Why does the apothecary risk the death penalty to sell Romeo poison? 1. The apothecary is poor and starving. 2. The apothecary is greedy and calculating. 3. Romeo threatens to get the apothecary in trouble. 4. Romeo assures the apothecary that money is the real poison.

The correct answer is 1. The apothecary is poor and starving.

Explanation:

Art thou so bare and full of wretchedness,

And fear'st to die? Famine is in thy cheeks.

Need and oppression starveth in thine eyes.

Contempt and beggary hangs upon thy back.

The world is not thy friend nor the world's law.

The world affords no law to make thee rich.

Then be not poor, but break it, and take this.

The lines above show how Romeo convinced the man to sell him the poison he wanted. He tells the man that obeying the law is only making him starve. By breaking it, he can at least make some good money and feed himself. To that, the man responds that it is his poverty, not his will, that consents to selling the poison, and does indeed sell it.