Year 8 · English · Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet · Lesson 5
The tragic ending and themes
The tragic ending of Romeo and Juliet: the Friar's plan, the lovers' deaths, the Prince's final words, and the play's main themes.
21-minute video lesson
Teaching, worked examples and 20 practice questions solved step by step.
Watch free for a monthWhat your child will learn
- Describe how the play ends
- Analyse the lovers' last words
- Explain the Prince's final speech
- Identify and explain the main themes
- Link the ending to the Prologue
The method
- Know how the ending happens.
- Use a short quotation.
- Name the technique: couplet, personification, irony.
- Link to a theme: love, fate, conflict.
Key words: tragedy, theme, fate, dramatic irony, personification, rhyming couplet, feud.
Worked examples
The first three practice questions from the lesson, with every step.
Question 1
Who comes up with the plan for Juliet to fake her death?
- Step 1: Friar Laurence
Answer: Friar Laurence
Question 2
Why does Juliet need to fake her death?
- Step 1: To avoid marrying Paris
Answer: To avoid marrying Paris
Question 3
Why does the plan go wrong?
- Step 1: The message never reaches Romeo
- Step 2: He hears only that Juliet is dead
Answer: Romeo never gets the Friar's message