Brush Off Your Balcony for "Romeo and Juliet" Trivia

By: R. White
Estimated Completion Time
5 min
Brush Off Your Balcony for "Romeo and Juliet" Trivia
Image: tmdb

About This Quiz

The classic Shakespearean tale of ill-fated lovers in the midst of family feuding between the Montagues and the Capulets. Zefferelli portrays young love as beautiful and timeless.
The movie won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design. What colors did the Capulets typically wear?
Purple, orange, and white
Blue, green, and black
Yellow, orange, and red
Because there are so many characters, in many scenes, each family had a color scheme. The Montagues typically wore blue and green.
Green, white, and yellow
Neither Romeo nor Juliet are in the opening scene. Who is?
Lord and Lady Capulet
The Nurse
Servants from the houses of Montague and Capulet
A Capulet servant insults the Montague servants by "biting his thumb" at them. Essentially he is giving them the finger!
Friar Lawrence
Which character said, "These violent delights have violent ends"?
Romeo
Friar Lawrence
The Friar says this as a warning and it serves as a foreshadowing of the deaths of the young lovers.
The Nurse
Tybalt

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How old is Juliet?
9
13
The nurse and Lady Capulet discuss her age when the idea of marriage is presented to Juliet. Juliet is naive and obedient, and she agrees to "check him out."
19
23
Which character attempts to be the peacemaker when a brawl breaks out among the Capulet and Montague servants?
Tybalt
Romeo
Mercutio
Benvolio
Benvolio gets dragged into the action when Tybalt shows up to add to the turmoil. Benvolio is Romeo's cousin.
Romeo is introduced walking up the road and is eventually stopped by Benvolio. What is Romeo holding?
An apple
A sword
A mandolin
A flower
Romeo is infatuated with a girl named Rosaline. His romantic nature is enhanced as he sniffs the flower.

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Director Franco Zeffirelli was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for directing "Romeo and Juliet." What other movie version of a Shakespearean play did he direct in 1967?
Macbeth
The Taming of the Shrew
Elizabeth Taylor played the lead role of Kate. He also directed Hamlet in 1990, which starred Mel Gibson (Hamlet) and Glenn Close (Gertrude).
King Lear
A Midsummer Night's Dream
The actors often wore hats. How many different hats did Leonard Whiting (Romeo) wear throughout the film?
2
He wears one when he meets with Benvolio about Rosaline, and one in the sword fight scene. He carries one in two other scenes, but never wears them.
0
6
32
When Romeo asks the nurse about Juliet during the Capulet ball, what is the nurse doing?
She is dancing.
She is chopping carrots.
She is sneaking a drink.
Her character serves as comic relief. Although her drinking is not in the original play, Shakespeare would have approved.
She is playing a tambourine.

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Milo O'Shea (Friar Lawrence) has appeared in many movies and television shows. In which of these did he NOT appear?
The West Wing
Law and Order
He received a Tony nomination in 1968 for his role as a gay hairdresser in the Broadway production of "Staircase." His second Tony nomination came in 1982 for his role as Father Tim Farley in "Mass Appeal."
Ulysses
Barbarella
Prince Escalus has threatened death to anyone who disturbs the peace after the opening brawl. How many times did he say it had happened before?
"Too many times"
"Twice"
"Thrice"
In recent times he cites "thrice," but the narrator mentions the feud between the families is an "ancient grudge."
He does not mention it.
John McEnery (Mercutio) was in Zeffirelli's 1990, "Hamlet." What role did he play?
Osric
Osric referees the sword fight between Laertes and Hamlet. McEnery played Hamlet on the London stage in "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead."
Fortinbras
Laertes
The ghost of Old Hamlet

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Mercutio gives a long speech on the way to the Capulet party. What is the topic?
Juliet
Prince Escalus
Aphrodite
Queen Mab
He describes Queen Mab as the fairies' midwife and discusses the dreams she brings to mortals. He emphasizes to Romeo that it is foolish to be a dreamer.
What is the name of the dance that Romeo and Juliet dance together?
Moresca
It is a gender-based Renaissance dance where everyone wears bells on their wrists. Partners are exchanged throughout.
The Waltz
The Volte
Les Bouffons
What kind of mask does Romeo wear to the Capulet party?
A ram
A clown
A skull
A cat-like mask
A mask keeps Romeo's identity a secret because he is crashing the party as a Montague. Tybalt recognizes him.

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One of the recognizable songs from the movie is sung by a minstrel at the Capulet party. What is it?
"The Meadow of His Heart"
"A Love Too Late"
"What is a Youth?"
This scene buys time for the young lovers to finally speak to each other, while the other guests are distracted by the entertainment. During the song, Romeo and Juliet share their first kiss.
"The Desire Within"
Which scene did Olivia Hussey (Juliet) claim won her the part of Juliet during auditions for the movie?
The balcony scene with Romeo
The scene where she kills herself at the tomb
The potion scene
Zeffirelli auditioned hundreds of Juliets and was not sold on Hussey the first time around. The scene was later reduced to only a few lines in the film.
The scene when she meets Romeo for the first time
Which character comments, "He jests at scars that never felt a wound."
Romeo
Romeo says this as a criticism of Mercutio. Romeo believes Mercutio mocks him for an emotion (love) that Mercurio has never felt.
Mercutio
Tybalt
Juliet

