romeo and juliet act 2 essay prompts

Romeo and Juliet

By william shakespeare, romeo and juliet essay questions.

In what way do Romeo and Juliet break gender conventions? How do these roles fluctuate throughout the play?

At the beginning of the play, the young lovers' behavior reverses common gender conventions – Romeo acts in a way that his friends call feminine, while Juliet exhibits masculine qualities. Romeo is by no means an archetypal Elizabethan man; he is disinterested in asserting his physical power like the other male characters in the play. Instead, Romeo chooses to stew in his pensive melancholy. On several instances, Romeo's companions suggest that his introspective behavior is effeminate. On the other hand, Juliet exhibits a more pronounced sense of agency than most female characters in Shakespeare's time. While the women around her, like her mother, blindly act in accordance with Lord Capulet's wishes, Juliet proudly expresses her opinion. Even when she has lost a battle (like when Lord Capulet insists she consider marrying Paris), she demonstrates a shrewd ability to deflect attention without committing to anything. In her relationship with Romeo, Juliet clearly takes the lead by insisting on marriage and proposing the plan to unite them. As the play progresses, Romeo starts to break out of his pensive inaction to the point that Mercutio notices this change. Romeo also makes a great shift from his cowardly attempt at suicide in Act III to his willful decision in Act V. Overall, Romeo and Juliet are arguably a good match because they are so distinct. Juliet is headstrong, while Romeo is passive until passion strikes and inspires him to action.

Contrast Romeo's attempted suicide in Act 3 with his actual suicide in Act 5. How do these two events reveal changes in his character and an evolving view of death?

Romeo considers suicide in both Act 3 and Act 5. In Act 3, Romeo's desire to take his own life is a cowardly response to his grief over killing Tybalt. He is afraid of the consequences of his actions and would rather escape the world entirely than face losing Juliet. Both Friar Laurence and the Nurse criticize Romeo for his weakness and lack of responsibility - taking the knife from his hands. In contrast, Romeo actually does commit suicide in Act V because he sees no other option. He plans for it, seeking out the Apothecary before leaving Mantua, and kills himself out of solidarity with Juliet, not because he is afraid. While suicide is hardly a defensible action, Romeo's dual attempts to take his life reveal his growing maturity and his strengthened moral resolve.

Several characters criticize Romeo for falling in love too quickly. Do you believe this is true? Does his tendency towards infatuation give the audience occasion to question Romeo's affection for Juliet?

This question obviously asks for a student opinion, but there is evidence to support both sides of the argument. In Act 2, Friar Laurence states his opinion that Romeo does indeed fall in love too quickly. Romeo is arguably in love with being in love more than he is in love with any particular woman. The speed with which his affections shift from Rosaline to Juliet – all before he ever exchanges a word with the latter – suggests that Romeo's feelings of 'love' are closer to lust than commitment. This interpretation is supported by the numerous sexual references in the play, which are even interwoven with religious imagery in Romeo and Juliet's first conversation. However, it also possible to argue that Romeo's lust does not invalidate the purity of his love. Romeo and Juliet celebrates young, passionate love, which includes physical lust. Furthermore, whereas Romeo was content to pine for Rosaline from afar, his love for Juliet forces him to spring into action. He is melancholy over Rosaline, but he is willing to die for Juliet. Therefore, a possible reading is that Romeo and Juliet's relationship might have been sparked by physical attraction, but it grew into a deep, spiritual connection.

Examine the contrast between order and disorder in Romeo and Juliet . How does Shakespeare express this dichotomy through symbols, and how do those motifs help to underline the other major themes in the play?

The contrast between order and disorder appears from the Prologue, where the Chorus tells a tragic story using the ordered sonnet form. From that point onwards, the separation between order and disorder is a common theme. Ironically, violence and disorder occurs in bright daylight, while the serenity of love emerges at night. The relationship between Romeo and Juliet is uncomplicated without the disorderly feud between their families, which has taken over the streets of Verona. The contrast between order and disorder underscores the way that Shakespeare presents love - a safe cocoon in which the lovers can separate themselves from the unpredictable world around them. At the end of the play, it becomes clear that a relationship based on pure love cannot co-exist with human weaknesses like greed and jealousy.

Many critics note a tonal inconsistency in Romeo and Juliet . Do you find the shift in tone that occurs after Mercutio's death to be problematic? Does this shift correspond to an established structural tradition or is it simply one of Shakespeare's whims?

After the Prologue until the point where Mercutio dies in Act III, Romeo and Juliet is mostly a comic romance. After Mercutio dies, the nature of the play suddenly shifts into tragedy. It is possible that this extreme shift is merely the product of Shakespeare's whims, especially because the play has many other asides that are uncharacteristic of either comedy or tragedy. For example, Mercutio's Queen Mab speech is dreamy and poetic, while the Nurse's colorful personality gives her more dimension than functional characters generally require. However, it is also possible to see the parallels between this tonal shift and the play's thematic contrast between order and disorder. Shakespeare frequently explored the human potential for both comedy and tragedy in his plays, and it is possible that in Romeo and Juliet , he wanted to explore the transition from youthful whimsy into the complications of adulthood. From this perspective, the play's unusual structure could represent a journey to maturity. Romeo grows from a petulant teenager who believes he can ignore the world around him to a man who accepts the fact that his actions have consequences.

Eminent literary critic Harold Bloom considers Mercutio to be one of Shakespeare's greatest inventions in Romeo and Juliet . Why do you agree or disagree with him? What sets Mercutio apart?

One of Shakespeare's great dramatic talents is his ability to portray functional characters as multi-faceted individuals. Mercutio, for example, could have served a simple dramatic function, helping the audience get to know Romeo in the early acts. Then, his death in Act 3 is a crucial plot point in the play, heightening the stakes and forcing Romeo to make a life-changing decision. Mercutio barely appears in Arthur Brooke's Romeus and Juliet , which Romeo and Juliet is based on. Therefore, Shakespeare made a point of fleshing out the character. In Mercutio's Queen Mab speech, Shakespeare has the opportunity to truly delve into the bizarre and often dangerous sexual nature of love. Further, Mercutio's insight as he dies truly expresses the horrors of revenge, as he declares a plague on both the Montague and Capulet families. He is the first casualty of their feud - and because he transcends functionality, the audience mourns his untimely death and can relate to Romeo's capricious revenge.

How does Shakespeare use symbols of gold and silver throughout the play? What does each element represent?

Shakespeare uses gold and silver as symbols to criticize human folly. He often invokes the image of silver to symbolize pure love and innocent beauty. On the other hand, he uses gold as a sign of greed or desire. For example, Shakespeare describes Rosaline as immune to showers of gold, an image that symbolizes the selfishness of bribery. Later, when Romeo is banished, he comments that banishment is a "golden axe," meaning that banishment is merely a shiny euphemism for death. Finally, the erection of the golden statues at the end of the play is a sign of the fact that neither Lord Capulet nor Lord Montague has really learned anything from the loss of their children. They are still competing to claim the higher level of grief. Romeo, however, recognizes the power of gold and rejects it - through him, Shakespeare suggests a distinction between a world governed by wealth and the cocoon of true love.

Do a character analysis of Friar Laurence. What motivates him? In what ways does this motivation complicate his character?

Friar Laurence is yet another character who transcends his functional purpose. When Romeo first approaches the Friar to plan his marriage to Juliet, the older man questions the young man's sincerity, since Romeo openly pined for Rosaline only a few days before. However, the Friar shows a willingness to compromise by agreeing to marry the young lovers nevertheless. What ultimately motivates Friar Laurence is his desire to end the feud between the Capulets and the Montagues, and he sees Romeo and Juliet's marriage as a means to that end. While his peaceful intentions are admirable, his devious actions to achieve them – conducting a marriage that he explicitly questions – suggests he is more driven by politics than by an internal moral compass. The fact that a religious figure would compromise one of the Church's sacraments (marriage) further suggests that the Friar wants his power to extend beyond the confines of his Chapel. He also displays his hubris by helping Juliet to fake her death, rather than simply helping her get to Mantua to be with Romeo. While Friar Laurence is not an explicit villain, his internal contradictions speak to Shakespeare's ability to create multi-faceted characters.

Should Romeo and Juliet be considered a classical tragedy (in which fate destroys individuals)? Or is it more a tragedy of circumstance and personality? Moreover, could the tragic ending of Romeo and Juliet have been avoided?

In classical tragedy, an individual is defeated by Fate, despite his or her best efforts to change a pre-determined course of events. A classical tragedy both celebrates an individual's willpower while lamenting the fact that the universe cannot be bested by mankind. The tragic elements in Romeo and Juliet are undeniable - two young lovers want nothing more than to be together and fall victim to an ancient feud and rigid societal conventions. However, while Romeo and Juliet's deaths result from human folly, the immovable power of fate also has a hand in sealing their destinies. For instance, Romeo and Juliet had many opportunities to simply run away together instead of being separated after Romeo is banished from Verona. Furthermore, many of the tragic occurrences are contingent on antagonistic characters running into one another, and then choosing to pursue vengeance rather than simply walk away. Based on this evidence, it is possible to read Shakespeare's intent as suggesting that behavioral adjustment can often prevent tragic events.

How is Romeo and Juliet a criticism of organized religion? Examine the play's secularism to develop your answer.

While Romeo and Juliet does not present explicit attacks against religion, Shakespeare reveals his skepticism of Christianity in subtle ways. In many ways, Romeo and Juliet must reject the tenets of Christianity in order to be together. In their first meeting, they banter, using religious imagery to share their sexual feelings. In this exchange, the lovers acknowledge the omnipresence of Christianity, but cheekily use religious images in an unexpected context. Further, Christian tradition would have required Juliet to submit to her father's desire, but instead, she manipulates his expectations to distract him from her real agenda. Even Friar Laurence, an explicitly religious figure, uses Christianity as a tool towards his own ends. In this way, the play implicitly suggests that the rigid rules of religion often work in opposition to the desires of the heart - and to pursue true happiness, one must throw off the shackles of organized faith.

Romeo and Juliet Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Romeo and Juliet is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Can you find verbal irony in the play? Where?

One example of verbal irony would be Romeo's reference to the poison he has purchased as a "sweet medicine". A cordial is a sweet liquor or medicine.

Come, cordial and not poison, go with me To Juliet's grave; for there must I use thee.

What do we learn about Mercutio in queen man speech?

The whole speech is based on pagan Celtic mythology. Mercutio’s speech is laced with sexual innuendo. The words “queen” and “mab” refer to whores in Elizabethan England. As his speech goes on we notice the subtext get increasingly sexual...

What does Romeo fear as he approaches Capulet house? What literary device would this be an example of?

Romeo feels something bad is going to happen.

I fear too early, for my mind misgives Some consequence yet hanging in the stars

Looks like foreshadowing to me!

Study Guide for Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet study guide contains a biography of William Shakespeare, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Romeo and Juliet
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Essays for Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.

• Unity in Shakespeare's Tragedies
• Fate in Romeo and Juliet
• Romeo and Juliet: Under the Guise of Love
• The Apothecary's Greater Significance in Romeo and Juliet
• Romeo and Juliet: Two Worlds

Lesson Plan for Romeo and Juliet

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Romeo and Juliet
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Romeo and Juliet Bibliography

E-Text of Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet e-text contains the full text of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.

• List of Characters

Wikipedia Entries for Romeo and Juliet

• Introduction
• Date and text

Romeo and Juliet

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How do Romeo and Juliet uphold and subvert other characters’ ideas about what it is to be a man or a woman—especially around sexuality?

Why might the death of Mercutio , who might at first seem like a figure of pure comic relief, be such an important turning point in the play?

Romeo and Juliet features a cavalcade of punny jokes. Why might the play use the wordplay it does? How does wordplay relate to the play’s themes?

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114 Romeo and Juliet Essay Titles & Examples

Looking for Romeo and Juliet essay titles? The world’s most tragic story is worth writing about!

🥀 Best Romeo and Juliet Essay Titles

🖤 romeo and juliet essay prompts.

• 🏆 Best Romeo and Juliet Essay Examples

📌 Interesting Romeo and Juliet Essay Topics

🎭 easy titles for romeo and juliet essays, 👍 exciting romeo and juliet title ideas, ❓ romeo and juliet essay questions.

Romeo and Juliet is probably the most famous tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is a story of two young lovers whose deaths reconcile their feuding families. Whether you are assigned an argumentative, persuasive, or analytical essay on this piece of literature, this article will answer all your questions. Below you’ll find Romeo and Juliet essay examples, thesis ideas, and paper topics.

• “Romeo and Juliet”: character analysis
• What role does the setting play in “Romeo and Juliet”?
• “Romeo and Juliet” and antique tradition of tragic love stories
• Theme of love in “Romeo and Juliet”
• What role does the theme of fate play in “Romeo and Juliet”?
• “Romeo and Juliet”: dramatic structure analysis
• Analyze the balcony scene in “Romeo and Juliet”
• “Romeo and Juliet”: feminist criticism
• The most famous adaptations of “Romeo and Juliet”
• “Romeo and Juliet” in the world culture

Keep reading to learn the key points you can use to write a successful paper.

• Original Italian Tale vs. Shakespeare’s Tragedy

The story described in Shakespeare’s tragedy is based on the Italian tale that was translated into English in the sixteenth century. Original version represents situations and lines from Romeo and Juliet lives.

Shakespeare added a few more main characters: Mercutio, Paris, and Tybalt. Numerous researches state that Shakespeare used three sources to write his tragedy: a novella Giulietta e Romeo by Matteo Bandello, written in 1554; a story Il Novellio, by Masuccio Salernitano; and the Historia Novellamente Ritrovata di Due Nobili Amanti, written by Luigi Da Porto.

You can learn more about these novels to find out similarities and differences between primary sources and Shakespeare’s work

• Love and Fate in Romeo and Juliet

If you’re going to write Romeo and Juliet essay on fate, read this paragraph. Fate is the fundamental concept of the plot. It makes us look at Romeo and Juliet affair as a single tragedy.

At the same time, another core element of the story is love. From the very beginning of the drama, you will clearly understand that the story will end in tragedy.

Shakespeare shows us the value of fate events.

However, love remains a crucial thematic element. The roles of Nurse, Paris, and Romeo show us a physical attraction, sympathy, and romantic affection while being the embodiment of love. Analyze what type of love is represented by each character in your essay. Explain, what do you think real love is.

• Value and Duality in Romeo and Juliet

Among the central idea to consider for your Romeo and Juliet essay titles is an issue of value and duality. Shakespeare actively uses duality in his tragedy by representing the deaths of Romeo and Juliet as reasons of tragedy in Verona, which brought new order to the city.

