act 4 scene 3 Juliet,s Soliloquy W o R1 Read texts with fluency, understanding and competence
In this soliloquy, Juliet is in a highly emotional state. Her mind is jumping from trust to terror as she holds the potion in her hand.
Is the Friar tricking her and really planning her death to save his reputation? Will she wake up? What will happen then? What horrors will she see in the tomb?
Now that you have read so much of the play, your fluency in Shakespeare’s language is growing. It might not feel like it, but you understand this old style of English much better already! Take some time to read the soliloquy to yourself. Can you find the lines that correspond to the modern phrases below? Try to find them as quickly as you can.
1. Sneakily given to me to kill me 2. In case this marriage destroys his reputation 3. I believe 4. To save me 5. Could I be suffocated in the tomb? 6. A burial tomb, a very old container 7. Lies rotting in the cloth that was wrapped around his corpse 8. If I wake up, will I go crazy with terror? 9. Play insane games with my ancestors’ bones 10. Beat myself to death