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What is Friar Laurence doing when he is introduced in the movie?
Performing a baptism
Feeding the poor
Gathering plants and herbs
This foreshadows Friar Lawrence's knowledge of plants when he offers the potion to Juliet to make her appear dead.
Speaking with Lord Capulet about the feuding
Who is referred to as "Prince of Cats"?
Tybalt
Mercutio taunts Tybalt with comments comparing him to a cat. Tybalt preys on others.
Mercutio
Benvolio
Romeo
Bruce Robinson played Benvolio, Romeo's cousin. He went on to write and direct a cult film in the 1980s. What was it?
"Harold and Maude"
"Withnail and I"
"Withnail and I" is the biographical story of two unemployed actors. It includes actor Richard Griffiths (Uncle Vernon of the "Harry Potter" movies) as the lecherous Uncle Monty.
"The Gods Must Be Crazy"
"The Rocky Horror Picture Show"

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Where is the nurse when she puts Romeo on her lap?
In church
She is arranging the plans for the marriage between Romeo and Juliet. Her excitement over the plans gets playful.
At the Capulet party
The balcony scene
In the Capulet garden
Which actor from the film has been named an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire?
Michael York (Tybalt)
OBE (Order of the British Empire) is bestowed on those in the UK who have made contributions to society. There are six ranks; two entitle a person to put "Sir" or "Dame" in front of his/her name.
Bruce Robinson (Benvolio)
John McEnery (Mercutio)
Milo O'Shea (Friar Laurence)
The sword fighting scene between Tybalt and Mercutio becomes playful before it turns deadly. What else is used as a weapon?
A horseshoe
A sack of grain
A pitchfork
Mercutio disarms Tybalt and all he has at his disposal is a pitchfork in a pile of hay. Mercutio evens folds his arms and whistles, at which everyone laughs.
A handkerchief

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Friar John doesn't have a speaking part. What is he seen doing?
He marries Romeo and Juliet.
He performs the funeral ceremony for Juliet's fake death.
He prays over Mercutio's dead body.
He has a message for Romeo and traveling on a road with a mule
Friar Lawrence gives a letter to Friar John to deliver to Romeo outlining the plan of Juliet's faked death. Friar John does not reach Romeo in time and they pass each other along the road as Romeo races back to Verona, believing Juliet is dead.
"What's in a name?" is spoken in what scene?
The opening brawl
The balcony scene
Juliet says this on the balcony as she ponders the insignificance of Romeo's name as her family's enemy. His name doesn't matter to her.
The Capulet party
The scene where Romeo and Juliet die
Who utters the curse, "A plague on both your houses!"
Mercutio
Mercutio shouts this after he is fatally wounded. His friends think he is joking, until Romeo sees the wound.
Friar Laurence
Prince Escalus
The Nurse

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How does the nurse betray Juliet?
She fails to help Juliet marry Romeo.
She advises Juliet to marry Paris.
Juliet is shocked by the nurse's suggestion. The nurse says Romeo is a "dish clout" next to Paris.
She tells Lady Capulet of the marriage between Romeo and Juliet.
She tries to poison Romeo.
Which actor/actress had a recurring role in the series, "The Gilmore Girls?"
Pat Heywood (the Nurse)
Natasha Parry (Lady Capulet)
Leonard Whiting (Romeo)
Michael York (Tybalt)
In "The Gilmore Girls," Michael York played the part of a Yale professor named Asher Fleming.
To where is Romeo banished?
Verona
Mantua
The Prince exiles Romeo for killing Tybalt. He receives a lesser punishment than death because Tybalt killed Mercutio and Romeo was seeking vengeance.
Venice
Montego

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Some parts from Shakespeare's original play were not included in Zeffirelli's version. What were they?
Juliet's speech before she drinks the potion and Lady Montague's death
Juliet ponders whether she should drink the potion to fake her death. Lady Montague dies of a broken heart when Romeo is exiled, but she appears at the end of the film when Romeo and Juliet's deaths are reflected upon.
The apothecary's sale of poison and the honeymoon night
Friar Lawrence giving Juliet the death potion and Tybalt's challenge to Romeo
Lady Capulet hiring an assassin and Romeo praising Tybalt in the tomb
Who reveals a smile at Juliet's funeral?
Paris
The Nurse
Friar Lawrence
The Friar is the only one who knows Juliet is not really dead. He catches himself so no one sees his smirk at such a solemn event.
Balthasar
How many of the significant characters die in Zeffirelli's version?
4
Zeffirelli kills off four characters (Mercutio, Tybalt, Romeo, and Juliet) to Shakespeare's six (Paris and Lady Montague, in addition to the other four).
5
6
7

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Who is the uncredited actor who narrates the beginning and end, as well as other voices?
Orson Wells
Charlton Heston
Laurence Olivier
Four-time Academy Award winner Olivier also dubbed the voice for Lord Montague.
Sidney Poitier
In the final scene, who accepts part of the responsibility for Romeo and Juliet's deaths?
Prince Escalus
Escalus says, "And I, for winking at your discords..." He regrets not having been harsher with Lords Montague and Capulet.
Friar Lawrence
Lady Capulet
The Nurse
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