Friar Laurence also reveals ambiguity when he helped Romeo and thus forced young lovers to suffer in the end. The decision to marry couple had a reason to end the conflict between Montague and Capulets.

Romeo and Juliet’s example discloses happiness and blame brought by key episodes and change in society. In your writing, you may analyze how the effect of adoration had influenced Romeo, Juliet, and other people lives.

• Masculinity in Romeo and Juliet

A lot of Romeo and Juliet essay examples analyze the role of gender and masculinity in the tragedy. Mercutio is shown as a classic example of a real man: active, brave citizen.

He is a person of action. On the other hand, Romeo is described as a boy who seeks for love. Romeo and Juliet love thrown into quarreling world.

You can analyze the reasons why Romeo fights and kills Paris when finding him near Juliet body.

Covering all of the points mentioned above will help you to produce an outstanding Romeo and Juliet essay. Check the samples below to get inspiration and more ideas that you can use in your own paper.

🏆 Best Romeo and Juliet Topic Ideas & Essay Examples

• Different Types of Love Portrayed in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet Term Paper In regards to this communication, the issue of romantic love between Romeo and Juliet is highlighted7. The concept of true love is no where to be seen in Romeo and Juliet’s relationship.
• Symbolism and Foreshadowing in “Romeo and Juliet” The love of Juliet to Romeo at the early stages is described as the “bud love, expected to grow into a beauteous flower” when the two meet later.
• William Shakespeare “Romeo and Juliet” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” This paper examines romantic love as the source of joy and fulfillment in “Romeo and Juliet” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. Love is the source of pain and suffering in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”.
• The Renaissance Time During Romeo and Juliet Men and women performed different roles in the household; the man was responsible for farming while the woman took care of the poultry and dairy. In the upper-class, marriages were arranged and the parents chose […]
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• Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet: Act 1 Scene 4 Review In this speech alone we see Mercutio in direct opposition to all of the characters in Romeo and Juliet while at the same time we are provided an alternate point of view to the ideals […]
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• Franco Zeffirelli’s “Romeo and Juliet” Adaptation As the plot of the play develops and the reader gets more involved in the reading of the play, the constant need to read the stage directions has a disruptive effect on the reader’s interaction […]
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• Romeo and Juliet: Analysis of Play Being a tragedy, the story narrates the challenges two lovers, Romeo and Juliet, go through due to the enmity between their respective families. For example, the story of Juliet and Romeo presents a romantic and […]
• “Romeo and Juliet” and “The Winter’s Tale” Comparison Because of the importance of the role of plants and trees in the two abovementioned plays, it would be reasonable to consider each of the plays in detail.
• Love and Sadness in the First Act of “Romeo and Juliet” The love story of Romeo and Juliet is well known to most people, but one might forget that Romeo was initially not in love with Juliet; he met her later.
• Carlo Carlea’s Film “Romeo and Juliet” The new adaptation of my play generally made a controversial impression: the actors look suitable for their roles, but the internal theme of the play seems to be not so profoundly got.
• “Romeo and Juliet” Staged in Greek Style According to the analysis, it is evident that even though the story, plot, and characters stay the same, the change in the style of “Romeo and Juliet” will have a significant difference from the original […]
• Personality and Maturity in the Romeo and Juliet Play by W. Shakespeare While this idea is not always true in specific cases, it can be assumed to be true in the case of Romeo and Juliet because of the ways in which they act.
• Oh Tae-Suk’s Romeo and Juliet Oh Tae-suk is a South-Korean playwright and director, well-known for his masterful portrayal of modern Korean life and the use of the elements of the traditional Korean theater in his plays.
• What Shapes More Lovers’ “Story of Romeo and Juliet?” In Romeo and Juliet, love is the central theme of the tragedy, and the images of the protagonists are mostly shaped by the relationships and challenges they had to face.
• Friar Lawrence in “Romeo and Juliet” by Shakespeare The strengths of such friendships can be seen in the way Friar Laurence accepts and anticipates Romeo’s actions, showing that he is ready to hear him as a friend not as a priest, “Doth couch […]
• Nurse and Friar Laurence in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” The way Friar Laurence supported Romeo and Juliet to get Married, The way the Nurse is opposing in her regards of Romeo and Paris, When Friar Laurence clandestinely married them, the way the Nurse is […]
• Character Analysis of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” The Renaissance in Italy was a time in which historians and writers were most active, sparking a new wave of literacy in the Italian world, said to be the father of Renaissance Europe.
• “Analysis of Causes of Tragic Fate in Romeo and Juliet Based on Shakespeare’s View of Fate” by Jie Li The article is easy to read and makes a compelling case for the reasons that precipitated the tragedy in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
• “Romeo and Juliet”: Play and Film Preminger et al.claim that poetry is to be educative and pleasurable and both versions of “Romeo and Juliet” meet this criterion regardless of the fact that they had to appeal to the audience of a […]
• Romeo and Juliet: The Twentieth Century This is the first scene of the play. In the mean time, Capulet learns that Juliet has fallen in love with Romeo, and he is infuriated with the behavior of her daughter.
• Relationships Among Individuals in Shakespeare’s Plays The events that take place in Athens are symbolic in the sense that they represent the sequence of events during the day whereas the events in the forest represent the dream like circumstances.
• The Saga as Old as Time: Romeo and Juliet, Vampire Style Basing partially on the plot of Romeo and Juliet story and partially on the problems that modern teenagers face, The Twilight Saga offers a number of issues that are quite topical nowadays, such as the […]
• The Interpretation of William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” by Baz Luhrmann and Franco Zeffirelli
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• The Responsible for the Deaths of the Lovers in “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare
• The Role of Fate and Coincidence in William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”
• Comparing the Characters of Tybalt and Mercutio in William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”
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• The Use of Verbal, Situational, and Dramatic Irony in William Shakespeare’s Play “Romeo and Juliet”
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• The Importance of Act Three Scene One in “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare
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• The Themes of Love and Madness in William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” and “Romeo and Juliet”
• The Use of Imagery in the Play “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare
• How Does Shakespeare Create a Sense of Tragedy in the Final Scene of “Romeo and Juliet”?
• Are Romeo and Juliet Responsible for Their Deaths?
• How Does Shakespeare Create Drama and Tension in “Romeo and Juliet”?
• Why Does Shakespeare Create Sympathy for “Romeo and Juliet”?
• Is “Romeo and Juliet” Relevant to Modern Life?
• How Does Shakespeare Create a Dramatic Conclusion in Act Five Scene Three of “Romeo and Juliet”?
• How Are Adults Presented in “Romeo and Juliet”?
• How Are the Main Themes Presented in the Opening Sequence of Baz Luhrman’s Film “Romeo and Juliet”?
• Does “Romeo and Juliet” Deserve to Be Considered Pop Culture in the Elizabethan Era?
• Why Does “Romeo and Juliet” Attract Teenagers?
• How Did Shakespeare Introduce the Characters of “Romeo and Juliet”?
• How Does Act One Scene One Provide an Effective Opening to “Romeo and Juliet”?
• How Did Hate Cause Major Events in “Romeo and Juliet”?
• How Does Bas Luhrman’s Staging of Key Scenes “Romeo and Juliet”?
• Did Baz Luhrmann Manage to Gain Sympathy for “Romeo and Juliet” and Interest a Modern Audience?
• How Does Baz Lurhmann Make “Romeo and Juliet” More Accessible to a Modern Audience?
• How Does Conflict Manifest Itself in “Romeo and Juliet”?
• How Does Fate Affect “Romeo and Juliet”?
• Why Did Fate Lead to the Tragic Conclusion of “Romeo and Juliet”?
• How Does Lord Capulet Change Through the Course of the Play “Romeo and Juliet”?
• Why Does Love Change Romeo and Juliet’s Life?
• How Do Shakespeare Introduce Romeo and Juliet’s Relationship?
• Did Romeo and Juliet Ever Have Control Over What Happened to Them or Was It All Fate?
• How Does Shakespeare Make Romeo and Juliet Dramatically Effective?
• How Do Juliet’s Decisions Affect Her Growth and Her Relationships in “Romeo and Juliet”?
• How Does Shakespeare Portray Ambiguity in the Play “Romeo and Juliet”?
• How Are the Relationships in “Romeo and Juliet” Represented and Developed?
• Does the Film “Romeo and Juliet” Have the Same Dramatic Impact on the Audience as the Original Play?
• How Does Shakespeare Portray Love in “Romeo and Juliet”?
• How Does Shakespeare Present Conflict at the Start of “Romeo and Juliet”?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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1. IvyPanda . "114 Romeo and Juliet Essay Titles & Examples." December 7, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/romeo-and-juliet-essay-examples/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "114 Romeo and Juliet Essay Titles & Examples." December 7, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/romeo-and-juliet-essay-examples/.

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1001 Writing Prompts About Romeo and Juliet

March 18, 2021

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Romeo and Juliet are arguably the most popular and influential star-crossed lovers in literature. They are so well-known that even though it had been centuries since Shakespeare wrote the tragic play, people from around the world still make adaptations of it—from books and short stories to film and even web series. In fact, there was even a fantasy anime called Romeo x Juliet made in 2007, loosely based on the Shakesperian play. What’s more, there was also a British-American animated movie released in 2011 called Gnomeo and Juliet that portrayed the iconic couple as garden gnomes.  

The characters’ popularity is no surprise though because a lot of people enjoy stories that highlight eternal love even though they end in tragedy. 

If you are interested in making your own version of Romeo and Juliet, you might find these writing prompts helpful: 

