Act 3

Copywork

And for that offenceImmediately we do exile him hence.I have an interest in your hate’s proceeding,My blood for your rude brawls doth lie a-bleeding.But I’ll amerce you with so strong a fineThat you shall all repent the loss of mine.I will be deaf to pleading and excuses;Nor tears nor prayers shall purchase out abuses.Therefore use none. Let Romeo hence in haste,Else, when he is found, that hour is his last.Bear hence this body, and attend our will.Mercy but murders, pardoning those that kill.

The Prince spares Romeo's life and, in the same breath, says he will be "deaf to pleading and excuses" and that "Mercy but murders". Read your copy aloud and mark every word that sounds like mercy and every word that sounds like punishment. Is the sentence you have copied a merciful one? Point to what in the lines makes you answer as you do.

Discussion

Narration Retell Act III in order, from the street fight to Juliet's decision to go to the Friar, saying who is judging whom at each step.

1. Romeo refuses to fight Tybalt, then steps between the swords, and Mercutio is fatally hurt. Romeo says, "I thought all for the best." Was stepping in the right thing to try?Moral reasoning

2. Benvolio says Romeo spoke "With gentle breath, calm look, knees humbly bow’d"; Lady Capulet says "Affection makes him false." Whom does the Prince trust when he rules? Why might Shakespeare let us hear both first?Author's choice

3. Juliet calls Romeo "Beautiful tyrant" and "damned saint," then says, "Shall I speak ill of him that is my husband?" What turns her, and does the turn feel earned?Character

4. The Friar's list of Romeo's blessings (Juliet alive, Tybalt dead instead of Romeo, death turned to exile) comes after Romeo has said "Heaven is here where Juliet lives." What is each man counting, and whose sum do you trust?Theme

5. Juliet tells her mother, "God pardon him. I do, with all my heart." Lady Capulet answers with a poison plot. What does Lady Capulet hear in Juliet's words, and what might Juliet mean her to hear?Inference

6. Mercutio, wounded, jokes: "Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man." Why might Shakespeare let him joke while he is dying, and how does the joke change the scene?Tone

Make a Connection Tell about a time someone stepped in to stop a quarrel, and what came of it.

Vocabulary

Critical thinking

1. At dawn Juliet says it was the nightingale; Romeo says lark, then offers to stay and die; Juliet sends him away. Write a thesis on whether this is protection or delay, use two lines, answer an objection, and revise.

2. Capulet tells Paris "I think she will be rul’d," then tells Juliet "hang, beg, starve, die in the streets." Write a thesis on whether his care and cruelty are one thing or two. Use a line from each scene, answer an objection, and revise.

3. The Nurse says "I think it best you married with the County," and Juliet calls her "Ancient damnation!" Write a thesis on whether the Nurse's advice is kindness, betrayal, or good sense. Give the Nurse's case its full strength, answer Juliet's objection, and revise.