'Romeo and Juliet': exploring Juliet's character and conceptualising agency | English

Starter quiz

Starting with the first, put these events from Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' in chronological order.

1

⇔

Juliet’s parents hope that she will marry Count Paris.

2

⇔

Juliet falls in love with Romeo and they marry in secret.

3

⇔

Romeo kills Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, and is banished from Verona.

4

⇔

Juliet’s father informs her that she must marry Count Paris.

5

⇔

Juliet fakes her own death.
Match the characters from Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' with their relation to Juliet.

Romeo

⇔

her husband ✓

Lord Capulet

⇔

her father ✓

Count Paris

⇔

her proposed husband ✓
Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' was published in which era?

Elizabethan era ✓

Jacobean era

Victorian era
'Relating to or denoting a system of society or government controlled by men' is the definition of which word beginning with 'p'?

'patriarchal' ✓
Which of the following is the definition of 'restricted'?

limited ✓

unlimited

expansive

boundless
Which of the following is the definition of 'subservient'?

the most important

less important ✓

more important

When Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' was written and performed, England was a __________ society.

matriarchal

patriarchal ✓

non-hierarchical
In Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet', which of the following characters is introduced to the audience last?

Romeo

Lord Capulet

Count Paris

Juliet ✓
Which of the following is the definition of 'precedence'?

the condition of being considered more important than someone ✓

the condition of being considered less important than someone

the condition of being considered as important as someone
'The capacity of an individual to act independently from others and to make their own free choices' is the definition of which word beginning with 'a'?

'agency' ✓
What does the concept of 'female agency' refer to?

the ability of female characters to overpower men

when female characters show a lack of action

the ability of the female characters to take action ✓
In Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet', where do we encounter Juliet's character?

outside in the streets of Verona

inside controlled spaces ✓

constantly moving inside and outside

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In a patriarchal society, women’s choices were restricted and they were expected to marry and bear children.
Arguably, Shakespeare’s structuring of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ conforms to the notion that men had precedence over women.
Furthermore, Juliet’s interactions with her surroundings could represent the restricted nature of women’s lives.
Our first and last impression of Juliet is around her marriage which could imply that women were defined by marriage.
Considering agency is important because it allows us to consider the power dynamics in society.

Women were completely powerless in patriarchal societies.

While women's lives were restricted, they were not completely powerless.

Patriarchal - relating to or denoting a system of society or government controlled by men
Agency - the capacity of an individual to act independently from others and to make their own free choices
Precedence - the condition of being considered more important than someone or something else
Subservient - less important; subordinate