• What would things have been like if the 2 families were on friendly terms?
• Give Juliet a boyfriend
• How would Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet be different if they both lived?
• What if Juliet did not store the poison in her mouth?
• Who is your favorite character in romeo and juliet?
• Romeo hates Juliet’s family
• Write a novelization of what happened after the ending of the play
• Why did Romeo and Juliet fall in love with each other anyway?
• Write an alternate ending to Romeo and Juliet
• What if instead of Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio ended up married to Tybalt?
• What if their families got along?
• Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?
• 1. Write Juliet’s letter to Romeo.
• Which character represents you? Write a scene that you would live out in the play from that character’s point of view.
• Write from Romeo’s perspective.
• What if others weren’t chasing Romeo and Juliet?
• Write a sequel about the next generation
• What is Juliet’s point of view?
• What if Tybalt was killed by a different person?
• Write about whether or not Juliet should’ve listened to nurse
• What would Jesus say about Romeo and Juliet?
• What if Romeo and Juliet ran off to Las Vegas instead?
• What if Juliet was a guy?
• Write a letter as Juliet to her cousin Benvolio
• What if Romeo was paralyzed?
• Write about Verona without gangs
• What if instead of Romeo and Juliet, the star-crossed lovers were Brad and Angelina Jolie-Pitt?
• Write a love story between a vampire and a human
• What if Juliet died?
• Write about what happened to Mercutio and Benvolio after the play
• What happens if Romeo and Juliet lived happily after?
• Write a Romeo and Juliet story from the point of view of a minor character
• How do you solve this eternal slang match that is to be or not to be questioned? Write a scene where they both change their minds.
• Write from the point of view of a minor character
• Write an ending where Romeo and Juliet live and they end up sitting in their home through the window watching their neighbors.
• Write a interpretation of the balcony scene
• A Kiss of a Book lover’s Dream
• It is in Verona, Italy that we find the protagonists of Shakespeare’s timeless tale, Romeo and.
• What if Tybalt survived and became a monster like he was before Romeo killed him?
• Use at least one of these prompts to start your essay.
• Write a happy ending for Romeo and Juliet where they live happily together
• Write a poem about the balcony scene of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
• What if Juliet had not been forced to drink the potion and had accepted her fate?
• Write an alternate ending to Romeo and Juliet.
• What if gangs fought over turf?
• Write a future Romeo and Juliet
• Write a funny version of Romeo and Juliet
• Write a love story for Juliet.
• Write a modern twist on Romeo and Juliet.
• Write a secret crush poem.
• What if Romeo and Juliet were in The Hunger Games?
• What if Romeo and Juliet were from a rival school
• Romeo dresses as Juliet for Halloween
• Write a scene in which Romeo breaks up with Juliet
• Reread Romeo and Juliet and black out all the lies. Add more lies.
• What if Romeo married Mercutio?
• What if Romeo didn’t die at the end?
• Write a moment in Romeo and Juliet in the style of an epic poem
• Where is Romeo Juliet and Paris buried?
• What does Romeo need to go on after the death of Juliet?
• I’ll practice, plan, and see you soon with some not-so-short short scenes in Italian about Romeo and Juliet!
• Any other ideas? Please comment below. Thank you.
• Write about a person who makes a Romeo and Juliet seem tame
• What if it was Romeo and Courgette?
• Write about trouble in paradise
• What if Romeo and Juliet had children?
• Different Families
• What if Romeo and Juliet Were Vampires?
• Write a Utopian view of romeo and juliet?
• Have Romeo and Juliet meet in a bar in the present day.
• Write a happy ending for Romeo and Juliet
• Do we ever see Romeo, alone, in the book?
• Write a sequel to Romeo and Juliet
• Anyone can edit this list to come up with guidelines for act four two, so that all know what to expect to pay a service to two, see should there be more than one attempt or should all be tried on writing the first poem.
• What if Tybalt didn’t care about his family’s feud?
• What if maybe Mercutio died in Romeo’s place?
• Write about the roles of family and friends in modern day Romeo & Juliet
• Write a sequel or prequel.
• Alfie slowly turned from the crestfallen Georges Pagot, and went for a walk above Rochegaderre to look out at the beautiful ocean. He sighed and punched a giant squid.
• Write a parody about the balcony scene or about how one of the two families convinces their child to marry someone different.
• Write a rap/hip-hop song about Romeo and Juliet.
• Dare your child write a paragraph about Romeo and Juliet as if the characters were real people and came to see a therapist because they just couldn’t work it out.
• Write another ending to Romeo and Juliet
• Write a short story that loosely matches the plot of Romeo and Juliet
• What if the Friar betrayed them?
• What if Romeo was Juliet?
• What if Petruchio and Kate were the star-crossed lovers?
• Do a new spin of Romeo and Juliet
• What if Romeo and Juliet went on a murder hunt?
• What if Romeo snuck in through a window?
• Write about a day in the life of Romeo and Juliet before or after the play of Romeo and Juliet occurred.
• Write a story about a sister or brother rivaling each other in love
• Write a Romeo and Juliet expanded universe where they live on. You can do whatever you want with this.
• Why didn’t they happily ever after happen the first time?
• Write an essay about how annoying you find Romeo and Juliet
• Write a modern love story that parallels Romeo and Juliet
• Write a scene that would have happened if Romeo and Juliet’s parents would have just listened to them in the first place.
• Write an alternate ending to R&J – what if Romeo was ok with the duel? Write one.
• Would Romeo fall in love with someone else? Write a short story about it. Write about Romeo and Juliet taking a road trip across America. Write a modern day Romeo and Juliet
• What if Romeo and Juliet decided to move to Nogales instead?
• What if Romeo and Juliet had owned a Blackberry and a hot English accent?
• How would Romeo have reacted if somebody told him about his relationship with Juliet?
• Romeo and Juliet fighting comically
• What if Romeo and Juliet were siblings?
• If Romeo and Juliet were siblings or first cousins?
• What if parents weren’t featured in the play?
• Write a biography as if it was Old French with iambic pentameter, speeches and all
• Who missed being an actor just before starring as Romeo and Juliet?
• Write a descriptive love scene as part of the love affair of Romeo and Juliet
• You have a choice to write a tragedy about family feuding and forbidden love, or the best Bromance ever. What do you choose and why?
• Write a Romeo and Juliet from a different point of view.
• What if instead of killing themselves, they ran away together?
• Write a sequel to the play
• Write a sequel to april twice if you are a woman script
• How did Romeo and Juliet get connected?
• Write a romeo and juliet myth
• How does this story relate to your life?
• What if Romeo was dumb?
• Write about your interpretation of the play.
• Other amazing sites
• Write a different ending to “Romeo and Juliet.”
• Write a story about the nurse, Felice
• Write about the funeral.
• How much money could both families make if they held a six month wedding that included two funerals and a wedding?
• Write a new ending for Romeo and Juliet
• What if Juliet’s nurse didn’t take a drink at the Capulet’s party?
• If Romeo had crashed into Juliet rather than the tree?
• Why do we call them “star-crossed lovers”?
• What if Juliet was stronger than Romeo?
• Write about Romeo and Juliet from somebody else’s perspective.
• What if Romeo didn’t think about avenging Mercutio’s cruel death?
• Copy the Romeo and Juliet characters into a modern setting
• What if Romeo didn’t really love Juliet?
• Explain why you want to teach Romeo and Juliet
• Write a raunchy screenplay version of ‘Romeo and Juliet’
• How would a girl react when her father forces her to become a “guest” at the Capulet’s estate?
• Write a comedy/revision of Shakespeare’s “Romeo & Juliet” by Paking
• Write a short story about what happened after the play ends!
• Write a modern day romeo and juliet with an unfaithful lover
• Write a story from Romeo’s point of view
• Write a follow-up scene that wasn’t included in the play or movie.
• What if Romeo found out that Juliet was actually a dude?
• What if they used a double?
• What if Romeo and Juliet were teenagers now?
• Write an argument between Benvolio and Tybalt
• Write about different couples’ relationships
• Write a romantic scene with the detective in the play.
• Write a scene about the star crossed lovers overcoming a conflict.
• What if Romeo and Juliet got revenge on the Capulets and Montagues?
• What if Romeo and Juliet were played by the same person?
• One boy, One girl Apart.
• Write a modern day Mercutio story
• Imagine you’re Romeo and write a break-up letter in iambic, pentameter, to Juliet.
• Write a spin-off about one of the side-characters in Romeo and Juliet
• Write a bonus scene of romeo and juliet!
• Rewrite the play from the fathers point of view.
• 8. Using this line of thinking, prescribe to me the greatest contemporary novel written in Marathi
• Write a love story with the same characters as Romeo and Juliet but set it in Vegas
• What if Juliet stopped eating lettuce?
• Write one of the street scuffles that happen between the rival families.
• And many, many more. If you want your description and reviews displayed here, you can opt to get the free listing for your website on the Christian-romance-books-blog .
• Add modern technology to the leads.
• How would Shelbie and Paris react if Romeo and Juliet didn’t do so?
• How have young people in the last couple decades rebelled against their parents in the same similar ways that Romeo and Juliet rebelled against theirs 500 years ago?
• While traveling through the woods their car breaks down. They start walking and come to a long winding driveway. This leads to a large house and a party going on. It is to raise scholarship funds for local students.
• Write about Romeo and Juliet as old people
• Where does Romeo and Juliet take place?
• What if Romeo was actually a werewolf?
• What if Jaques and Mercutio survived?
• What if Romeo had to win Juliet’s parents’ blessing?
• Which character is most like you?
• What if Romeo had a twin brother named Aaron and Luise had a twin sister named Olivia?
• Write about the modern orgy scene
• What if Romeo and Juliet’s first kiss wasn’t what they expected?
• What if Romeo and Juliet were brothers and sisters?
• Juliet, why did you drink the poison?
• What if Romeo and Juliet got married and lived happily ever after with a baby?
• Write about how these two met
• What if Juliet woke up?
• What if Romeo wasnít Italian, he was African American?
• Take one of the minor characters and create a story about them
• The Shakespeare’s Juliet BBC Television Movie
• Write a scene between Juliet and one of the parents
• Change the type of person Romeo and Juliet were
• Is there a new Romeo and Juliet in your high school?
• Write a love poem to another person in Juliet’s place.
• What if Romeo went to a different high school?
• Write a dialogue between Juliet and Romeo’s parents with each parent believing that the other is responsible for their children’s deaths.
• What if Romeo went looking for Juliet?
• Write about the first day that Romeo and Juliet met
• What would the world look like if they didn’t die?
• Describe a time when you felt so angry you weren’t sure what to do
• What if one of them went off to war – and then died?
• Write a Shakespearean version of Fight Club.
• Write a poem about their lives after the play.
• Looking more like a king than a prince!
• What if Paris killed Romeo?
• A Romeo and Juliet dream sequence
• What if one of the rival families kidnapped Juliet and asked for a ransom, but then Romeo saved her?
• Did Romeo get to go to the prom?
• Write an alternative ending to Romeo and Juliet
• What is one thing you would change about romeo and juliet?
• What if Romeo had met Juliet at the ball instead of her?
• The following is a list of writing prompts based on The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
• Write about a Romeo and Juliet you know
• What if Shakespeare was your grandpa?
• Write another ending to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
• “Verona Beach”
• What if they lived happily ever after?
• What would you have done if you were in Romeo & Juliet’s place?
• Write a scene where Romeo and Juliet challenge Paris to a game of football
• Visit the Romeo and Juliet category page for even more writing prompt ideas.
• Write about Laura and Dante
• What do you think really happened between Romeo and Juliet after their deaths?
• What if Romeo and Juliet watched reality TV before they fell in love?
• Write a sequel to Romeo and Juliet.
• What if Romeo and Juliet were sworn enemies?
• Write a new ending to Romeo and Juliet
• Being that this is a SHAKESPEARE REVIEW we have to get to my thoughts on the movie adaption!
• Write a Romeo and Juliet plot-twister
• Take the bad guy from Romeo and Juliet and rewrite it without the supernatural elements and see how differently the story will play out.
• What if Romeo and Juliet were 15-17?
• Write “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” from Mercutio’s point of view.
• What if Juliet doesn’t get to take her potion?
• What are some interesting things you notice about Romeo and Juliet?
• Write a scene in which Romeo deserts Juliet
• Write the conversation Juliet had with her mother that leads to Juliet faking her death and climbing out the window.
• What if Juliet didn’t drink the poison?
• Romeo attends cheerleader tryouts and thinks he’s going to get cut.
• The Most Interesting Love Story of All Time
• What if the Capulets and Montagues were like the Hatfields and McCoys?
• WORD STRENGTHS
• Write a love story between Romeo and Juliet’s parents.
• What if Juliet’s dad grew marijuana and MacBeth grew cannabis?
• How could Romeo and Juliet serve in the military?
• Write a piece inspired by Inside/Out
• The fall out of their relationship
• How would Romeo and Juliet be different if they were alive today?
• Write an alternate ending.
• What if Tybalt and Juliet were secretly lovers?
• What if Romeo had decided that Juliet was a little far for him?
• If Romeo and Juliet had smartphones?
• What if Juliet killed herself?
• How would the plot differ from Shakespeare’s story?
• How would you change the ending to the play?
• Write a story about why Romeo and Juliet died.
• What if they did?
• What if Romeo and Juliet were computers?
• Write the story from another person’s point of view
• What if Romeo and Juliet were a couple of bitter old people?
• Write a love sonnet to your favorite book
• What would happen if Romeo himself killed Tybalt?
• Juliet’s dad thinks it is inappropriate for Romeo to call Juliet by her first name. Who does he think he is though, his daughter is at the crux of the entire familial conflict, she’s the one who’s been impregnated by a lothario who can barely keep his name straight. It’s to laugh.
• What if Juliet was disappointed by Romeo?
• If Romeo and Juliet are alive today, how would they plan to meet?
• Write about a moment in Romeo and Juliet.
• What if Romeo and Juliet met differently?
• Write about an alternate ending
• Write a poem about Romeo and Juliet
• What advice can Juliet give to Romeo?
• Write about the characters when they are older.
• Romeo and Juliet’s deathbed monologues
• What if Romeo never met Juliet?
• What if Romeo met Juliet after she died?
• How might things have changed if Romeo was 16 and Juliet was 14?
• What if Romeo and Juliet were still alive today?
• You have been forced to choose love as your theme for a play.
• Write about Shakespeare failing math.
• Write a verse novel…
• What if Juliet was already married to Paris?
• A woman sees her family fighting and can only take so much and escapes to Rome where she falls in love with a man whose family happens to be fighting with her family as well. The title of the movie is ” Capulet and Montague “
• Write about a character of any age from about 13 till about 16 or 17?
• Write a tragedy using modern technology/setting.
• Compare and contrast Romeo and Juliet to William Shakespeare to today’s teens
• Write a sequel to the “Romeo and Juliet”-type relationship you selected the prompt for.
• Write about “what happened next?”
• Write a story about Romeo and Juliet in middle school
• Did Romeo and Juliet have any children?
• Write the Dr. Seuss version of Romeo and Juliet
• What if Juliet woke up from “O Romeo, Romeo!”
• What if Tybalt didn’t die? Write a story imagining things from his point of view, trying to get revenge against the Capulet family.
• Write about Romeo as a homeless person
• How would things be different today if Romeo and Juliet hadn’t died?
• Break into conversation about the story of Romeo and Juliet.
• Make a short film about Romeo and Juliet
• What if Nero found out about the affair?
• How would Romeo react to Juliet Act 3, Scene 5?
• How would the story have turned out if Romeo and Juliet were alive today?
• rewrite the ending of romeo and juliet
• Write a story of why Juliet committed suicide
• Have you ever stolen anything, if so do you feel bad about it?
• Describe the theme of Romeo and Juliet in a present-day setting.
• Write about a character that has never loved anyone or anything
• How would the movie play out if it was in Modern times?
• Write a parallel play to Romeo & Juliet, so they both play it and they watch each other’s play
• What if Friar knows nothing?
• Write a tragedy where Romeo and Juliet survive
• Write a love story between two pets
• Write a story about a vampire child hungering for a sip of human blood
• You could write from a different character’s perspective
• What if Romeo returned to sing a romantic duet with Juliet? In Act 5 of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Romeo hastens to the Capulet’s tomb to visit Juliet there. Exhausted from days of travel, loneliness, and anguish … he tenderly opens the door to their resting place and walks inside. It is dark with only a little moonlight providing the only light … just enough so that Romeo can make out the two graves. Here he talks to his sweet Juliet and he hears her answers back in a sort of echoey way. He tries to embrace her, embracing only air. Then … Romeo wipes his tears and kisses Juliet’s lips … drawing blood again for himself, tasting and drinking his own love’s blood. Here the romance is not only deep but individual … Romeo talks with Juliet … he hears and sees her and feels her presence… Juliet is a real breath-of-life character here. She lives in the tomb with Romeo … reality disappears and
• What if Romeo had been fat? What if Juliet had been skinny? Would they still have gotten together in the play?
• After the balcony scene, what if Romeo and Juliet remain beneath the balcony?
• Write a monologue for Romeo to Juliet
• What if Juliet and Romeo were brother and sister?
• What if the tomb scene took place in a seedy motel today?
• What if it was all an act?
• Write a serious, epic and more traditional story in the style of the play.
• How would the lives of either Romeo or Juliet differ if they hadn’t died in each of these hypothetical scenarios?
• How would Romeo and Juliet have grown up?
