Question

ead the excerpt from Act IV, scene i of Romeo and Juliet.

Friar Laurence: On Thursday, sir? the time is very short.

Paris: My father Capulet will have it so;
And I am nothing slow to slack his haste.

5
Friar Laurence: You say you do not know the lady’s mind:
Uneven is the course, I like it not.

Paris: Immoderately she weeps for Tybalt’s death,
And therefore have I little talk’d of love;
For Venus smiles not in a house of tears.

10
Why does Paris’s request create dramatic irony in this scene?

because Paris has not expressed his love to Juliet
because Friar Laurence has already married Juliet to Romeo
because Capulet has already welcomed Romeo into the family
because Juliet is still mourning the death of her cousin Tybalt

Answer 1

because Friar Laurence has already married Juliet to Romeo

Explanation: The audience knows Juliet is secretly married to Romeo, so Paris’s request to Friar Laurence to arrange a marriage with Juliet creates dramatic irony—the characters (Paris and Capulet) are unaware of the already-existing marriage.