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Loving Quicksand A person’s actions are driven by their dominant traits. These traits can be both a person’s greatest strength and weakness. This is clearly depicted in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. In this play, many characters have some dominant trait that displays a new perspective to the tragedy of Verona. The Nurse and Friar Laurence use their knowledge of the world, and their love for Romeo and Juliet, to influence the play and the protagonists. From the day she was born, Juliet has always had a companion who would do anything to help her. Motivated by love, the Nurse spent years of her life trying to make sure Juliet would have an enjoyable childhood. She is a motherly figure to Juliet, and her main goal is to make sure Juliet will live a …show more content…
This trait is driven by the Nurse’s motherly nature.Throughout the play, we can see that the Nurse is more of a mother to Juliet, than Lady Capulet. This is especially evident when the Nurse was able to name the exact time till Juliet’s birthday: “I’ll lay fourteen of my teeth—/ And yet, to my teeth be it spoken, I have but four—/ She is not fourteen. How long is it now/ To Lammas-tide?”(1, 3 11-14). This excerpt shows us how well the Nurse knows Juliet. Her ability to give the exact time till her birthday shows us that the Nurse really cares about Juliet. Not only is the Nurse a mother to Juliet, she is also a FOIL. The audience is given a chance to see a different side of Juliet when the Nurse is around. Through most of the play, we see Juliet as an obedient and polite daughter, but when she is with the Nurse she unleashes her inner child. For example, when Juliet hears of Romeo’s banishment, she looked to the Nurse for some comfort. She sat and bawled in the Nurse’s arms multiple times during the play. When she was distressed, she could always look to her Nurse for support and advice. The Nurse also brings out a more bossy and impatient side to Juliet. This can first be seen when the Nurse comes
Conversely, Juliet's mother is stiff and cold towards, and uses Juliet as a tool to make the family name look good. As we learn in towards the beginning of the story Juliet is the last child of the Capulet line, and as a result her mother also puts pressure on Juliet for having a two year engagement with the Prince. Nurse obviously seems to be closer to Juliet, than her biological mother. Hence, this is yet another character foil present in Shakespeare’s play involves Juliet’s nurse and Lady Capulet (Juliet’s mother.)
the Nurse wants Juliet to be safe and happy and that she is not just
This proves that the nurse is a respectful servant who listens to Lady Capulets commands. In this scene, the audience is mainly focused on the nurse as she is the main objective of the scene. Shakespeare also highlights the contradiction between these two relationships. The reader can perceive how the closeness of Juliet and Nurse Relationship contradicts that of her mother.
While Juliet’s parents are making final plans for the wedding, Juliet and the Nurse are picking out clothes for the big day and Juliet is getting ready to go to sleep. Juliet says to the Nurse, “Ay, those attires are best. But, gentle Nurse,/ I pray thee, leave me to myself tonight,/ For I have a need of many orisons” (4.3.1-4). This supports the claim because she is being nice, but secretly wants to be alone and doesn't need the Nurse anymore. This is a big deal because she shared her secret with someone else and has replaced the Nurse. These are good clothes for me to wear tomorrow. I want to be alone tonight and want to pray. The Nurse was giving her advice to marry Paris, and was saying how Romeo wouldn’t be a good man. Juliet however gets furious and breaks her relationship with the Nurse. Juliet talks to herself and says, “Though and my bosom henceforth shall be twain” (3.5.241). This supports the claim because she doesn’t want the Nurse anymore and is mad her for giving her advice. I am going to make my own decisions and never tell you what I’m thinking again.The significance of showing Juliet’s change towards The Nurse in Romeo and Juliet is important because The Nurse through most of the book is seen as a mentor and a mother figure and that changes when the Nurse goes against Juliet’s
One of the most memorable characters in the play is the Nurse. Most prominently noted for her humor, the Nurse contributes a great deal to the play, though she appears in only twelve scenes. Once the climactic point of Mercutio's death is reached, the humorous qualities of the Nurse quickly diminish, never to be seen in their entirety again. At this point, the Nurse's main function as a messenger becomes apparent, which gives proof of her love and loyalty to her Lady. Her impact in the play is clear, the Nurse is the messenger of all news, good and bad, to Juliet regarding Romeo, until their tragic parting. Though the Nurse has nothing but good intentions for Juliet, her own personal flaws cause Juliet to lose full sight of situations. The Nurse has a somewhat questionable philosophy towards Juliet's situation with Romeo. "Her interests are immediate and material. Her commitment is to eros, and therefore toward the physical union of the lovers" (Stevens). The Nurse feels that her loyalty for Juliet overrides her loyalty for Capulet and his wife, and therefore believes she is justified in her interference wi...