• Write seven reasons why that is a stupid idea
• Write an alternate ending for Romeo and Juliet
• What if Romeo had a twin?
• What if Romeo was a jerk?
• Write about the differences between Romeo and Juliet and Emma and Mr. Knightly or Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy.
• Why do you think we still study the story of Romeo and Juliet?
• Write a summary of how Romeo and Juliet could have ended
• What did Juliet have in mind in the scene where she’s making a potion and Romeo comes in?
• Write your own ending of romeo and juliet
• Write a scene involving someone other than romeo and juliet that happened during Act 2
• What if Romeo met Juliet when they were an old married couple?
• How would you rewrite Romeo and Juliet if they were jocks?
• What if Romeo and Juliet never met?
• What if Juliet didn’t take the potion?
• Write from Romeo’s  perspective
• What if Romeo and Juliet ended up together, but Daggett was kidding?
• Write about the story from one character’s point of view.
• Write about your favorite moments from Romeo and Juliet.
• What if Shakespeare didn’t write his play?
• Romeo and Juliet are modern day high school students.
• Write the missing book scene.
• Write a companion piece to Romeo and Juliet
• Write about Juliet and her parents
• Write about Romeo and Juliet’s kids meeting.
• Write a song about it
• List things that are double-edged swords
• Make it a wedding and describe how hot it was in there
• How would the world be different today if Romeo and Juliet had a happy ending?
• Is Romeo gay?
• What if Romeo was bisexual?
• What if Romeo and Juliet were superheroes?
• What if Romeo was gay?
• Have both Romeo and Juliet die at the end of your short story.
• Explain why Romeo and Juliet should still be together.
• Write a script for a play based on Romeo and Juliet.
• What if Romeo was betrayed by someone?
• How would your family react to you marrying someone already in a relationship?
• Write a fantasy story with Romeo and Juliet characters and creatures.
• Write a tale in which Juliet is “forever thirteen” and deals with the grown-up troubles first hand.
• What did they do after they got married?
• Write about a family feud
• Make up a character for Romeo to fall in love with.
• In this form, you are writing a letter to a dead person, only it will be a person that has still been alive at one time. The page linked above has the table you will fill out. Next is a blank form for you to write on. And finally a worksheet for you to fill out, too. At the end, there is an analysis of Anne Frank’s diary.
• What if Shakespeare didn’t write Romeo and Juliet?
• Write the story of Romeo and Juliet’s children
• Write a 100 word controversy
• What if Romeo and Juliet had a happy ending?
• What if Romeo and Juliet are reincarnated?
• How do you get around those pesky deaths in the prologue?
• Bree Bolton of the “Notting Hill Review” called it a “fun and creepy modern day retelling”.
• What if Juliet was only pretending to die?
• Write a story that starts off a day in Romeo and Juliet’s life.
• What if there was a mix up on the days it was supposed to take place? Write about the results.
• How would Juliet tell her parents about Romeo?
• Write a journal entry as someone related to someone in the story romeo and juliet
• Write a romeo and Juliet scene from a different character’s point of view.
• What if Juliet drank the potion and became immortal?
• What if Romeo and Juliet became superheroes?
• Write a sequel to Montague and Capulet
• What if Mercutio and Benvolio were Romeo and Juliet’s friends?
• Write a goodbye letter to the characters of Romeo and Juliet
• Write a better ending to Romeo and Juliet
• Write a modern day Juliet and rewrite the balcony scene.Have them meet in the parking lot and drive straight to Vegas?
• What if Romeo and Juliet was set in space?
• How would the play be different if you changed it into a musical?
• Write a multi character version of Romeo and Juliet with the Starcrossed Series characters
• What if Shakespeare wrote
• What if Romeo and Juliet fell in love with other people?
• Write a story about Jaques
• What if Romeo and Juliet were high school students?
• How does Mercutio die in the movie?
• What happens between the famous balcony scene and the end?
• Write a science fiction hijinks version of Romeo and Juliet, where everyone ends up happily ever after.
• What if Romeo didn’t smash Tybalt’s head in?
• What if Romeo discovered he was gay?
• What if Mercutio had lived instead?
• What if Tybalt didn’t die?
• What if Romeo and Juliet met 20 years later, how do they still feel about each other?
• What happened next?
• What if Juliet rocked it and became a Bounty Hunter and tracked down people like her and Romeo?
• What if Romeo and Juliet didn’t say anything on the balcony?
• Write a scene where Romeo and Juliet aren’t named Romeo and Juliet.
• What if the story of Romeo and Juliet was a tragedy to be recorded by Gildeon” Gloudsbard, the greatest storyteller of Ankh-Morpork and hero of his time?
• What if these families lived on the same street today?
• What if Romeo went to the Capulet party? What if Juliet had a friend like friar Lawrence?
• What if Juliet didn’t drink the poison?….
• What if Romeo was an editor at a publishing house? What happens?
• What if someone other than Romeo killed Tybalt?
• What if Lord and Lady Montague were gay?
• Romeo and Juliet of Old Drunk City
• Write how Romeo and Juliet met.
• Write a scene of Romeo and Juliet from Paris’ POV.
• Write a story according to what you see in Sonnet 73
• Write about the real romeo and juliet
• A Nurse’s Guide to Romeo and Juliet …
• Write a Romeo and Juliet story from a parallel universe.
• What if Romeo and Juliet were actually robots?
• What if Romeo didn’t follow Juliet into the tomb and she died all by herself?
• What if Romeo was a bitch? What if Juliet was a player?
• Write about a time on the street you could have met Romeo or Juliet
• What if Romeo and Juliet wasn’t a tragedy?
• Write a secret diary entry from Romeo or Juliet.
• Write about a sibling of Romeo and/or Juliet
• Explain to your child just what exactly what is going on with Hamlet
• What if Romeo was killed by Juliet?
• What if Romeo didn’t listen to his family and instead went with Juliet?
• Why do you think Shakespeare didn’t include Romeo’s lines during the balcony scene?
• What would you do to make Romeo and Juliet jealous?
• What if Dr. and Mrs. Capulet joined the marriage?
• Write a 30 second commercial for  Romeo and Juliet just after…
• Write about a group of lovers during a time of war, or during a reign of terror
• What if there was a third Shakespearean character?
• Write an alternative ending
• Write a funny take on both families trying to decide who gets to marry their child.
• What’s the one line Shakespeare forgot to include in Juliet’s famous speech?
• What happened to Romeo and Juliet after Act 5?
• Write a scene in which Romeo and Juliet speak to one another before they actually meet.
• How about if Olivia was the one to fall for her cousin?
• What would the timeline of Romeo and Juliet have looked like had their relationship lasted?
• What if Juliet was the Prince/Princess?
• Write a twisted take on the play “Romeo and Juliet”.
• Write a scene where Romeo and Juliet take a road trip across the country?
• Write a poem or song about Romeo and Juliet
• Write a parody of Romeo and Juliet
• Why do you like or loathe the “Romeo and Juliet”?
• Where is Friar Lawrence buried?
• Are Romeo and Juliet bad people?
• Write a dating website ad about Romeo and Juliet you’d post on Craigslist
• What was a romantic tragedy like before Romeo and Juliet?
• What if Romeo and Juliet were framed?
• Write about a time in your life when you experienced first love. Add new scenes from romeo and juliet and so on.
• Write about your interpretation of what happened between Romeo and Rosaline.
• What if Juliet didn’t drink the poison and pretended to die and ended up with Romeo?
• What if Romeo and Juliet were teenagers in the 60s?
• What if Romeo and Juliet lived in different countries?
• Write a post rock epic music number
• Write a telenovela version of Romeo and Juliet
• “Juliets” is a play on the words that end the famous line in romeo and juliet
• Write the next 10 lines of Romeo and Juliet after”… and fair is foul, and foul is fair…”
• What would happen if Romeo and Juliet woke up from their death seamless slumber?
• Romeo meets Juliet’s mom
• Write a children’s version of this play
• Write about a high school version of Romeo and Juliet?
• What if Romeo decided not to commit suicide? Would he live happily with Juliet?
• Write about how Romeo and Juliet met for the first time.
• Write a story from one of the character’s viewpoints.
• What if Romeo wasn’t so sad after Juliet died?
• How would Romeo and Juliet have been different if it was set in the present?
• Write a scene about Romeo and Juliet’s parents
• Would Romeo and Juliet have survived in this current decade?
• Why was Mercutio killed? What does this reveal about sword fighting in Shakespeare’s time?
• Write about an affair between Rome and Juliet.
• Write a modern script for the play, Romeo and Juliet .
• Write a scene from a Romeo and Juliet movie
• Write a love story in six words
• What if either Romeo or Juliet had siblings? If so, what would it be like?
• What if Romeo didn’t have a driveby shooting death?
• Write a modern and/or erotic version of Romeo and Juliet.
• What’s the ending to Romeo and Juliet?
• What if Romeo was a voyeur?
• You can fuel your brain with an extra dose of creativity by playing with…
• Write about Romeo and Juliet’s children.
• Write a telegram message to Juliet from Romeo
• What if Romeo didn’t drink the drug, and decided to spend his life with Juliet?
• Plot the movie Romeo and Juliet you’d make.
• Is there still such a thing as true love, and if you believe so then what can be done to achieve it?
• Jealousy is always a fun topic
• Write a novelization of an alternate ending of Romeo and Juliet
• Write a story about a supporting character from Romeo and Juliet
• What if Romeo and Juliet died peacefully in their sleep at age one hundred?
• What if Romeo and Juliet had competed for Miss/Mr. Right?
• List all the ways Juliet is smarter than Romeo.
• Write a story from Juliet’s point of view. What if Romeo wasn’t real?
• What if Romeo and Juliet as animals?
• What if Romeo and Juliet lived Happily Ever After?
• What if Romeo and Juliet went to a high-school prom?
• Write a story where William hears about what is going on behind his back!
• Write a play with two starring characters only
• Romeo and Juliet beg the prince to make them husband and wife
• Write a love story inspired by Romeo and Juliet but with different young…
• Write about Romeo and Juliet’s summer fling
• What if the play was more modern like how William Shakespeare actually wrote the play?
• What if Romeo and Juliet ended up together?
• Write from the perspective of a villager or citizen of Verona.
• What if everyone lived happily ever after?
• Write a true account of the afterlife of Juliet.
• Write a secret ending to Romeo and Juliet
• Write a link to Romeo and Juliet in this day and age.
• Write a short story beginning with “Juliet was so bored…”
• Write an angsty scene between Romeo and Juliet.
• Write a sad story. Then turn it into a happy story.
• Teenage love
• Write a scene from the perspective of Romeo’s cousin who wants Juliet for himself.
• What if the families never met?
• What if Romeo and Juliet were looking around the cemetery next to Friar Lawrence’s Friar’s barn?
• What if Romeo and Juliet were really vampires from across the tracks?
• Write a historical drama of Romeo and Juliet
• What was the real reason for the feud?
• What if Romeo and Juliet survived?
• When you set up your board, make sure it is interesting and enticing for the reader to pick up your book. At least be able to interest one person in your novel.
• What if Romeo and Juliet were alive today?
• After the wedding, write a short story about how Juliet feels about her new husband. Ask yourself, does she love him? Why?
• What if Romeo was gay? What if Juliet was a guy?
• Explain why the story of Romeo and Juliet has been so popular for the past 400 years.
• The Montagues and Capulets decide to start afresh. Their kids fall in love with each other. Write about that.
• What would happen if Juliet was a man?
• Write a love letter to your crush
• Write a scene where Juliet talks about Romeo’s untimely death.
• Create a resolution to their story.
• Why did Romeo choose Juliet?
• Write a dialogue between Romeo and Juliet
• Write a story where the two main characters are perfectly happy with the circumstances of their relationship.
• Write about a modern day girl who kills herself over the lack of a guy
• What if Romeo had come first?
• Write a modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet.
• What if Mercutio didn’t die?
• Write a parody of the end of Romeo and Juliet
• Write an alternate ending
• Below is a list of elements you should expect to find in a Wuthering Heights essay.
• Now that you have finished writing for today you can rely on your selected writing prompt and begin to write.
• How would their story end?
• What would happen in a modern version of Romeo and Juliet?
• Write a story where their parents don’t die because of the feud
• What would Shakespeare say to his/her audience?
• Romeo and Juliet are time travellers. What is the future like?
• If Shakespeare had lived would he have been murdered like Romeo?
• Write a fantasy story approximately a Juliet in a modern-day setting
• Write a parallel remstar story with…
• Write a piece from one of Mercutio’s points of view.
• What if Romeo didn’t fight Tybalt?
• Write about a version of Romeo and Juliet in which Tybalt and Mercutio are the main characters
• Write a fictional story about the origins of Romeo and Juliet
• Write a short story for Valentine’s Day
• Write the reconciliation scene of Romeo and Juliet
• Someone gets stabbed and someone gets shot.
• What are other ways Romeo and Juliet’ could have ended?
• Write  a love poem from Juliet’s perspective
• What if Juliet lived with her parents and Romeo with the Montague family?
• What if one of the families betrothed a child to a family that they had a feud with?
• Write an alternate ending to the play.
• Just survive a school shooting
• What if Mercutio was sleeping with Juliet all along?
• A Romeo and Juliet Story
• Write a post-apocalyptic vision of Romeo and Juliet
• In what way would Romeo be used as a verb and suggest that he is a seasoned lover and great Romeo?
• Write a new ending using the text of the play, but have them kill each other
• Write a different ending to Rome…
• Was anyone else involved in the feud between the families?
• What if the nurse had brought Romeo in to see Juliet before she was pronounced dead?
• Write about Romeo and Juliet on their wedding day.
• Write your own dialogue between Romeo and Juliet
• Re-write an original story different countries use to make it modern
• Why is death so important in the two tales?
• Write about your relationship with your significant other inspired by the witty love story of Juliet and Romeo
• Write a prequel to Romeo and Juliet
• What would have happened had there never been a Romeo and Juliets?
• What would it be like to read Romeo and Juliet for the first time?
• What if Juliet was still alive?
• What if Romeo was killed in Paris?
• Write a love poem/song using Shakespeare’s language, but about food.
• Write about a candlelit Shakespeare recital!
• What if Mercutio was the main character for the story…
• What if it was Romeo’s birthday and Juliet came to surprise him?
• What if Juliet was actually a man?
• Write a cinderella juliet
• Romeo and Juliet was ‘a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.’ Discuss.
• Write what happened the morning after they got married, but they both woke up with a huge hangover.
• What if Romeo hadn’t been banished?
• Write a poem that could have been what Romeo said at the beginning of Act 1, scene 1, when Friar Lawrence interrupts his eight lines with “There is no time to lose.”
• Describe the relationship between Juliet and her Nurse.
• Write a love poem about someone you haven’t told you’re in love with.
• Write one true sentence.
• Who do you think did the killing?
• Create a modern day version of an antagonist in Romeo & Juliet
• What if Romeo and Juliet were preteens?
• Write about Juliet as “The Tragedy Queen Writing all Wrongs”
• Alternate endings to Romeo and Juliet
• What if Romeo kills Juliet’s cousin Tybal?
• Write a scene where Juliet says no to Romeo.
• What if there were a sequel to Romeo and Juliet?
• What if one or both of them was immortal?
• Write a romeo and juliet reenactment
• What if Romeo and Juliet still liked each other, but were from the McCarthy trial?
• Write about the star-crossed love between a geek and a cheerleader Write about the star-crossed love between a zombie and her boyfriend
• Write a modern day Romeo and Juliet story. This can be done by anyone. The requirements of the story is that Romeo and Juliets parents are both alive, the two main characters are not related in any way, they are not made for each other, there is a impediment that keeps them from their love and other than being called Romeo and Juliet, no more mention is made of Shakespeare’s characters or story .
• What if Juliet lied to Romeo?
• What if Romeo and Juliet were the happy couple?
• 9. Write a story where “Dead! Dead! Dead!” is the refrain that repeats
• What if Romeo and Juliet only got married to please their parents?
• Write about someone who commits suicide before or after the main character of Romeo and Juliet dies.
• Write about Romeo and Juliet’s first date
• Write a verse sonnet about being left over from a boy and a girl
• Write about your very own St. Valentine.
• How would you solve Romeo’s and Juliet’s problem?
• Write about the leading up to the ending, write it from another character
• What modern play is Romeo and Juliet most similar to?
• My favorite scene in Romeo and Juliet is when…
• What if the roles were reversed – Romeo was the Capulet, Juliet was the Montague?
• What if Mercutio was a vampire?
• How would the audience look at Romeo and Juliet differently if they didn’t die and were stuck together for eternity?
• Write the Romeo and Juliet sequel
• What would you name the baby that resulted from the union of Romeo and Juliet?
• Create a love triangle involving any members of the famous love duo.
• What if Romeo and Juliet lived?
• Write about what your parents would have done if you had dated someone from school out of caste?
• Introduce a new character to the tale.
• Translate Romeo’s soliloquy into Shakespeare’s native language, or any language.
• What type of job did Romeo have?
• How would the play play out if Romeo and Juliet didn’t die?
• Write a romance sequel to Romeo and Juliet
• Shakespeare Theme
• Do you get the same “shipping” vibe as me? If so tell me about it!
• Write a poem about Romeo, Juliet, and a chainsaw
• Write a modern love story about two people of different social status
• What If Romeo didn’t go to Tybalt?
• A collection of monologues that illustrates the relationships in Romeo and Juliet.
• Write Slight Romeo!
• Write a tragedy based on a pop star
• Write about a romeo and juliet you would hate to have control of you.
• Write a remake of the balcony scene but make it PG13
• Write a scene in which Romeo trips on a rock and bumps his head
• What if the Friar planned to rescue Romeo?
• Write an essay about how the spirits of Romeo and Juliet visited their families to correct their mistakes
