romeo & juliet

Unit Plans:

You will be creating a web project for this unit.
To get help with this play, see Hogue's Study Guide You'll find a plot summary here, vocabulary defined, and a translation of The Prologue.
You will need to take some notes in class. You will be able to use your notes on the test. See below.
Preview the first three acts. You will get a video guide. Then watch Acts I-III on video. Take notes as you watch: comment on characters and conflicts, plot, suspense, irony, etc. There may be a short quiz (10 questions) on the first three acts.
Read Acts IV-V together. Take roles and act the scenes.
Unit test: matching characters, matching lit terms, true/false and multiple choice comprehension, and passage analysis. There is also an essay about a character. This test will serve as your semester exam. Get the study guide for the exam in case you didn't get it in class or if you want to start early.
Memorize and recite the passage below as an enrichment option.

Romeo:
If I profane with my unworthiest hand
This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this:
My lips, two blushing pilgrims ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a
tender kiss.

Juliet:
Good pilgrim, you do wrong your
hand too much,
Which mannerly devotion shows
in this;
For saints have hands that pilgrims'
hands do touch,
And palm to palm is holy
palmers' kiss.

What it means:
Romeo: (holding her hand as they dance): I love holding your hand; may I kiss it?
Juliet: (probably amused, but cautious, teases him): I like it that you're holding my hand.
Romeo: Pilgrims have lips, they kiss too. Please let me kiss you.
Juliet: Pilgrims use their lips for praying, not kissing.
Romeo: I'm praying to you to let me kiss you. If you don't let me I might lose my religious faith.
Juliet: I won't kiss you, but you can kiss me.
Romeo: Hold still. (He kisses her.) I got rid of my sin by kissing you.
Juliet: (excited and amused): Well now I've got your sin. What are you going to do about that?
Romeo: You want me to kiss you again? OK! (Kisses her again.)
Juliet: You don't have to go through all of this just to kiss me. Just do it.

Alternative passage: memorize and recite the prologue.

Who said it	The line	Why I like it
Romeo	Ay me! Sad hours seem long.	When we're sad or depressed, time just drags. Time and history have not changed this truth. On the other hand, when we're having a great time, the hours seem to go by very quickly. Many times our perception of time is connected to how we feel.
Lord Capulet	Too soon marr'd are those so early made.	Lord Capulet knows that if someone marries too young, or when one is not ready, it can change you for the worse. I think that in our time, this is also true for teens who enter into sexual relationships before they are mature enough to handle it.
Romeo	O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!	Symbolically, light represents truth and good and knowledge. To Romeo, Juliet is so full of light that she teaches torches to burn brightly. She is light of light. This is a really great complement to her.
Romeo	He jests at scars who never felt a wound.	Romeo says that Mercutio has no idea what it's like to be in love. When teens begin to know what love means, they are often alienated from their friends who don't know yet. They feel they are different now.
Romeo	See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand! O, that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek!	This is a great line. I think it shows infatuation. When we first fall in love, we are anxious to be near our love, and to even be near an object belonging to him or her is enough. If our attraction to another person never moves beyond this stage, it cannot be called love.
Juliet	O' swear not by the moon, th' inconstant moon, that monthly changes in her circled orb, lest that thy love prove likewise variable.	This reminds me that Elizabethans understood about moon phases. Plus, I like the comparison and that Juliet wants Romeo to be constant and true. For someone who's falling in love too fast, it may be hard to know what's real and what isn't.
Friar Lawrence	Young men's love then lies not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes.	To Friar Lawrence, Romeo falls in and out of love too quickly to be serious. Seems to me that sometimes, especially at the beginning, love is more about outward appearance than about the true qualities we share with those we love.

Unit Plans	Memorization Passage
Links to Shakespeare Sites	Study Guide
Online Text	Web Quest Assignment
Hogue's Favorite Lines
Semester Exam Study Guide