The Role of the Nurse in Her Relationship with Juliet in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a play written by Shakespeare. It is about two
feuding families, the Capulets and the Montagues, whose children fall
in love. The play ends in tragedy when both Romeo and Juliet die.
At the time this play was written and set society was very different.
For instance, people didn't live as long therefore got married earlier
that is why is was acceptable for Juliet to marry at only 13. It was
very common for richer families to employ a nurse. The childs mother
would have little or no role in bringing up the child, so great bonds
would be made between Juliet and her nurse. Another thing that
happened was that children would always obey their parents without
question; this is why when Juliet refuses to marry Paris her father
gets so angry.
In act1 scene3 we first meet Juliet and Nurse and see the strong
mother/ daughter type bond between her and Juliet. We can immediately
see that Nurse plays a big part in the play from the way that she
talks. She has to be told to be quiet by Lady Capulet, she does not
act like an ordinary servant. The Nurse seems to get the respect of
most characters in the play, apart from Lady Capulet. She even says
"Enough of this, I pray thee hold thy peace" when Nurse talks too much
to her Nurse is just another servant, but Nurse fails to notice this
and talks to her as if they are equals. The amount Nurse talks shows
her strong relationship with Juliet and that she is going to have a
large part in the play. The Nurse's relationship with Juliet is
strengthened when she talks about her own daughter ...
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...ne that changes constantly throughout the play.
At the start of the play in her first scene she is simply Juliet's
friend and link to her mother who doesn't really know how to talk to
Juliet. In act1 scene5 she is shown not as much as a friend but more
of a mother figure and protector. In act2 scene4 she is a friend of
Juliet and also a go-between for her and Romeo. This is bad for Nurse
because if she were caught she would most definitely lose her job. In
the next scene she is playing the role of friend and teasing Juliet.
Act3 scene2 Nurse is more serious and acts like family and is very
loyal to the Capulets to the extent that she insults Romeo. The final
scene Nurse is in act3 scene5 she thinks primarily of her self and
advises Juliet to marry Paris, so her role is this scene is just as an
employee of the Capulets.
The Nurse has a stronger relationship with Juliet over her own mother, Lady Capulet. The nurse really cares for Juliet and loves her like a daughter because she lost her daughter Susan. “Susan and she-God rest all Christian souls!-/Were of an age: well, Susan is with God…”(Ⅰ,ⅲ,20-21). The Nurse lost her daughter, Susan, and she was born on the same day as Juliet. This leads me to believe that the Nurse must be replacing her own loss with the life of Juliet. The Nurse did do many things that only mothers do. “She was wean’d,-I never shall forget it…”(Ⅰ,ⅲ,26). This quote says that the nurse will never forget the day that Juliet was weaned off of her breast milk. Breastfeeding is something
Juliet's Nurse is first introduced to the play in Act I Scene 3. It is
What do you think of the way Lord Capulet behaves in Act 3 Scene 5 and
Throughout the play Romeo and Juliet were aided in their love. It was according to Romeo and Juliet love at first sight and with the help of Juliet’s closest companion the nurse and Friar Lawrence it was made possible for the lovers to exchange vows and continue their relationship behind the twos houses backs. The nurse plays a role in Juliet’s life ‘when it did taste the wormwood on the nipple’ we find out that Juliet’s and the nurse have ad a close and long term friendship with Juliet even feeding off her as a baby, this close relationship is important alter on in the play when the nurse betrays Juliet’s trust.
The nurse should be excused for her actions in the play. Although she made the decision to help Juliet without the consent of her parents, she was thinking of Juliet’s happiness.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Firstly, Juliet is misguided by the Nurse – a bawdy woman who is too caught up in her own sentimental feelings to support and direct Juliet through hers. She is responsible for encouraging Juliet’s marriage with Romeo (her lover) shortly after they meet, despite knowing that
The Nurse disregards Juliet’s feelings for Romeo and takes the easy option, telling her to marry Paris, “I think you are happy in this second match, for it excels your first”. Juliet despises the Nurse for saying this.
soothes the family of the loss of young Juliet's life (Act IV, Scene 5, Line 65).
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.
Secondly, the imbecile wet nurse of Juliet plays an unsupportive parental role during Juliet’s misery of losing Romeo in ba...
The Nurse was another ally to Romeo and Juliet. The Nurse loved Juliet and wanted what was best for her.
Her relationship with Juliet is very distant and weak. This is revealed by when she calls the nurse to ‘’come back again’’ when talking to Juliet. She becomes nervous and feels like she couldn’t talk to Juliet without the presence of the nurse.This suggests that she’s not used to being alone with Juliet and relies on the nurse to do the parenting. In
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.
The Nurse’s job is take care of Juliet and raise her; however, upon learning that Juliet is romantically involved with their family’s enemy, she doesn’t provide any form of counsel to Juliet.” I must another way, To fetch a ladder by the which your love Must climb a bird 's nest soon when its dark.” (2.5.77-79). The Nurse aides Romeo by telling him a way to Juliet’s room showing her approval of the relationship. She did not provide any form of counsel to Juliet or inform Capulet or Lady Capulet about Juliet’s relationship. Due to the fact that the Nurse does not do her job and doesn’t tell Juliet to end her relationship with Romeo, it caused this ill-fated relationship to continue. To add to the issue, the Nurse later betrays Juliet when Juliet begs her for help. “I think you are happy in this second match, For it excels your first, or, if it did not, Your first is dead, or 'twere as good he were, As living here and you no use of him.” (3.5.226-238). The Nurse goes against her previous actions and expects Juliet to forget about Romeo by dispraising him. Juliet wants to remain faithful to her husband and this betrayal along with Capulet’s ultimatum causes Juliet to act hastily and want to die if she wasn’t with
From the "fatal loins" (Prologue.5) of Lord and Lady Capulet, the protagonist Juliet is born in Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. Early on in the play, Juliet is portrayed as a very dutiful daughter to her family. However, after her encounter with Romeo, she undergoes a rapid transformation from a naive young girl into a woman. By the end of the play, Juliet's transformation evolves her from a dutiful daughter into a faithful wife who is willing to desert her family in the name of love. The audience is first introduced to Juliet in the exposition of the play.