• In the 1990s a BBC mini-series was done called Shakespeare’s Women. These films were all set in the time that Shakespeare’s plays were set in. In Romeo and Juliet Julia Worsley played Juliet. Fill in the Juliet from Shakespeare’s Women form to get writing today!
• Write about someone finding a diary that belonged to a rich, Renaissance teenager.
• Juliet and Romeo went into hiding after death. What was their life like?
• Write a love ballad to Julius Caesar
• Or if you just found a way around it?
• What if Juliet was killed before they could get married?
• Create a happy ending to Romeo and Juliet
• What if Romeo was still a criminal, other things have stayed the same?
• Bring a modern day character into the play
• Write a series of sonnets
• Write about love gone wrong.
• What if the prince did not soothe Juliet’s death?
• What if Romeo wasn’t Romeo? Write this version as carefully as you wrote the first
• Write a non-heterosexual version of Romeo and Juliet where most of the dialogue is lifted directly from the play…
• Here are the settings descriptions of my five prompts!! !
• Write a story in which Romeo commits suicide.
• Write a love letter using the writings of romeo and juliet
• What if Juliet and Romeo figured out a way around their families’ disapproval?
• What if Romeo was really ugly?
• What if Romeo and Juliet had twins?
• What if Romeo didn’t go to the party with his friends?
• Write a story of how Romeo … Read more
• Write a poem
• Write an alternate version of the play
• Write an Act 4 excerpt from Romeo and Juliet
• Explain how Romeo could look like a bust?
• What if Romeo and Juliet were tweens?
• What if Romeo and Juliet were older?
• Write a follow up by another character
• Write about a modern day couple who were secretly nicknamed and compare it with the relationship between Romeo and Juliet.
• In another life, Romeo would battle for Juliet
• Write about someone you know that commits suicide
• Write an AU where Romeo is the one who gets Juliet’s lips stained
• The following is a list of questions related to writing. Here are 29 questions about the romeo and juliet love theme, plus a free handout with my favorite responses. The questions are designed to get your mind thinking in a productive way about Rosemary and Grave questions related to reading, writing and literature.
• What if Romeo and Juliet turned out to be from opposing sides of a war?
• What if Romeo and Juliet had/had gotten a divorce?
• Write about a cornier than thou Romeo.
• Juliet’s Autopsy Report
• Explore the similarities/differences between Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet Edit Sample Edit
• What would Romeo and Juliet be like if they were from the future?
• What if Romeo and Juliet were cat lovers?
• Write another scene from Act 1 of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet that didn’t make it to the big screen.
• Write a story called More that’s not in this book
• If Shakespeare were alive today, what would he be doing?
• What if the characters of Romeo and Juliet were zombies?
• Write a star-crossed lovers story with a different ending.
• Write about your favorite Shakespeare play
• Write a poem that rolls the play inside out, so that Juliet’s the one who’s “crazy” about Romeo and Romeo’s just curious about her.
• Write about Romeo and Juliet living happily ever after.
• Write a sad holiday poem about Romeo and Juliet.
• Write about a reverse Romeo and Juliet
• What is your favorite part of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet?
• Find more Romeo and Juliet prompts at the bottom of this page.
• What if Romeo and Juliet couldn’t be together?
• What if Juliet had some magical power?
• Write a play about someone trying to rewrite Romeo and Juliet
• Write five snarky things about Romeo and Juliet.
• Write a compilation of short stories that explore the lives of Romeo and Juliet after the events of the play, what these might be would depend on how the play ended.
• Write a Christmas story where we find out that the people we want to be happy, are the people who enjoy their lives at Christmas the most?
• If Romeo and Juliet joined a sports club, which sports would they play?
• Why is Romeo jealous?
• How angry would the families of Romeo and Juliet be if they were alive today?
• Write from another character’s perspective—Mercutio’s view, Tybalt’s view
• Write about Romeo pulling a prank before Mercutio dies.
• Write a cyberpunk or future world version
• Have each student write an essay about the prompt. Make sure to discuss the importance of using actual text from the play as a reference.
• Write a romeo and juliet poem that is just one sentence
• What if they had a baby? What would that look like?
• How does Romeo and Juliet fit in a modern world?
• What if the play was more of a comedy?
• You Caught Me In An Open Mood
• Write about why you think one of the parents wouldn’t let the lovers be together?
• What if Romeo were gay and instantly fell in love with Mercutio?
• Write a scene from the play with your own take on Romeo & Juliet’s first meeting
• Write about an alternate ending to the play Romeo and Juliet
• What would you change in Romeo and Juliet?
• Write a fantasy romance involving Romeo and Juliet
• What if instead of ending with a kiss, it ended with a slap in the face?
• Write a scene where the two lovers kiss for the first time.
• Juliet is the genius of the family, Romeo is the famous artist, who sends his paintings to museums. One painting in particular, raises eyebrows so Juliet flees her own father and turns to Romeo. Romeo accompanies her to a secret town where discoveries about possibly about her family are made.
• Write a very short story! Use only 1 – 5 sentences
• What if Romeo and Juliet had a home birth?
• Write a secret love language of Romeo and Juliet
• Write about Rebecca – the theme of a woman stuck in her father’s house
• What if Romeo was the one to die?
• Write a love triangle/quadrangle with outside factors threatening the relationship.
• If you do something creative with these prompts, leave a link in the comments section to show off what you have written.
• Use one character to describe the emotions of the other.
• Write a scene you wished had been in the play.
• What if Romeo and Juliet spoke in old English? What if they spoke in a different language?
• Write a play from the villain’s point of view
• Write about your favorite scandalous moment of the play
• What if Romeo was good with weapons
• Romeo and Juliet
• Write about The Capulets fighting against the Montagues
• What if Romeo and Juliet were a rock band?
• How is Romeo like you and how is he like me?
• Write about the Nurse’s death
• What if Romeo killed Tybalt instead of Mercutio? What if Juliet killed Tybalt instead of killing herself?
• What if Romeo and Juliet started in modern day?
• Write your own Romeo and Juliet sequel
• Write a story from Tybalt’s perspective. What was he actually thinking?
• Write a scene where Romeo comes to Juliet’s bedroom after the party.
• Write a disabled Romeo and Juliet
• How has modern warfare influenced the story of Romeo and Juliet?
• Write about a conversation between Romeo and Juliet
• Write a Hater version of Romeo and Juliet
• What if in the next chapter, the nurse wakes the lovers up and they look at each other and apologize, feeling like it was just a dream?
• What if the characters in Romeo and Juliet weren’t named Romeo and Juliet?
• Your Tweets. They will be your downfall.
• Write about the famous sword-fight between Romeo and Tybalt
• Write a funny poem about romeo and juliet
• Write a poem using a contemporary setting and language
• What if there wasn’t a couple named Romeo and Juliet
• List ten things you don’t know about love
• Is Romeo truly in love with Juliet, or are they just in love with the idea of love?
• and some more Romeo and Juliet related writing prompts, including a love story check out this great resource.
• Compare Romeo’s home life to Capulet’s loyalty to Rome
• Write a letter between Romeo and Juliet
• Write from the perspective of one of the parental figures
• Write a romance book featuring Romeo hiring a detective to find out if Juliet is dead or alive.
• What if Taylor Swift’s song was all about Romeo and Juliet?
• A mashup, using elements from other stories
• Write your own play – with Romeo and Juliet and funny bits!
• Write a modern day death scene
• What happened after Juliet woke up?
• Write a love story about someone else in the play
• Write a romeo and juliet short story
• Write a book of poems centred on Romeo and Juliet.
• What if Romeo killed Tybalt?
• Write about the night at the Capulet’s party.
• Detail your most memorable experience while acting out line from Romeo and Juliet
• Express yourself in ways like the Capulet and Montague did. Ideas include writing letters, poems, or composing music.
• What if Romeo was Juliet’s tutor?
• What would have happened if Romeo was killed?
• Have a talk with Romeo about Juliet
• How would past characters affect a present timeline?
• Write a story from Romeo’s point of view.
• Write an alternate ending where everything changes.
• Write a science fiction version of Romeo and Juliet Write a fantasy version of Romeo and Juliet
• Write a poem about love
• Write a sequel to Romeo & Juliet
• Insert name here and write a story about Romeo and herself.
• Satisfaction
• What if Romeo and Juliet saved their love for marriage?
• What if everyone lived? What then? How about Juliet leaving Romeo and moving away? Or Romeo getting with the Nurse? Or Tybalt getting together with Mercutio? Or the Prince?
• What if Romeo wasn’t a Capulet?
• What has Romeo and Juliet taught you?
• Write an alternate history of romeo and juliet
• Write about a great war that has broken out, it’s called Romeo vs Juliet.
• Compare and contrast Juliets suicide to Romeo’s
• Imagine a story where Romeo is a klyntar and Juliet is a Skrull. Write the story explaining how they met, how they fell in love, and how the other person died.
• Write a story about how Romeo and Juliet met
• Write a scene from Romeo and Juliet from a different character
• Write a love story based off your horoscope
• Write about a modern Romeo and Juliet.
• Write a unique conclusion to Romeo and Juliet
• Flannery O’Connor uses character stereotypes to show that conventional prejudices aren’t always on point. In an exercise, try switching characters and personalities between the play and its characters, in an attempt to “blur” the lines between who should be paired with whom.
• What would Romeo be like as an adult?
• What does Romeo look like?
• What if Romeo got Jodie pregnant and they ran off into the night?
• What if Romeo and Juliet didn’t hate each other? How might their relationship have changed if they had become friends and less than friends?
• The Shakespeare Society Romeo and Juliet are so good at romance!
• Write your own version of romeo and juliet
• What if Romeo was Juliet’s brother and he loved her but he couldn’t tell her?
• What if a public transit disaster occurred on the day of a Romeo and Juliet Romantic Reunion?
• What if the Prince banished Romeo from Verona?
• Imagine Romeo and Juliet if they lived in modern times.
• Write a dystopian Romeo and Juliet
• Write one of Shakespeare’s sonnets from Romeo’s point of view
• Write a speech about what Juliet did wrong and what she did right
• Write about a romantically challenged teen.
• Toni Parsley is an online writer and blogger. She loves to write on various topics such as health, fitness and beauty. When she is not writing, she loves to play and watch football. She is an avid fan of Real Madrid.
• Write two alternate endings
• Learn More About Romeo and Juliet
• Write a novel from a side character’s point of view
• Ok! Time for another Monday . . .
• Write about the happiest moment for a modern day Romeo and Juliet
• What if Romeo decided to stay with Tybalt?
• Write about how Romeo and Juliet first met
• Write a short version of romeo and juliet
• Describe the setting or surroundings where the story took place
• Write a scene which makes Simon and/or Leah seem anything other than evil
• Write about Romeo or Juliet in their late life.
• What do you say to someone you hate every time you see their face?
• Write a Shakespearean character’s obituary
• Did Romeo really love Juliet?
• Write a parent point of view about the events of Romeo and Juliet
• What if Juliet ran away from home and the rest of the tragic story in the play didn’t happen?
• Write a scene in which Romeo and Juliet are secretly in love.
• What if Romeo was a girl?
• What if Paris was the one who died?
• Write a crime thriller based on Romeo and Juliet
• Write an original scene from “Romeo and Juliet”
• What if Romeo and Juliet weren’t lovers?
• Write a scene from Romeo and Juliet that isn’t between Romeo and Juliet
• Write a comedic version of Romeo and Juliet
• What if Romeo was awful at playing games?
• Write a historical or contemporary Romeo and Juliet
• Write a poem for Romeo and Juliet
• What if Romeo and Juliet were hillbillies?
• If Romeo was a swearing drug dealing thug?
• Write a serious version of Romeo and Juliet
• Write a story of a near death Juliet, and write about her transformation after the suicide attempts
• If Juliet didn’t sleep at night, what would she do?
• What if Romeo were the daughter and Juliet were the son?
• Write a zombie version of Romeo and Juliet.
• What if Tybalt lived?
• Write a shorter story about Romeo and Juliet
• What if Romeo never wanted to leave Rome?
• What if Mercutio was in love with Juliet? What about Romeo?
• Romeo and Juliet was not primarily a love story or a tragedy. Revise the piece of writing to emphasize an element of your choice.
• In a dystopian world, the government decides that all teens have to be married or sent to a form of forced labor. Romeo and Juliet chose to rebel and have an affair in secret by pretending they’re married.
• Write Romeo and Juliet as a couple who love each other, but they are brothers and sisters and can’t marry
• Write about the drive-by Romeo and Juliet
• Write your own first meeting between Romeo and Juliet
• Write about poison ivy
• Write a letter to Juliet from Romeo.
• Romeo and Juliet in a different era?
• What if the houses ended up fighting instead of the lovers?
• What if Tybalt was the tragic hero?
• If Romeo and Juliet had had a dog, would the events of the play have transpired the same way?
• What if Romeo was not allowed to marry Romeo, instead he married the daughter of a wealthy Sultan? What if the two families are sworn enemies as a result of the mutual loathing between their fathers?
• Write a good Romeo and Juliet in summary form.
• think something like, ” love the haters” – making fun of haters – haters get mad or hate, and fall in love
• What type of person is Juliet? What type of person is Romeo?
• Write a story from the point of view of a minor character.
• When you are done jotting down your ideas you might be ready to start a formal written analyze of Romeo and Juliet.
• What if Romeo and Juliet fought?
• What if Romeo and Juliet’s parents came from a country where it was customary for 16-year-olds to get married?
• What if Romeo and Juliet became friends/acquaintances in school?
• What if Mercutio didn’t die at the end?
• What was Romeo like growing up?
• Write a Romantic tragedy on a modern day setting in which it is still terrible.
• What if Romeo was not a Montague and Juliet was not a Capulet?
• What if Romeo was Romeo because Juliet was Juliet?
• What if Romeo and Juliet were actually descendants of D&D?
• What if Romeo or Juliet had to die but didn’t?
• Write a funny one-liner
• What if Romeo and Juliet hadn’t met and Romeo was in love with a different girl?
• In writing a tragedy similar to Romeo and Juliet, how would you confront the heroic quality of Romeo?
• Write how you think the story would’ve gone if Mercutio had lived.
• Write a modern day romeo and juliet short story
• Write a scene between Romeo and Juliet’s parents to show why they don’t go along with their children’s decision of marrying each other.
• What if the stars never crossed?
• Write a modern day rendition of Romeo and Juliet
• Write a modern day Romeo kissing a guy Juliet
• Write a post-apocalyptic Romeo and Juliet
• Write a story from Tybalt’s p.o.v.
• What if Paris was Juliet’s gender fluid cousin?
• Write an alternative ending for Romeo and Juliet
• What if Juliet was pregnant?
• Write an anti baby books based off of Romeo and Juliet
• Write a news report about Romeo and Juliet
• Write a short play in iambic pentameter!
• What if the Capulets and Montagues had online feuds?
• What if they were shipwrecked?
• Describe a perfect person like Romeo and Juliet
• Write a gothic Romeo and Juliet
• How would The Graduate be different?
• What if Romeo and Juliet had really cool friends who wanted to rebel with them but tried to talk them out of it?
• Write your own final scene with your own version of Romeo and Juliet
• Tell us what happened when Romeo and Juliet got married.
• Write about a surviving Romeo or Juliet
• If Romeo was her gardener, would they fall in love?
• What if Romeo survived the fight and hid?
• Write a scene from a play by William Shakespeare.   Very unique in that it is noted as being written without any punctuations. We have yet found a play with a strict run-on sentence.
• Write an event in the book from Juliet’s point of view.
• Write a story set after Romeo and Juliet
• Write about Romeo’s side of the story
• Write the Romeo and Juliet story, only with two sets of parents who hate each other.
• Who were Romeo and Juliet’s parents? How did they meet?
• Write a Romeo and Juliet poem
• Write a different ending for Romeo and Juliet
• Write a futuristic Twilight-type love triangle
• Write about a Romeo and Juliet from a different country with different cultural customs
• Write about Shakespeare as one of the characters
• What if Romeo was a time lord?
• What if someone else died instead of Romeo?
• What if Romeo and Juliet lived through the night?
• Write a crime series set in Rome
• How do you feel about Romeo and Juliet’s relationship?
• Write the story of the Nurse who loved Romeo
• You’re not writing about Romeo and Juliet…
• What if Tybalt had killed Romeo?
• Write about Romeo and Juliet’s first meeting
• Write from Juliet’s point of view
• Write about why you like Shakespeare.
• Write a love story where Romeo is an android and the Capulets are the government
• Write a sequel to Romeo and Juliet set 20 years in the future
• Write a murder mystery using Romeo and Juliet.
• Write something about the bard himself – William Shakespeare.
• Write the plot of the play-Romeo and Juliet
• Imagine a Romeo and Juliet TV show
• Who was Juliet in love with?
• What if Romeo and Juliet were astronauts?
• Write an additional scene that did not make it into the final draft of Romeo and Juliet.
• What if we were able to follow along with Romeo and Juliet?
• What if Juliet had woken up Romeo instead of both of them dying?
• Juliet’s side of the story
• Write about jealousy in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
• Write a scene from Romeo and Juliet other than the balcony scene.
• Write about your favorite line or quote from Romeo and Juliet
• What if Romeo and Juliet knew about destiny?
• Write about Romeo and Juliet doing something outrageous to get themselves together more quickly
• What if Romeo and Juliet lived in the modern world?
• What is the climax of your story?
• Is Juliet cold when she thinks of Romeo dying?
• Write fanfiction.
• What lessons can be learned from the story of Romeo and Juliet?
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Romeo and Juliet - Act 2, scene 2

