Monologue For Lady Juliet

Esteemed citizens of fair Verona, I have come before you today to defend myself against the shocking accusations made against me. Indubitably, I, Lady Capulet, am innocent but a person, of importance to my family, is not. In the Lord’s name, I am certain that the Nurse had an undoubtful affiliation to the death of my daughter.

My fellow Lords and Ladies, you have suggested that, through my actions, I unintentionally caused the death of my beloved daughter, Juliet. You come before me, mocking me as an unfit mother! You spit that my negligence caused the death of Juliet! You defy the nature of any role as a mother and call me a murderer! However, you praise the sole reason the sequence of these wretched events occurred! The Nurse!

Today,

She was my angel; my princess, I hoped to witness blossom into a queen one day. My husband and I had only the best in mind for her. County Paris… what a fine gentleman! I believed he had the right intentions for Juliet and was committed to providing her with the stability, that she needed. Do I have the right to deny my daughter a significant opportunity? Marriage is what every fair lady dreams of, at least that is what I once believed, but the responses from Juliet was as if we were exiling her. Naturally, I was confused and disappointed. She refused! Juliet babbled on about how she’d rather marry the son of our enemy, Romeo! However, days before she thought of marriage as “an honor” that she “dream not of” (Act 1 Scene 3, 67). Additionally, she exclaimed how she’ll “look to like, if looking liking move” (Act 1, Scene 3, 98), but won’t give him any more encouragement than I consent. Something changed, but what? I didn’t know until today. Yet through his words, County Paris demonstrated genuine seriousness about protecting her, and the family he longed to have! The truth is, Capulet and I decided we would let the passing of two summers commence before they were to wed as “she hath not seen the change of fourteen years” (Act 1 Scene 2, 9). Quickly, we, individually, changed our decision, after witnessing the persistence of Paris. He truly cared about her and so did I. Hence, without the knowledge of her marital status with Romeo, I

The nurse has been working with us since the birth of Juliet, she knows the number of hairs on her head, she could “tell her age unto an hour” (Act 1 Scene 3, 12). Oh, my poor Juliet! Moreover, the Nurse caused Juliet distraught. It pains me to say that in her time of suffering, Juliet realised that the woman whom she relied on most wasn’t there for her. Some of the last words, Juliet ever heard from the nurse were “I think it best you married with the County” (Act 3 Scene 5, 217) which broke her soul. Ultimately, the nurse is to blame for Juliet’s death. The Nurse was rather boastful about her her opinions on love which were often risque and bawdy. The idealistic love she set for my daughter was sexually explicit. When planning the discreet wedding of the two she tempted Juliet to “fetch a ladder” by which Romeo “must climb a bird’s nest soon,” she said she “shall bear the burden soon at night” (Act 2, Scene 5, 73-76). The Nurse never shared Juliet's idea of love; for her, love is a temporary, so she wouldn’t understand the intense and spiritual love Romeo and Juliet shared. Juliet longed for a relationship much like one between me and her father, but the nurse did not understand this. And with this the Nurse encouraged Juliet to do everything she knew was wrong. The Nurse is subject to the whims of society, and was a lousy role model for