2nd PUC English Question and Answer Karnataka State Board Syllabus
2nd PUC English Chapter 1
Romeo and Juliet
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Comprehension I: Romeo and Juliet
Question 1:
The phrase ‘teach the torches to burn bright’ implies:
(a) Juliet’s glow is brighter than the light of the torch.
(b) Her beauty has the power to make the torches shine brighter.
(c) Her beauty outshines the brightness of the light.
Answer:
(c) Her beauty outshines the brightness of the light.
Question 2:
The phrase ‘for earth too dear’ suggests the lady’s beauty is:
(a) divine.
(b) rare.
(c) expensive.
Answer:
(c) expensive.
Question 3:
‘The measure done’ indicates the completion of:
(a) Romeo’s admiration of Juliet’s beauty.
(b) The dance organized by Lord Capulet.
(c) The glorification of Juliet’s charm.
Answer:
(a) Romeo’s admiration of Juliet’s beauty.
Question 4:
The line ‘Did my heart love till now?’ suggests:
(a) Romeo feels he has fallen in love.
(b) Romeo has been attracted before.
(c) Romeo feels this is true love.
Answer:
(c) Romeo feels this is true love.
Question 5:
The phrase ‘new snow’ suggests:
(a) Love as pure as snow.
(b) A description of Romeo’s charm.
(c) Juliet’s discreet love for Romeo.
Answer:
(c) Juliet’s discreet love for Romeo.
Question 6:
What does the phrase ‘face of heaven’ signify?
Answer:
The night sky was lit with bright, twinkling stars.
Comprehension II. Romeo and Juliet
Question 1:
What similes does Romeo use to describe Juliet’s beauty, and what effect do they have?
Answer:
Romeo uses several similes to praise Juliet’s beauty. He compares her to a rich jewel set in an Ethiopian’s ear, implying that her beauty is rare and valuable, too precious for this world. He then likens her to a white dove standing out among crows, highlighting her purity and grace.
In the opening lines, Romeo claims that Juliet’s beauty surpasses the brightness of light. These comparisons emphasize Romeo’s intense admiration and overwhelming passion for Juliet, making their love story timeless and immortal in the eyes of the world.
Question 2:
How, according to Juliet, would Romeo be immortalized to the world?
Answer:
Juliet believes her love for Romeo is more profound than his for her. She envisions that after his death, he will become a star in the night sky. By shining as a star, she hopes to immortalize him, allowing his light to twinkle in the darkness.
Juliet imagines her beloved Romeo as a star composed of countless small glimmers, collectively brightening the sky and making it more beautiful than during the day. This vision reflects her deep longing to keep his memory alive through the beauty of the stars.
Comprehension III. Romeo and Juliet
Question 1:
Comment on the imagery of ‘night-day, black-white’ in the poem. How do these contrasts highlight the intensity of love?
Answer:
William Shakespeare masterfully uses imagery in the poem to enhance its impact. The contrasting pairs of ‘night-day’ and ‘black-white’ are employed to emphasize the intensity of love.
In contrast to ‘night-day,’ night symbolizes a special time for lovers, offering a peaceful and calm atmosphere where they can feel connected. The night allows lovers to think of each other, longing for the warmth and comfort of their embrace. On the other hand, the day serves as the time when they can see each other physically, setting plans for their nighttime meetings. Thus, the day facilitates their union at night.
The imagery of ‘black-white’ symbolizes contrasting emotions in love. Black represents darkness, ugliness, and cruelty, while white symbolizes peace and serenity. However, white cannot shine without black, meaning that these opposites rely on each other. Together, they intensify the emotions of love, representing the balance between pain and pleasure. In this way, black and white reflect that love is a mix of struggles and joys, making the experience more profound and powerful.
Question 2:
Between Romeo and Juliet, whose love do you think is more passionate and intense?
Answer:
Although Romeo and Juliet come from rival families, their love is boundless, as vast as the sky and earth, without any flaws. It is hard to determine whose love is more intense because true love doesn’t allow for comparisons. However, Juliet’s love seems more passionate and intense because, while love may come easily to boys, it is far more challenging for a girl, especially from a rival family.
Despite knowing the dangers, Juliet doesn’t fear her family’s wrath. She is fully aware that if their love is discovered, both she and Romeo could be killed. Yet, she remains unafraid. Juliet expresses her deep devotion by imagining Romeo, after his death, being transformed into stars that light up the night sky, making it brighter than the day.
This vision of Romeo shining brighter than the sun and filling the sky with his glow is evidence of Juliet’s intense love. She believes that the world would forget to worship the sun, finding peace in the night under her beloved’s presence. Her love immortalizes Romeo, making his death timeless and their love eternal, showing how deeply she cherishes him.
Additional Questions and Answers Romeo and Juliet
Question 1:
What is the meaning of the phrase “It seems she hangs upon the cheek of the night”?
Answer:
The phrase compares Juliet’s beauty to twilight, suggesting that she radiates like the golden light of the evening. She appears to glow softly, standing out against the darkness, much like the gentle light of the setting sun illuminating the night.
Question 2:
What was Juliet compared to?
Answer:
Juliet was compared to a rich jewel hanging in an Ethiopian’s ear, emphasizing her rare beauty and radiance.
Question 3:
What did Juliet expect Romeo to become after her death?
Answer:
Juliet imagined Romeo being cut into little stars after her death, shining brightly in the heavens.
Romeo and Juliet Summary
– William Shakespeare
The poem “Romeo and Juliet” is a famous legendary classical love story by William Shakespeare, who is considered the national poet of England and called the “Bard of Avon”. His pen has made “Rome and Juliet” remain immortal in the history of English literature. Perhaps, Romeo and Juliet became model lovers to emulate for all upcoming lovers. Their names are the incantations of lovers all over.
Here in the poem, Shakespeare describes the intensity of love of Romeo and Juliet in their speeches. By using various figures of speech and images Shakespeare brings out the poem as the feelings of the passionate lovers.
The background of the story is that there were two noble families in Verona Italy. They were the Capulets and the Montagues who were enemies. Romeo belonged to the family of Montagues and Juliet belonged to the Capulets. Old Lord Capulet hosted a grand supper. Though Romeo was uninvited, he also attended the supper in disguise. There he saw Juliet on the dance floor and was attracted by her marvellous beauty. After the dance, he learnt that she is the daughter of Lord Capulet. She too was attracted by Romeo, though he belonged to an enemy family.
Then, Romeo expressed his immense love to her by saying that her beauty surpasses the Her beauty was compared to the twilight of the golden sunset and rich jewel in an African’s ear. Her beauty was so rare and expensive. She was just like a white dove among black crows. He felt that his rough hand was blessed by her soft touch and he felt that it was true love and he had never seen such beauty anywhere before.
Juliet also expresses her intense love through many metaphors, She calls him a day in the night and whiter than snow.
Her immense and intense love is brought out by her statements that after her death he should be cut into small little stars that glitter in the night sky. Through this shining, she wanted him to live immortally. His brightness would be so much to make the world forget even to worship the sun and spend time at night happily watching Romeo’s brightness. In this way, Shakespeare excellently brought out the immortal love between Romeo and Juliet.