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Act 2, scene 2.

From Capulet’s garden Romeo overhears Juliet express her love for him. When he answers her, they acknowledge their love and their desire to be married.

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Now old desire doth in his death-bed lie,

And young affection gapes ° to be his heir

That fair for which love groaned for and would die,

With tender Juliet matched, is now not fair.

5 Now Romeo is beloved and loves again,

Alike bewitched by the charm of looks,

But to his foe supposed he must complain,

And she steal love’s sweet bait from fearful hooks:

Being held a foe, he may not have access

10 To breathe such vows as lovers use to swear;

And she as much in love, her means much less

To meet her new-beloved anywhere:

But passion lends them power, time means, to meet

Tempering extremities with extreme sweet.

ACT 2, SCENE 1

Mercutio and Benvolio wonder where Romeo has gone, and Mercutio mocks Romeo’s love of Rosaline.

Outside the Capulet orchard wall:

Enter ROMEO alone

Can I go forward when my heart is here?

Turn back dull earth and find thy center out.

Enter BENVOLIO and MERCUTIO

Romeo, my cousin, Romeo! Romeo!

He is wise, and on my life he hath stolen home to bed.

5 He ran this way and leapt this orchard wall.

Call, good Mercutio.

Nay, I’ll conjure ° too.

Romeo, Humors, Madman, Passion, Lover,

Appear thou in the likeness of a sigh,

Speak but one rhyme, and I’ll be satisfied:

10 Cry out at me, “Aye me,” pronounce but “love” and “dove.”

Speak to my gossip ° Venus one fair word,

One nickname for her pureblind ° son and heir, [1]

Young Abraham: Cupid–he that shot so true,

When King Cophetua [2] loved the beggar maid.

15 He hears me not, he stirreth not, he moveth not.

The ape is dead, and I must conjure him.

I conjure thee by Rosaline’s bright eyes,

By her high forehead, [3] and her scarlet lip,

By her fine foot, straight leg, and quivering thigh,

20 And the domains that there adjacent lie, [4]

That in thy likeness, thou appear to us.

And if he hears you, that will anger him.

This cannot anger him. It would anger him

To raise a spirit in his mistress’s circle,

25 Of some strange nature, letting it there stand

Till she had laid it, and conjured it down.

That were some spite. My invocation °

Is fair and honest, and, his mistress’s name,

I conjure only but to raise him up.

30 Come, he hath hidden himself among these trees

To be comforted by the humorous ° night.

Blind is his love, which best befits the dark.

If love be blind, love cannot hit the mark.

Now he will sit under a medlar tree, [5]

35 And wish his mistress were that kind of fruit,

As maids call medlars when they laugh alone.

O Romeo, that she were–O that she were

An open arse, and thou a “poperin” pear. [6]

Romeo, goodnight, I’ll go to my trundle bed,

40 This field bed is too cold for me to sleep.

Come, shall we go?

Go then, for it is in vain

To seek him here that means not to be found.

Exit BENVOLIO and MERCUTIO

He laughs at scars that never felt a wound.

ACT 2, SCENE 2

Juliet appears in a window above Romeo, and she thinks she’s alone. She talks to herself, lamenting Romeo’s nature as a Montague. She wishes he would abandon his name, or that she could abandon hers, so that they could be together. Upon hearing this, Romeo reveals himself and professes his love to Juliet. Juliet shares the feelings of love, but worries that Romeo’s feelings might be fleeting. The Nurse calls for Juliet, and the couple once again declares their love for each other, Juliet promising to send somebody to him at nine the next morning.

In the Capulet orchard:

Enter JULIET on balcony

But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?

It is the East, and Juliet is the Sun.

Arise, fair Sun, and kill the envious Moon,

Who is already sick and pale with grief

5 That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she.

Be not her maid, since she is envious,

Her vestal livery [7] is but sick and green,

And none but fools do wear it. Cast it off.

It is my lady, O it is my love, O that she knew she were.

10 She speaks, yet she says nothing. What of that?

Her eye discourses °; I will answer it.

…I am too bold. ‘Tis not to me she speaks:

Two of the fairest stars in all the Heaven,

Having some business, do entreat her eyes

15 To twinkle in their spheres till they return.

What if her eyes were there and they in her head?

The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars

As daylight does a lamp; her eye in Heaven

Would through the airy region stream so bright

20 That birds would sing and think it were not night.

See how she leans her cheek upon her hand?

O, that I were a glove upon that hand

That I might touch that cheek!

25 She speaks!

O, speak again, bright Angel! For thou art

As glorious to this night, being over my head

As is a winged messenger of Heaven

Unto the white, upturned, wondering eyes

30 Of mortals that fall back to gaze on him

When he bestrides ° the lazy, puffing clouds

And sails upon the bosom of the air.

O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore ° art thou Romeo?

Deny thy father and refuse thy name.

35 Or if thou will not, be but sworn my love,

And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.

[ To himself ] Shall I hear more or shall I speak at this?

‘Tis but thy name that is my enemy.

Thou art thou self, though, not a Montague.

40 What’s Montague? It is nor hand nor foot,

Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part

Belonging to a man.

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet.

45 So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called,

Retain that divine perfection which he owes

Without that title. Romeo, doff ° thy name,

And for thy name which is no part of thee,

Take all myself.

50 I take thee at thy word,

Call me but love, and I’ll be new baptized.

Henceforth, I never will be Romeo.

What man art thou, that thus bescreened ° by night,

So stumbles on my counsel °?

55 By a name, I know not how to tell thee who I am.

My name, dear Saint, is hateful to myself

Because it is an enemy to thee.

Had I it written, I would tear the word.

My ears have not yet drunk a hundred words

60 Of thy tongue’s uttering, yet I know the sound.

Art thou not Romeo and a Montague?

Neither, fair Saint, if either thee dislike.

How camest thou hither?

Tell me, and wherefore?

65 The orchard walls are high and hard to climb

And the place death, considering who thou art,

If any of my kinsmen find thee here.

With love’s light wings did I o’erperch ° these walls,

For stony limits cannot hold love out,

70 And what love can do, that dares love attempt,

Therefore thy kinsmen are no stop to me.

If they do see thee, they will murder thee.

Alas, there lies more peril in thine eyes

Than twenty of their swords. Look thou but sweet,

75 And I am proof ° against their enmity °.

I would not for the world they saw thee here.

I have night’s cloak to hide me from their eyes,

And, but thou love me, let them find me here.

My life were better ended by their hate

80 Than death prolonged, wanted of thy love.

By whose direction found’st thou out this place?

By love, that first did prompt me to inquire.

He lent me counsel, and I lent him eyes.

I am no pilot; yet, were thou as far

85 As the vast shore washeth with the farthest sea,

I should adventure for such merchandise.

Thou knowest the mask of night on my face,

Else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek

For that which thou hast heard me speak tonight.

90 Fain ° would I dwell on form °. Fain, fain deny

What I have spoke. But farewell complements °!

Dost thou love me? I know thou wilst say “Aye,”

And I will take thy word. Yet, if thou swear’st,

Thou might prove false. At lovers’ perjuries

95 They say Jove [8] laughs. O gentle Romeo

If thou dost love, pronounce it faithfully.

Or if thou think I am too quickly won,

I’ll frown and be perverse °, and say thee nay

So thou wilt woo; but else not for the world.

100 In truth, fair Montague, I am too fond:

And therefore thou might think my behavior light °.

But trust me, gentleman, I’ll prove more true

Than those who have more cunning to be strange °.

I should have been more strange, I must confess,

105 But that thou overheard, ere I was ‘ware,

My true love’s passion. Therefore, pardon me,

And not impute this yielding to light love,

Which the dark night hath so discovered.

Lady, by yonder blessed moon I vow,

110 That tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops—

O swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon,

That monthly changes in her circled orb,

Lest that thy love prove likewise variable.

What shall I swear by?

115 Do not swear at all.

Or if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self,

Which is the god of my idolatry °,

And I’ll believe thee.

If my heart’s dear love—

120 Well, do not swear. Although I joy in thee,

I have no joy in this contract tonight.

It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden,

Too like the lightning which doth cease to be

Ere one can say, “It lightens.” Sweet, good night.

125 This bud of love by summer’s ripening breath

May prove a beauteous flower when we next meet.

Goodnight, goodnight! As sweet repose and rest,

Come to my heart, as that within my breast.

O wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?

130 What satisfaction can’st thou have tonight?

Th’ exchange of thy love’s faithful vow for mine.

I gave thee mine before thou did’st request it,

And yet I wish it would to give again.

Would’st thou withdraw it? For what purpose, love?

135 But to be frank and give it to thee again,

And yet I wish but for the thing I have.

My bounty is as boundless as the sea,

My love as deep; the more I give to thee,

The more I have, for both are infinite.

NURSE calls from within

140 I hear some noise within, dear love. Adieu!

[ Calls within ] Anon, good nurse! [ To ROMEO ] Sweet Montague, be true.

Stay but a little. I will come again.

Exit JULIET

O blessed, blessed night! I am afraid,

Being in night, all this is but a dream,

145 Too flattering-sweet to be substantial.

Enter JULIET again

Three words, dear Romeo, And goodnight, indeed.

If that thy bent ° of love be honorable,

Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow,

By one that I’ll procure to come to thee,

150 Where and what time thou wilt perform the rite.

And all my fortunes at thy foot I’ll lay

And follow thee, my lord, throughout the world.

[ From within ] Madam!

I come, anon! [ To ROMEO ] But if thou mean not well,

155 I do beseech thee—

By and by, I come!

[ To ROMEO ] To cease thy strife, and leave me to my grief,

Tomorrow I will send.

160 So thrive my soul—

A thousand times goodnight!

A thousand times the worse to want thy light.

Love goes toward love, as schoolboys from their books,

But love from love, toward school with heavy looks.

ROMEO starts to go

165 Hush, Romeo! Hush! O, for a falconer’s voice

To lure this tassel-gentle back again. [9]

Bondage ° is hoarse and may not speak aloud

Else would I tear the cave where Echo [10] lies

And make her airy tongue more hoarse than mine

170 From repetition of “My Romeo.”

It is my soul that calls upon my name.

How silver-sweet sound lovers’ tongues by night,

Like softest music to attending ° ears.

175 My sweet?

What o’clock tomorrow shall I send to thee?

By the hour of nine.

