Drop on the wrong spot and they snap back.
Scene 5: Juliet waits for the Nurse
Juliet, alone in the orchard, is impatient. The clock struck nine when she sent the Nurse, and an hour and a half later there is still no news. Her soliloquy is one of the funniest pieces of dramatic irony in the play.
“The clock struck nine when I did send the Nurse;
In half an hour she promised to return.
Perchance she cannot meet him: that’s not so.”
When the Nurse finally arrives, she stalls (delicately). She complains about her back, her bones, her breath. Juliet begs for the news. The Nurse keeps going. Finally she delivers: go to Friar Laurence’s cell to be married.
Comic delay, by the numbers
Roughly how Juliet’s lines break down in Scene 5:
Scene 6: The wedding
Romeo and Juliet meet at Friar Laurence’s cell. The Friar greets them and delivers the warning of the act:
The actual wedding happens off-stage. Curtain.
Speaker × scene at a glance
How much each character speaks across Act 2 (rough line counts):
The hot cells tell the story: Romeo and Juliet dominate Scene 2, the Friar owns Scene 3, the Nurse and Mercutio anchor Scene 4, and Juliet plus the Nurse drive Scene 5.
Themes specific to Act 2
The four through-lines
- Light vs dark, esp. balcony
- Religion of love, lovers as devotees
- Haste, marriage in 24 hours, foreshadowed twice
- Identity vs name, “rose by any other name”
Quote completion drill
Type the missing word. The lines are exactly as Shakespeare wrote them.
Practice quiz
Same shape as the real Act 1 quiz: 4 matching exercises + 13 quiz questions (4 true/false plus 9 multiple choice) for 17 question equivalents total.
1. Match each character to their role in Act 2
2. Match each speaker to their plot function in Act 2
3. True/false and multiple choice
Act 2 quiz simulation
0 of 13 answered
- 01
TRUE or FALSE: Romeo climbs the balcony to reach Juliet during the famous Scene 2.
- 02
TRUE or FALSE: Mercutio knows about Romeo's love for Juliet.
- 03
TRUE or FALSE: Friar Laurence agrees to perform the marriage because he hopes it will end the family feud.
- 04
TRUE or FALSE: The wedding takes place on stage at the end of Scene 6.
- 05
In what verse form is the Act 2 Prologue written?
- 06
What does Juliet mean by "Wherefore art thou Romeo?"
- 07
________ delivers the famous opening soliloquy "But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?"
- 08
________ delivers the marriage plan to Juliet.
- 09
________ has sent Romeo a written challenge to duel.
- 10
What information first arrives in Scene 4 that sets up Act 3?
- 11
Friar Laurence's opening soliloquy in Scene 3 uses what extended metaphor?
- 12
Roughly how long does Act 2 cover, in story time?
- 13
________ delivers the warning "These violent delights have violent ends."
4. Match the quote to its speaker (round 1)
5. Match the quote to its speaker (round 2)
Mnemonics
- PSBFNJW for the seven chunks: Prologue, Street, Balcony, Friar, Nurse-meets-Romeo, Juliet-waits, Wedding. (“Plays Should Be Funny, Not Just Wordy.”)
- SUN for Juliet at the balcony: Soliloquy, Unrequited (she thinks), Name (“wherefore art thou Romeo”). All three happen before Romeo speaks.
- VDVE for the Friar’s big warning: Violent Delights, Violent Ends. Same letter pattern as fire-and-powder.
Common pitfalls
- “Wherefore” does NOT mean “where.” It means “why.” Half of the test questions on the balcony scene check this.
- Romeo is in the orchard during the balcony scene, not climbing the balcony. Juliet is on the balcony (or window). Romeo never reaches her physically in Scene 2.
- The wedding happens off-stage. You see them enter the cell, the Friar speaks, and then the curtain falls. Do not say “we see them married.”
- The Nurse, not Romeo, delivers the marriage plan to Juliet. Romeo tells the Nurse, the Nurse tells Juliet.
- The Friar agrees to marry them for a political reason (ending the feud), not because he believes in their love.
One-page cheat sheet
| Scene | Setting | On stage | One thing to remember |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pro | (none) | Chorus | Sonnet form, ABAB CDCD EFEF GG |
| 1 | Outside orchard wall | Romeo, Mercutio, Benvolio | Mercutio mocks “Rosaline” (he doesn’t know about Juliet) |
| 2 | Capulet orchard / Juliet’s window | Romeo, Juliet | ”Wherefore art thou Romeo,” “rose by any other name,” “parting is such sweet sorrow” |
| 3 | Friar Laurence’s cell at dawn | Friar, Romeo | Plants/poison soliloquy; “Wisely and slow” |
| 4 | A street in Verona | Romeo, Mercutio, Benvolio, Nurse | Tybalt’s challenge arrives; marriage plan delivered to Nurse |
| 5 | Capulet’s orchard | Juliet, Nurse | Juliet’s impatience; Nurse’s comic stalling |
| 6 | Friar Laurence’s cell | Romeo, Juliet, Friar | ”These violent delights have violent ends”; wedding off-stage |
Now go take the quiz.