Plot summary: Hermia loves Lysander, but her father wants her to marry Demetrius. Hermia and Lysander escape into the forest. Helena, who loves Demetrius, follows them. In the forest, the fairy Puck uses a love potion and causes confusion. Meanwhile, a group of amateur actors rehearse a play. By the end, the lovers are reconciled and the actors perform at a wedding.

1. Which character does Hermia love?

2. Why do Hermia and Lysander escape into the forest?

3. Which character uses the love potion?

4. Name one event that helps create comedy in the play.

Classroom paraphrase of the balcony scene: Romeo sees Juliet at a window and speaks quietly, hoping she cannot hear him. Juliet wonders aloud why Romeo must belong to the Montague family, because the Montagues and Capulets are enemies. Romeo answers that he will give up his family name if it stands between them. Juliet warns that the garden walls are dangerous and that her relatives might find him. Romeo says that love gave him courage to climb the wall. They agree to speak again and make a careful plan.

1. Where is Juliet when Romeo sees her?

2. Why does Juliet question Romeo’s family name?

3. What does Romeo’s reply suggest about how strongly he feels?

4. Give one reason the scene feels tense.

Original classroom-style soliloquy:

The night is still; yet in my mind

A hundred questions wake and turn.

Should I obey the path laid out,

Or choose the road my heart has found?

If fear should follow where I go,

I’ll meet it with a steady step.

1. What two possible choices is the speaker considering?

2. Find one word or phrase that suggests the speaker feels uncertain.

3. What does “a steady step” suggest about the speaker’s attitude?

4. How might an actor show that the speaker is thinking aloud? Name one performance choice.

Fact file: Shakespeare wrote for audiences in Elizabethan and early Jacobean England. London playhouses such as the Globe attracted people from different social groups. Performances took place in daylight, with little scenery, so actors’ words, costumes, gestures, and props helped audiences imagine locations. Women’s roles were performed by boys or men. Families, social rank, and marriage could strongly shape a young person’s choices.

1. Name one way actors helped the audience imagine a setting.

2. Who performed women’s roles on the Elizabethan stage?

3. How might family expectations create conflict in Romeo and Juliet?

4. Give one reason a playhouse audience might include people from different backgrounds.

Original classroom-style exchange:

A: “You ask me to be silent, when my heart is full.”

B: “Then speak—but choose your words with care.”

1. What might Character A want from Character B?

2. What warning or advice does Character B give?

3. Choose one performance choice for Character A (pace, pause, emphasis, or gesture) and explain its effect.

4. Choose a different performance choice for Character B and explain how it could change the mood.