I will not fail. Tis twenty years ‘till then.

I have forgot why I did call thee back.

180 Let me stand here ‘till thou remember it.

I shall forget, to have thee still stand there,

Remembering how I love thy company.

And I’ll still stay to have thee still forget,

Forgetting any other home but this.

185 ‘Tis almost morning. I would have thee gone,

And yet no further than a wanton’s ° bird

That lets it hop a little from his hand

Like a poor prisoner in twisted cuffs,

And with a silken thread, plucks it back again,

190 So loving-jealous of its liberty.

I would I were thy bird.

Sweet, so would I,

Yet I should kill thee with much cherishing.

Goodnight, goodnight. Parting is such sweet sorrow

195 That I shall say goodnight ‘till it be morrow.

Sleep dwell upon thine eyes, peace in thy breast,

Would I were sleep and peace so sweet to rest.

Hence will I to my ghostly ° friar’s cell.

His help to crave, and my dear hap ° to tell.

ACT 2, SCENE 3

Friar Lawrence carries a basket of herbs and plants as he contemplates the goodness of the earth. Romeo finds the friar. The friar notices that Romeo hasn’t slept, and asks if Romeo slept with Rosaline in sin. Romeo denies it and describes his new love of Juliet. The friar is concerned at how quickly Romeo’s feelings have changed. Romeo convinces the friar to perform a wedding for Romeo and Juliet. The friar hopes that some good may come of it, perhaps even an end to the feud between the Capulets and Montagues.

Friar Lawrence’s cell in Verona; early morning:

Enter FRIAR alone with a basket

The grey-eyed morn smiles on the frowning night,

Checkering the eastern clouds with streaks of light;

And fleckèd darkness like a drunkard reels

From forth day’s path and Titan’s fiery wheels. [11]

5 Now ere the sun advance his burning eye,

The day to cheer, and night’s dank dew to dry,

I must fill up this reed basket of ours

With deadly weeds, and precious juiced flowers.

The earth, that’s nature’s mother, is her tomb,

10 And is her burying grave, and is her womb.

And from her womb children of diverse kind

We sucking on her natural bosom find.

Many for many virtues excellent,

None but for some, and yet all different.

15 O, how great is the powerful grace that lies

In plants, herbs, stones, and their true qualities.

For naught so vile here on the earth doth live

But to the earth some special good doth give.

Nor aught so good but strained from that fair use—

20 Used unnaturally—stumbles on abuse.

Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied,

And vice sometimes, by action, dignified.

Enter ROMEO

With the infant rind of this weak flower,

Poison hath residence, and medicine power.

25 For this being smelt, with that part cheers our parts,

Being tasted, slays all senses with the heart.

Two such opposèd kings encamp them still,

In man as well as herbs, grace °, and rude will °.

And where the worser is predominant,

30 Full soon, the canker death eats up that plant.

Good morrow, Father.

Benedicte. [12]

What early tongue so sweet salutes me?

Young son, it argues a distempered ° head

35 If you so soon bade good morrow to thy bed.

Care keeps his watch in every old man’s eye,

And where care lodges, sleep will never lie.

But where unbruisèd youth with unstuffed brain

Doth couch his limbs, there golden sleep doth reign.

40 Therefore thy earliness doth me assure

Thou art uproused with some distemperature:

Or if not so, then here I hit it right:

Our Romeo hath not been in bed tonight.

That last is true. The sweeter rest was mine.

45 God pardon sin! Wast thou with Rosaline?

With Rosaline, my ghostly Father? No,

I have forgot that name, and that name’s woe.

That’s my good son! But where hast thou been, then?

I’ll tell thee ere thou ask it me again.

50 I have been feasting with mine enemy

Where on a sudden one hath wounded me,

And, by me, wounded. Both our remedies

Within thy help and holy physic ° lies.

I bear no hatred, blessed man: for now

55 My intervention likewise steads ° my foe.

Be plain, good son, and homely ° in thy drift.

Riddling confession finds but riddling shrift °.

Then plainly know my heart’s dear love is set

On the fair daughter of rich Capulet.

60 As mine on hers, so hers is set on mine,

And all combined, save what thou must combine

By holy marriage. Where, and when, and how

We met, we wooed, and made exchange of vow

I’ll tell thee as we pass, but this I pray:

65 That thou consent to marry us today.

Holy Saint Francis, what a change is here!

Is Rosaline that thou didst love so dear

So soon forsaken? Young men’s love then lies

Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes.

70 Jesu ° Maria, what a deal of brine °

Hath washed thy sallow cheeks for Rosaline?

How much salt water thrown away in waste,

To season [13] love, that of it doth not taste.

The sun not yet thy sighs from heaven clears,

75 Thy old groans ring yet in mine ancient ears.

Lo, here upon thy cheek the stain doth sit

Of an old tear that is not washed off yet.

If ever you were you, and these woes thine,

Thou and these woes were all for Rosaline.

80 And art thou changed, pronounce this sentence then:

Women may fall [14] when there’s no strength in men.

Thou chidest ° me oft for loving Rosaline.

For doting, not for loving, pupil mine.

And bad’st ° me bury love.

85 Not in a grave

To lay one in, another out to have.

I pray thee, chide me not. Her I love now

Doth grace for grace and love for love allow.

The other did not so.

90 O, she knew well,

Thy love did read by rote, [15] and could not spell.

But come young waverer, [16] come, go with me,

In one respect I’ll thy assistant be,

For this alliance may so happy prove,

95 To turn your households’ rancor to pure love.

O, let us hence. I stand on sudden haste.

Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast.

ACT 2, SCENE 4

Benvolio and Mercutio wonder where Romeo has been. Benvolio found out from a Montague servant that Romeo never returned home the night before. Benvolio tells Mercutio that Tybalt has challenged Romeo to a duel. Mercutio describes why he hates Tybalt. When Romeo arrives, Mercutio mocks Romeo for being weak because of his love for Rosaline. Romeo neglects to tell them about Juliet. The Nurse enters with a Capulet servant, Peter. Romeo tells her to pass on a message: have Juliet meet him for confessional at Friar Lawrence’s cell that afternoon, where Friar Lawrence will marry them. The Nurse agrees.

Somewhere in Verona; morning:

Where the devil should this Romeo be? Came he not home tonight?

Not to his father’s. I spoke with his man.

Why, that same pale, hard-hearted wench, that Rosaline, torments

him so, that he will sure run mad.

5 Tybalt, the kinsman to old Capulet,

Hath sent a letter to his father’s house.

A challenge, I would swear.

Romeo will answer it °.

Any man that can write may answer a letter.

10 Nay, he will answer the letter’s master, how he dares, being dared.

Alas, poor Romeo, he is already dead: stabbed with a white

wench’s black eye; shot through the ear with a love-song; the very

pin [17] of his heart cleft with the blind bow-boy’s butt-shaft. [18] And is

he a man to encounter Tybalt?

15 Why, what is Tybalt?

More than the Prince of Cats, [19] I can tell you. O, he’s the

courageous Captain of Compliments. He fights like you sing

pricksong, [20] keeps time, distance and proportion; he rests, his

minim [21] rest, one, two, and the third in your bosom. The very

20 butcher of a silk button, a dualist, a dualist; a gentleman of the

very first house, [22] of the first and second cause; ah, the immortal

passado ! the punto reverso ! the hay ! [23]

The pox [24] of such antic, [25] lisping, affecting fanasticoes, these new

25 tuners of accents! By Jesu, a very good blade! A very tall man! A

very good whore! Why, is not this a lamentable thing, grandsire °,

that we should be thus afflicted with these strange flies, these

fashion-mongers, these pardon-me’s, who stand so much on the

new form that they cannot sit at ease on the old bench. O, their

30 bones, their bones! [26]

Here comes Romeo, here comes Romeo.

Without his roe, [27] like a dried herring. O flesh, flesh, how art thou

fishified! Now is he for the numbers ° that Petrarch flowed in.

Laura to his lady was but a kitchen-wench; marry, she had a

35 better love to be-rhyme her; Dido, a dowdy; [28] Cleopatra, a gipsy;

Helen and Hero, hildings ° and harlots; Thisbe, [29] a grey eye or

two, but not worth mention.

[To Romeo ] Signior Romeo, bonjour ! There’s a French salutation to

your French slop °. You gave us the counterfeit [30] fairly last night.

40 Good morrow to you both. What counterfeit

Did I give you?

The slip, sir, the slip °. Can you not conceive?

Pardon, good Mercutio, my business was vital, and in such a case

as mine a man may strain courtesy.

45 That’s as much as to say: Such a case as yours constrains a man to

bow in the hams.

Meaning to curtsy.

Thou hast most kindly hit it.

A most courteous explanation.

50 Nay, I am the very pink ° of courtesy.

Pink for flower.

Why, then is my pump well flowered. [31]

Well said. Follow me this jest now, till thou has worn out thy

55 pump, that when the single role of it is worn, the jest may remain,

after the wearing, solely singular.

O single-soled jest, [32] solely singular for the singleness.

Come between us, good Benvolio. My wits fail.

Swits and spurs, swits and spurs, [33] or I’ll win this match.

60 Nay, if our wits run the wild goose chase, I am done: for thou

hast more of the wild-goose in one of thy wits than I am sure I

have in my whole five. Was I with you there for the goose?

Thou wast never with me for anything when thou was not there

for the goose °.

65 I will bite thee by the ear for that jest.

Nay, good goose, bite not.

Thy wit is a very bitter sweeting; it is a most sharp sauce.

And is it not, then, well served to a sweet goose?

O, here’s a wit like cheveril ° that stretches from an inch narrow

70 to an ell ° broad.

I stretch it out for that word “ broad ”°, which added to the goose,

proves thee far and wide a broad goose.

Why, is not this better now than groaning for love? Now art thou

sociable; now art thou Romeo; now art thou what thou art, by art

75 as well as by nature: for this riveling love is like a great natural °,

that runs lolling ° up and down to hide his bauble ° in a hole.

Stop there, stop there.

Thou desirest me to stop in my tale against the hair. [34]

Thou wouldst else have made thy tale large.

80 O, thou art deceived; I would have made it short: For I was come

to the whole depth of my tale, and meant indeed to occupy the

argument no longer.

Enter NURSE and her man, PETER

Here comes goodly stuff. A sail, a sail!

Two, two: a shirt and a smock. [35]

At your service.

My fan, Peter.

Good Peter, to hide her face, for her fan’s the fairer face.

God ye good morrow, gentlemen.

90 God ye good evening, fair gentlewoman.

Is it good evening?

Tis no less, I tell ye, for the bawdy ° hand of the dial is now upon

the prick [36] of noon.

Out upon you! What kind of man are you?

95 One, gentlewoman, that God hath made, for himself to mar.

By my troth, [37] well said. “For himself to mar,” quoth he?

Gentlemen, can any of you tell me where I may find

the young Romeo?

I can tell you, but young Romeo will be older when you have

100 found him than he was when you sought him.

I am the youngest of that name, for lack of a worse.

You speak well.

Yea, is the worst well? Very well took, in faith, wisely, wisely.

If you be he, sir, I desire some confidence [38] with you.

105 She will indite [39] him to some supper.

A bawd, [40] a bawd, a bawd!

What hast thou found?

No hare sir, unless it be a hare in Lenten pie, [41] that is somewhat

110 stale and hoar [42] ere it be spent.

                                    He walks by them and sings

‘An old hare hoar,

And an old hare hoar

Is very good meat in Lent.

But a hare that is hoar,

115 Is too much for a score, [43]

When it hoars ere it be spent.’ [44]

Romeo, will you come to your father’s? We’ll dinner thither.

I will follow you.

Farwell, ancient lady; farewell, [ singing ] ‘Lady, Lady, lady.’

120 Marry, farewell! I pray you, sir, what saucy merchant ° was this

that was so full of ropery °?

A gentleman, Nurse, that loves to hear himself talk, and will

speak more in a minute, than he will stand to in a month.

If he speak anything against me, I’ll take him down, even if he

125 were lustier ° than he is, with twenty such Jacks °; and if I could not,

I’d find those that shall. Scurvy knave! I am none of his flirt-girls,

I am none of his skains-mates. [45]

She turns to PETER

And thou like a knave must stand by, and see every knave use me at his pleasure?

130 I saw no man use you at his pleasure; if I had, my weapon should

quickly have been out, I warrant you. I dare draw as

soon as another man, if I see occasion in a good quarrel and the law on

Now afore God, I am so vexed, that every part about me quivers.

135 Scurvy knave! Pray you, sir, a word. And as I told you, my young

lady bid me inquire you out; what she bid me say, I will keep to

myself, but first let me tell ye, if ye should lead her in a fool’s

paradise, as they say, it would be very gross kind of behavior, as

they say.  For the gentlewoman is young, and therefore, if you

140 should deal double ° with her, truly it were an ill thing to be offered

to any gentlewoman, and very weak dealing °.

Nurse, commend me to thy lady and mistress, I protest [46] unto

Good heart, and in faith, I will tell her as much. Lord, Lord, she

145 will be a joyful woman.

What wilt thou tell her Nurse? Thou dost not hear me.

I will tell her, sir, that you do protest, which as I take it, is a

gentlemanlike offer.

Bid her devise some means to come to shrift ° this afternoon, and

150 there she shall at Friar Lawrence’s cell be shrived ° and married.

Here is for thy pains.

ROMEO offers her money.

No, truly sir, not a penny.

Go to; I say you shall.

This afternoon, sir? Well, she shall be there.

155 And stay, good Nurse, behind the abbey wall.

Within this hour my man shall be with thee,

And bring thee cords made like a tackled stair, [47]

Which to the high top-gallant [48] of my joy

Must be my convoy in the secret night.

160 Farewell, be trusty, and I’ll quit ° thy pains.

Farewell. Commend me to thy mistress.

Now God in heaven bless thee! Hark you, sir.

What sayest thou, my dear Nurse?

Is your man secret? Did you never hear say,

165 Two may keep counsel, putting one away? [49]

I warrant thee, my man’s as true as steel.

Well, sir, my mistress is the sweetest lady. Lord, Lord, when ‘twas

a little prating thing °. O, there is a nobleman in town, one Paris,

that would fain ° lay knife aboard. [50] But she, good soul, would

170 happily see a toad, a very toad, than him. I anger her sometimes,

and tell her that Paris is the properer man, but I’ll warrant you,

when I say so, she looks as pale as any clout ° in the versall [51]

world. Doth not rosemary [52] and Romeo begin both with a letter?

Aye, Nurse, what of that? Both with an “R.”