The nurse has raised Juliet since she was a baby. She plays more of a
The Nurse is a loving and caring character much more different from Benvolio and Romeo. The Nurse is Juliet’s motherly figure the one that is on Juliet side and only wants to see her happy. When Juliet’s real mom, Lady Capulet suggested that Juliet should accept the marriage proposal that Paris had offered, the Nurse, happily agreed with Lady Capulet because the only thing the Nurse wanted was to see Juliet happy like any mother would. “‘Go girl, seek happy nights to happy days.”’ (Shakespeare I.iii.105). This scene and the statement that the Nurse made shows how much the Nurse cares for Juliet, she treats her like a daughter and is thinking about her happiness. The Nurse shows that she has motherly traits and that she is very caring taking
The Nurse was also responsible for the tragic ending of the play. When Romeo and Juliet met, the Nurse became their messenger. She helped them be together even though she knew Romeo was a Montague and that Juliet's family would disapprove. The Nurse brought news to Juliet from Romeo telling her to sneak out so they could get married. She helped Juliet get out of her house by bringing her a rope ladder to climb off her balcony with and telling her parents that she went to shrift. The Nurse kept Romeo and Juliet's marriage a secret from the families. When Juliet's parents said she should marry Paris, the Nurse agreed and said that Juliet should forget about Romeo because he was in Mantua. With the Nurse no longer on her side she had no one to help her and back her up but the Friar. In this way she had a large impact on the terrible ending of Romeo and Juliet.
All throughout the play Juliet is maturing, but this scene is the focal point. Shakespeare seems to tie this focal point to her first sexual experience and marriage. She now feels like more of a woman after experiencing these two parts of life. Her defiance of her parents shows more independence than maturity, however, it is hard to blame the misfortuned Juliet for reaction in the manner she did. Also, the somewhat tragic ending of Juliet's confidence of the Nurse shows she is willing to be own her own, so that she can have what she wants. What she wants though was probably not the best decision, because when all the foreshadowing was finally enacted she and the person she loved the most lied dead.
The Nurse is Juliet’s messenger, mother, companion, friend, and true-believer in Juliet’s relationship with Romeo. She truly helped the play move quickly and powerfully.
In spite of this, is certain that the Nurse played a serious role in encouraging the lovers? relationship to blossom. Instead of advising Juliet on the dangers of a love that is ?too rash, too unadvis?d, to sudden?, she continues to place Romeo upon a pedestal, proclaiming his ?face be better than any man?s, his leg excels all men?s, his [body parts] are past compare?. Her haste for Juliet to ?hie hence to Friar Lawrence? cell?, and preparations for ?cords? to be brought for Romeo to ?convoy [to Juliet] in the secret night?, are gestures that illustrate her desire for their relationship to progress quickly. Therefore by offering her approval of Romeo, the Nurse inadvertedly strengthens Juliet?s devo...
She loves Juliet like her own child. Throughout the play, The Nurse is very talkative. She will usually do what she believes is right or what Juliet wants, like secretly meeting with Romeo and arranging the wedding of Romeo and Juliet. Throughout the play, the relationship between Juliet and The Nurse always shows. The Nurse has a playful as well as caring relationship with Juliet.
No one could survive a cruel world without a mother figure, confidante or bestfriend. The nurse performs all these roles to help Juliet fulfill what her heart desires First, the nurse proves that she is the one who
...give you happiness. This is also referring back to the Romeo and Juliet effect because the nurse wants Juliet to find someone else although this just makes Juliet like Romeo even more. Juliet took this advice by staying with Romeo that led to more conflict thus leading to Juliet’s death. Therefor, the nurse is once again responsible for Juliet’s death.
Juliet’s relationship with her mother, Lady Capulet, is different from a normal mother-daughter relationship. In the time where this play takes place, women did not have as much power to make family-related decisions. Her part was not very prevalent throughout the play, and she served as an opposing force to Juliet and Romeo’s desires. She was scarcely around her child throughout her lifetime. During this time period, it was normal for a nurse to bring up a newborn baby, so Juliet did not have a close relationship with her mother primarily because they were seldom together. When her mother tries to hold a conversation with her in private, she has no idea what to say because she never has spent time alone with her daughter. “This is the matter. Nurse, give leave awhile, We must talk in secret. Nurse, come back again” (1.3. 390). So, normally a teenage girl would talk with her mother about problems she was having with her inter-personal relat...