A key difference between William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and Arthur Brooke's The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet is the character and role of Juliet's Nurse. In Shakespeare's rendition of Brooke's poem, the Nurse prides herself for raising Juliet (Act I, scene iii, 16-48). She even feels as though she is above Lady Capulet because she breast-fed Juliet, something that Lady Capulet would never do. The Nurse has essentially raised Juliet and helped shape her into the teenager she is now. The depth of this relationship causes the Nurse to have a maternal relationship with Juliet, which is in contrast to the cold, impassionate relationship Juliet has with her actual mother. The Nurse regards Juliet as her daughter, especially …show more content…
The drastic change between Shakespeare's Nurse and Brooke's Nurse is a result of numerous necessary factors. In Romeus and Juliet, Juliet is sixteen and well on her way to becoming an adult, whereas in Romeo and Juliet, Juliet is thirteen and still in need of a wise character to guide her through her early adolescence. Shakespeare's Nurse provides this guidance that Juliet so desperately needs when she falls in love for the first time. There is no need for such guidance for Brooke's Juliet because she is already a young lady. Whatever the reason behind depicting the character of the Nurse as such, both Shakespeare and Brooke use her character to teach the audience. In Shakespeare's version, the Nurse attempts to speak in blank verse in: Act I, scene iii, 16-48; Act III, scene ii, 43-51; and Act IV, scene v, 49-54, when in the presence of those of high social class, including: Lady Capulet, Juliet, Lord Capulet and Paris. As a result of frequent malapropism, she only succeeds in embarrassing herself. Speech in blank verse is a characteristic unique to those of a higher class in Shakespeare's work, and the Nurse's poor attempts to speak in it are an insult to those ranked above her. Shakespeare is arguing that although the Nurse plays a major role in Juliet's life, she is still just a servant, and because of that she should still behave as a servant. To Shakespeare,
The nurse's key capacity inside the play is to go aboutas a go-between for Romeo and Juliet and is the maincharacter other than Minister Laurence to know about their wedding. The nurse, in spite of being a worker in the Capulet family unit, has a part comparable to that of Juliet's mom and views Juliet as her own particular girl. The nurse's association with Juliet centers consideration around Juliet's age. In Juliet's first scene, the nurse over and over affirms that Juliet has not yet had her fourteenth birthday celebration. As opposed to Juliet's childhood, the nurse is old and appreciates grumbling about her a throbbing painfulness. Juliet's dissatisfaction at relying upon the nurse as her courier is utilized to comic impact in Act II, Scene 5 when Juliet is compelled to tune in to the nurse's ailments while attempting to coax from her thenews of her wedding designs: The nurse, as Mercutio, loves to talk finally. She frequently rehashes herself, and her indelicate references to the sexual part of affection set the optimistic love of Romeo and Juliet separated from
Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride.” By saying this, it is clear how much Capulet cherishes Juliet. He is risking a rich suitor, to let Juliet become more mature before she marries. By speaking in prose Shakespeare shows Capulet’s class and authority, nevertheless, it also shows the sincerity of his love for Juliet. However the nurse also shows the love of a parent, she
The Nurse can be seen as a character which betrayed Juliet. The Nurse was quite
In William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the nurse and Friar Laurence play an enormous role. Not only does their advice aid Romeo and Juliet but their actions and the decisions they make throughout the whole play affects the whole outcome of numerous situations. Had the nurse and the friar not made the decisions they did, the tale of Romeo and Juliet might have not ended in tragedy.
They tell eachother everything. Most importantly, they can trust one another. Juliet turns to the Nurse for every problem she has. She depends on the Nurse to be there for her, especially in times of struggles and her love life. Throughout her love story with Romeo, the Nurse plays a very active role in Juliet’s life. We see the Nurse helping her to sneak away with Romeo but on the other side, we see the Nurse telling Juliet to obey her family orders, which relates back to the conflict between a parent figure and child.
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare introduces the readers to two very unique and colorful characters. These two characters are the Nurse and Friar Laurence who both play major roles that contribute to the outcome of the two lovers Romeo and Juliet. Both the Friar and the Nurse differentiate when it comes to their personality and behavior. The two characters have good intentions when they get involve in the challenges that face the two star-cross lovers, but both react differently to the incidents that happen. The Friar and the Nurse are major supporting characters, but Friar Laurence seems to be the most likable character.
In the opening lines of Act 1 Scene 3, it is implied that there is a stronger bond between Juliet and the Nurse than Juliet and her own mother, from the fact that Lady Capulet calls on the Nurse and asks ‘Nurse, where’s my daughter?’ From this we can understand that Lady Capulet relies on the Nurse to tell her where Juliet is, and is an ineffectual mother. This emphasises that mothers were distant from their children during Elizabethan times, and gives the impression that mothers had more important things to do than bring up their daughters. The Nurse provides a humorous anecdote from Juliet’s childhood, remembering how she fell over on her face, and how her husband had commented ‘Thou wilt fall backward when
Without the help of the Nurse, Romeo and Juliet would not have married or had a way to interact with each other. This is clearly shown in Act II Scene V where the Nurse talks to Romeo about the marriage plans. “I will tell her, sir that up do protests, which, as I take it is a gentlemanlike offer.”(836) If the Nurse had not been present as a messenger, communication between Romeo and Juliet would have been difficult and extremely risky. The Nurse is a mother figure to Juliet because, she takes care of Juliet and gives her advice. There are many situations where Juliet relies on the Nurse. For instance on her wedding night, the nurse helps Romeo by getting him a ladder to Juliet’s room. Thus, the Nurse influences the story by bringing the two young lovers together and helping them marry.