175 Ah, mocker! That’s the dog’s name; [53] R is for the—no, I know it

begins with some other letter—and she hath the prettiest

sententious [54] of it, of you and rosemary, that it would do you good

to hear it.

Commend me to thy lady.

180 Aye, a thousand times. Peter?

Before and apace °.

ACT 2, SCENE 5

Juliet waits for the Nurse to return. When the Nurse returns, Juliet begs her for information. The Nurse delays, saying she’s too tired and her body is too sore. Juliet pressures her until the Nurse gives in and tells her that Romeo is waiting to marry her at Friar Lawrence’s cell.

Somewhere outside the Capulet estate:

Enter JULIET

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:

O, she is lame! [55] Love’s heralds should be thoughts

5 Which ten times faster glide than the sun’s beams

Driving back shadows over lowering hills.

Therefore do nimble-pinioned doves draw Love, [56]

And therefore hath the wind-swift Cupid [57] wings.

Now is the sun upon the highmost hill

10 Of this day’s journey, and from nine till twelve,

Is three long hours, yet she is not come.

Had she affections and warm, youthful blood,

She would be as swift in motion as a ball,

My words would bandy ° her to my sweet love,

15 And his to me. But old folks,

Many feign as they were dead,

Unwieldy, slow, heavy, and pale as lead.

Enter NURSE and PETER

O God, she comes. O, honey Nurse, what news?

Hast thou met with him? Send thy man away.

20 Peter, stay at the gate.

Now, good sweet Nurse—

O, Lord, why lookest thou sad?

Though news be sad, yet tell them merrily.

If good, thou shames the music of sweet news

25 By playing it to me with so sour a face.

O, I am weary. Let me rest awhile.

Fie, [58] how my bones ache! What a jaunt I had!

I would thou had’st my bones, and I thy news.

Nay, come, I pray thee, speak. Good, good Nurse, speak.

30 Jesu, what haste? Can you not wait awhile?

Do you not see that I am out of breath?

How art thou out of breath, when thou hast breath

To say to me, that thou art out of breath?

The excuse that thou dost make in this delay,

35 Is longer than the tale thou dost excuse.

Is thy news good or bad? Answer to that.

Say either, and I’ll stay the circumstance. [59]

Let me be satisfied, is’t good or bad?

Well, you have made a foolish choice. You know not how to

40 choose a man. Romeo, no, not he, though his face be better than

any man’s; and his leg excels all mens’; and for a hand, and a foot,

and a body, though not much to talk on, yet they are past

compare. He is not the flower of courtesy, [60] but I’ll warrant him as

gentle as a lamb. Go thy ways, wench; serve God. What, have you

45 dined at home?

No, no. But all this did I know before.

What says he of our marriage? What of that?

Lord, how my head aches! What a head have I?

It beats as it would fall in twenty pieces.

50 My back a’ t’ other ° side! Oh my back, my back.

Beshrew ° your heart for sending me about

To catch my death with jaunting up and down.

I’faith, I am sorry that thou art not well.

Sweet, sweet, sweet Nurse, tell me, what says my love?

55 Your love says, like an honest gentleman,

And a courteous, and a kind, and a handsome,

And I warrant, a virtuous—Where is your mother?

Where is my mother?

Why she is within, where should she be?

60 How oddly thou repliest.

“Your love says like an honest gentleman:

Where is your mother?”

Oh God’s lady dear, [61]

Are you so hot? Marry, come up, I trow.

65 Is this the poultice ° for my aching bones?

Henceforward do your messages yourself.

What a fuss! Come, what says Romeo?

Have you got leave to go to shrift today?

70 Then hie ° you hence to Friar Lawrence’s cell,

There waits a husband to make you a wife.

Now comes the wanton blood up in your cheeks;

They turn to scarlet, straight, at any news.

Hie you to church. I must another way

75 To fetch a ladder by which your love

Must climb a bird’s nest soon when it is dark,

I am the drudge, and toil in your delight.

But you shall bear the burden soon at night. [62]

Go. I’ll to dinner; hie you to the cell.

80 Hie to high fortune! Honest Nurse, farewell.

ACT 2, SCENE 6

Romeo and Friar Lawrence wait at the cell. Romeo says his current joy far outweighs any misfortune that may come. Juliet arrives. They all exit and the friar performs the wedding.

Friar Lawrence’s cell in Verona:

Enter FRIAR and ROMEO

So smile the heavens upon this holy act,

That, after hours, with sorrow chide us not!

Amen, amen, but come what sorrows will,

They cannot countervail ° the exchange of joy

5 That one short minute gives me of her sight.

Do thou but close our hands with holy words,

Then love-devouring death do what he dare,

It is enough I may but call her mine.

These violent delights have violent ends,

10 And in their triumph die like fire and powder °.

Which, as they kiss, consume. The sweetest honey

Is loathsome in his own deliciousness

And is the taste confounds ° the appetite.

Therefore love moderately. Long love doth so.

15 Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow.

Here comes the Lady. O, so light a foot

Will never wear out the everlasting flint °.

A lover may bestride the gossamers °,

That idles in the wanton summer air,

20 And yet not fall, so light is vanity.

Good evening to my ghostly confessor.

Romeo shall thank thee, daughter, for us both.

And same to him, else is his thanks too much.

Ah Juliet, if the measure of thy joy

25 Be heaped like mine, and since thy skill be more

To blazon ° it, then sweeten with thy breath

This neighbor air, [63] and let rich music’s tongue

Unfold the imagined happiness that we

Receive in either, by this dear encounter.

30 Conceit °, more rich in matter than in words,

Brags of his substance, not of ornament.

They are but poor folk that can count their worth,

But my true love is grown to such excess

I cannot sum up sum of half my wealth.

35 Come, come with me, and we will make short work.

For, by your leaves, you shall not stay alone

Till Holy Church incorporate two in one.

• Sensitivity note: Cupid is the Greek god of love, often portrayed as a young winged boy wearing a blindfold and carrying a bow and arrow. This is meant to symbolize the randomness of love and attraction, and is where we find the phrase "Love is blind". ↵
• King Cophetua: An African king who had no interest in women until he fell in love with a beggar woman outside his palace. ↵
• high forehead: a sign of female beauty ↵
• Sensitivity note: In referring to and openly discussing Rosaline's body, Mercutio is being purposefully crude in order to draw out Romeo. This type of bawdy humor was a mark of Shakespeare's comedy, and was often done at the expense of the female characters. ↵
• Now he will sit…medlar tree: Medlar tree fruit, also called the “open-arse,” was resemble to an anus. ↵
• poperin pear: pun for male genitalia; “pop her in” ↵
• vestal livery: clothing worn by the maidens of Diana, the Roman goddess of the moon ↵
• Jove: Another name for Jupiter, the king of gods in Roman mythology ↵
• O, for a falc’ner’s voice / To lure this tassel-gentle back again: Juliet wishes she could call back Romeo the way a falconer calls back a male falcon (“tassel-gentle”). ↵
• Echo: a figure from Greek legend; a woman who wasted away from heartbreak and remains only as the voice that echoes back to you. ↵
• Titan’s firey wheels: reference to Helios, Greek god of the sun ↵
• Benedicte: a blessing ↵
• To season: as in to salt ↵
• Women may fall: women will fail morally ↵
• by rote: memorization without understanding ↵
• young waverer: indecisive young man ↵
• pin: peg marking the center of a target ↵
• butt-shaft: arrow with no barb ↵
• Prince of Cats: a figure from a popular story, Reynard the Fox, who is also called Tybalt ↵
• Pricksong: or “pricked-song,” is music performed from written notation, instead of from memory or by ear ↵
• minim: to rest half a note ↵
• very first house: a prestigious school for fencing ↵
• the immortal…the hay: Italian fencing terms ↵
• pox : exclamation of irritation ↵
• antic: possibly grotesque or “antique,” though due to the era’s spelling and the context “antic” is likely ↵
• their bones: pun on French “bon” ↵
• roe: fish eggs, or the “ro” in Romeo ↵
• dowdy: unattractively dressed woman ↵
• Laura…Thisbe: classical figures who killed themselves for love ↵
• You gave us the counterfeit: i.e., you ditched us ↵
• my pump well flowered: i.e., my feet are tired from dancing ↵
• single-soled jest: weak joke ↵
• Swits and spurs: i.e., make your horse go faster ↵
• against the hair: against the grain ↵
• a shirt and a smock: meaning, a man and a woman ↵
• prick: clock point; male genitalia ↵
• By my troth: Upon my word ↵
• confidence: The Nurse fumbles on the word “conference.” ↵
• indite: Benvolio mocks the nurse by purposefully fumbling the word “invite.” ↵
• bawd: a hare; a go-between for prostitutes ↵
• Lenten pie: pie with no meat ↵
• hoar: moldy; pun on the word “whore” ↵
• for a score: to pay for ↵
• An old…be spent: If the Nurse were a whore, she would be like old bread that is only eaten as a last resort. ↵
• skains-mates: friends who carry knives ↵
• protest: The Nurse mistakes the word “protest” for “propose” in the subsequent lines. ↵
• cords made like a tackled stair: a rope ladder ↵
• top-gallant: the top of the mast of a ship ↵
• Proverb meaning two can only keep a secret if one is far away or dead ↵
• lay knife aboard: lay to claim Juliet ↵
• versall: the Nurse fumbles on the word “universal” ↵
• rosemary: In Hamlet , it is said that rosemary is “for remembrance” of the dead. ↵
• dog’s name: “R” sounds like a dog’s growl ↵
• sententious: the Nurse fumbles on the word “sentence” ↵
• Sensitivity note: "Lame," as used here, means feeble or slow. Though "lame" is primarily used to describe someone who is disabled in their leg or foot, it has evolved to mean "uninspiring" or "slow." It is important to be conscious of using words related to disability in a derogatory manner, as it can contribute to a negative connotation surrounding words that are still primarily used to objectively describe differently-abled individuals. ↵
• nimble-pinioned doves draw Love: as doves pull Venus in her chariot ↵
• Cupid: son of Venus and god of desire, affection, and love ↵
• Fie: Here, an exclamation, like “oh!” ↵
• stay the circumstance: wait for details ↵
• not the flower of courtesy : not very courteous ↵
• Oh God’s lady dear: Holy Mary, mother of God ↵
• The Nurse is enduring pain so that Juliet may find happiness. However, she suggests that Juliet will soon be the one enduring pain for the pleasure of another when she consummates her marriage with Romeo. The implication is that it will be Juliet's burden as a wife to please her husband. This fits the comedic albeit insensitive tone typical of the Nurse. ↵
• This neighbor air: this air we share ↵

summon (as in a spirit)

good friend

communicates

remove, cast away

private thoughts

formalities

good manners

play hard-to-get

standoffish

familial duties

spoiled child's

good fortune

salt water; tears

good-for-nothings

baggy pants

counterfeit coin

perfect example

stretchy leather

forty-five inches

jester’s baton

double cross

poor behavior

have confession

pay you for

burbling baby

piece of cloth

at the other

homemade ointment

hardships of life

spider’s webs

understanding

Romeo and Juliet Copyright © 2021 by Rebecca Olson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Heather E. Wright

Resources for Writers of All Ages and Teachers, Too.

Shakespeare Journal Prompts

Also check out my Busy Teacher’s Guides and other support material for teachers HERE .

I’ve also had some fun creating coloring pages to go with the journal prompts. (Hint: My mailing list members have had access to these for a while now. 🙂 )

Here are links to PDFs of journal prompts for all 5 plays:

KING LEAR , ROMEO AND JULIET , MACBETH , HAMLET , TWELFTH NIGHT

Love to hear your feedback and suggestions for any other plays that you think I should cover. Please drop me a note in the comments below to let me know your thoughts and ideas.

If you would like to know when I make additions to this page or when new books are published, please fill out the mailing list form in the sidebar. I promise that you will not be bombarded with spam emails, just the odd thing that I come across that you might find useful, a couple of sample chapters as I work through new projects, and my newest writing prompts.

ROMEO AND JULIET

1. What is your opinion of “love at first sight”?

2. Have you ever found yourself between two friends who are angry at each other? What happened?

3. How hard is it to keep a secret? Are there circumstances when you think you should break a promise about keeping a secret?

4. Who in the play shows the most courage? Give reasons for your choice?

5. Why or why not should parents have any control over the personal lives of their children?

6. Is suicide ever a justified option? Explain your answer.

7. Who is the truest friend in the play? Explain your answer.

8. Is lying ever justified? Explain your answer.

9. Write Juliet’s or Romeo’s diary entry after the balcony scene.

10. Write a letter that Juliet might have written to her parents to be read if she died from the potion that Friar Lawrence gave her.

11.  Write a letter that Juliet might have written to Romeo to be read if she died from the potion that Friar Lawrence gave her.

I’ve always thought that a few soliloquies were missing from Shakespeare’s plays. Perhaps these suggestions will encourage your students to fill in the blanks:

• Nurse while she keeps guard during Romeo’s and Juliet’s wedding night
• Paris before he visits Juliet’s grave
• Romeo as he passes through Verona’s gates into exile
• Juliet after the balcony scene
• Priest after he ‘buries’ Juliet for the first time

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12 thoughts on “shakespeare journal prompts”.

Very cool stuff!

Thanks, Amy. I hope you find the info and links on the site useful.

Good selection of prompts: My middle schoolers enjoyed “translating” monologues and dialogues from Shakespeare plays into “contemporary English” and performing/reading them for their peers in class.

Thanks for dropping by my website! I’m glad you liked the prompts. I always think that students respond to Shakespeare more positively when they can put the plays ‘on their feet.’ My grade 9s loved acting out scenes from Twelfth Night.

Whatever “moderation” means — being moderated or approved? Okay!

Explored your website. What great templates for students and teachers to use! I liked the one of the dragon/monster with the different types of description.

I modified your prompts and used them for Quick Writes for the 9th grades ESE students, They loved it!!!!

Thanks for dropping me a line. I’m so glad you could adapt the prompts for your class!

Thanks for these writing prompts Heather! They’ll work really well in prompting deeper thought from students!

Thanks for dropping by, Becky! So glad that you’ll be able to use these with your students. Hope you have a great school year ahead!

I am a ninth grader in high school having to write a diary entry for the play Romeo and Juliet about one of the characters what font shall i use

Hi Halee! Your best bet is to choose a font that’s easy for your teacher to read. Remember, your teacher has to read a lot of these assignments. If your teacher wants a fancy font that looks like handwriting, I’d pick Segoe Print from the options in Word. It’s a little fancy, but also pretty easy to read. Make sure it’s at least 12 point–14 point is good, too.

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