The Australian Ballet

How well do you know Romeo and Juliet?

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Principal Artist Benedicte Bemet, Romeo and Juliet (Cranko) 2022
Photo Kate Longley

Think you know William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet? Answer the following questions and find out whether you’re an expert in the tragic romance that has captivated audiences for centuries. 

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Steven Heathcote, Romeo and Juliet (Cranko) 2003
Photo Jeff Busby

1. Why does Rosaline refuse Romeo?

A) She is in love with someone else.

B) Her parents forbid her to see him.

C) She has sworn to live a life of chastity. 

D) She is the niece of Lord Capulet and hates Romeo because he is a Montague.

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Principal Artist Marcus Morelli, Romeo and Juliet (Cranko) 2022
Photo Kate Longley

2. How does Romeo get invited to the party at the Capulet house?

A) He doesn’t, he and Benvolio sneak in through an unlocked door.

B) The servant sent to deliver the invitation cannot read and asks Romeo to read it for him.

C) Lord Capulet invites the Montagues as an apology for the earlier brawl. 

D) He attends as Mercutio’s guest

Queen Mab

Queen Mab, 1827
Image William Say after Alfred Edward Chalon

3. Who is Queen Mab?

A) The Prince’s mother

B) The Queen of the Faries

C) A Disney villain

D) Queen Elizabeth I

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Principal Artists Sharni Spencer and Callum Linnane, Romeo and Juliet (Cranko) 2022
Photo Jeff Busby 

4. Who says the following quote?

“Is love a tender thing? it is too rough, Too rude, too boisterous, and it pricks like thorn.”

A) Juliet

B) Mercutio

C) Paris

D) Romeo

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Stephen Baynes, Romeo and Juliet (Cranko) 2022
Photo Jeff Busby

5. What is Friar Lawrence’s specialty?

A) History

B) Card games

C) Plants and herbs

D) Anatomy

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Nathan Brook and Principal Artist Dimity Azoury, Romeo and Juliet, (Cranko) 2022
Photo Kate Longley

6. What does Juliet say Romeo should do in order to prove his love is “honourable”?

A) Propose marriage.

B) Bring her an extravagant present.

C) Convince the Montagues to end the feud with the Capulets.

D) Write her a poem every day for a year.

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Principal Artist Callum Linnane and Adam Bull, Romeo and Juliet (Cranko) 2022
Photo Jeff Busby 

7. Who kills Tybalt?

A) Mercutio

B) Romeo

C) Balthasar

D) The Nurse

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Principal Artist Sharni Spencer and Amy Harris, Romeo and Juliet (Cranko) 2022
Photo Jeff Busby

8. Why is the message from Friar Lawrence never delivered to Romeo?

A) Friar Lawrence addresses it incorrectly

B) Lord Capulet discovers the plan and stops the messenger.

C) Romeo has moved.

D) The messenger passes through a town infected with the plague and is held in quarantine.

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Principal Artists Callum Linnane and Sharni Spencer, Romeo and Juliet (Cranko) 2022
Photo Rainee Lantry

9. What is the total time span of Romeo and Juliet’s relationship?

A) Five days

B) Six months

C) Two years

D) Four weeks

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Principal Artists Callum Linnane and Sharni Spencer, Romeo and Juliet (Cranko) 2022
Photo Daniel Boud 

10. What do the Capulets and Montagues agree to do to commemorate their children?

A) Nothing, they disown them. 

B) Start a GoFundMe

C) Build a statue of them in gold.

D)  Hold a vigil. 

Answers

Each correct answer = 1 point

1. C

2. B 

3. B

4. D

5. C

6. A

7. B

8. D 

9. A

10. C

Results

1-3 Beginner Bard

You haven't read Romeo and Juliet since they forced you to study it in high school. Time to dig out the school books and brush up on your Shakespeare! 

4-6 Where there’s a Will(iam), there’s a way.

You’re on your way to mastering the art of the Bard and may have a few choice monologues memorised… “O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo”.

7-10 Fluent in Shakespeare

Your heart beats to the rhythm of iambic pentameter (okay actually, everyone’s does), but you know your soliloquies from your sonnets and probably have a complete works of William Shakespeare on your bookshelf.