The Nurse kept all of Juliet’s secrets, and helped do many things for the love of Romeo and Juliet throughout the play, An example of this is when the nurse says, “Your love says, like an honest gentleman, and a courteous, and a kind, danand, I warrant,a virtuous,-Where is your mother?” (2.5.?)This quote is when the nurse was helping them to keep their love a secret and pass on messages from one to another when they were not able to see each other.Without the nurse passing on these messages Romeo and Juliet's love would have never been possible and neither would their tragic deaths. The nurse would sometimes question Juliet’s judgement but, she always tried to look out for what was best for Juliet, which caused Juliet to hide Friar Lawrence and her plan from the nurse, if Juliet would have been able trust the nurse then Romeo would have got the message and neither of them would have had to end up dead. In the play she helps the two young lovers with their secret meetings,love affairs,and messages.In this quote you can feel the hate that Juliet feels towards the nurse, The nurse also helps Romeo and Juliet with their secret marriage and all of the plans that had to happen in order to make their marriage possible.After the nurse agrees with Lord Capulet that Juliet should marry Paris Juliet is very angry and begins to feel hatred towards the nurse, she
First of all, The Nurse supports Juliet throughout the majority of the play, but her unsound advice is a notable reason for the young lovers’ downfall. For instance, Juliet appreciates The Nurse’s help during the beginning of her and Romeo’s relationship, but what Juliet is blind to is the damage that The Nurse does as she unintentionally leads Juliet to her death when she says “Then hie you hence to Friar Laurence’ cell;/ There stays a husband to make you a wife” (Shakespeare, II, v, 68-69). In essence, the wedding that The Nurse encourages Romeo and Juliet to have reflects her negative influence on their relationship as Juliet is left increasingly vulnerable to Romeo’s impulsivity, which is an extremely relevant cause of Juliet’s eventual demise. Additionally, both Romeo and Juliet are significantly affected by the immature behavior of their kin. Specifically, Juliet displays her eradicated ability to form rational decisions when she speaks of the pressure her family puts on her as she says “My only love sprung from my only hate!/ Too early seen unknown, and known too late!/ Prodigious birth of love it is to me/ That I must love a loathed enemy” (Shakespeare, I, v, 138-141). This internal conflict that arises when Juliet discovers that Romeo is a Montague is of significance
It was a shock to Juliet that she didn’t support as before. The nurse played as an important role to her, however it wasn’t how Juliet was expected it was going to happen. Juliet was left on her own to make some very important decisions at the age of 15. I believe that if the Nurse had been around to help Juliet things may have turned out differently. Strangely, she advised Juliet to forget about Romeo and marry Paris, betraying Juliet’s trust by advocating a false marriage: “I think it best you married with the County. O, he’s a lovely gentleman. Romeo’s a dish clout to him”(3.5.218). Juliet can’t believe that the Nurse offers such a course of action after the Nurse praised Romeo and helped bring the couple together. She could not have gone to Lady Capulet or Lord Capulet, because they would not have understood.
“An honour! Were not I thine only nurse, I would say thou hadst suck’d wisdom from thy teat” (1.3. 452). Her relationship with the Nurse was the opposite of the one she shared with her true parents and this lead Juliet to going to her Nurse whenever she had a predicament. This was counter-productive because these predicaments that she went to her Nurse for help lead to her dying because it was the Nurse’s obligation to side with Juliet and do what she was asked, even if it opposed what her parents would have approved. These jobs that Juliet set her Nurse out to complete were rebellious of what her parents would have wanted her to be doing. It was still a healthier relationship than the one that Juliet shared with her mother and father, which was significant considering the fact that she was a teenager when she faced all the issues that came with her forbidden love.
The Character of the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet The Nurse has a very important role in the play, being Juliet’s closest friend and helping her in her illicit relationship with Romeo. Her position in the Capulet household is superior to that of a normal servant. She is very familiar when she talks to Lady Capulet, and at times oversteps the mark. She talks about the daughter she once had and lost, and it is evident that Juliet is like a replacement and the Nurse lavishes all her motherly love and protectiveness on Juliet.
One of the most important relationships in Romeo and Juliet is the relationship between the Nurse and Juliet. In Act 1, Scene 3 we are introduced to the most vivid character of the play, the Nurse. With her speech that begins "Even or odd, of all days in the year, Come Lammas Eve at night shall she be fourteen." (1.3.16-48), we learn that she nursed
The Role of the Nurse in Her Relationship with Juliet in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet