preview

Nurse In Romeo And Juliet Essay

Decent Essays

Within Romeo and Juliet the nurse is used as a means of communication between the two star crossed lovers. More than this the nurse is a mother figure to Juliet. The nurse is first introduced in act 1 scene 3, when speaking of Juliet’s age and how she was as a child. Introducing the nurse like this gives her a motherly impression to the reader by showing how much she cares and knows about Juliet. Throughout the beginning of the play you are able to further see the development of the nurse along with Juliet even if their characters may eventually diverge.
The nurse supports Juliet in her decision to be with Romeo. She is only one of a few people that knows about Romeo and Juliet and is willing to help them. Juliet was raised by the nurse who was her wet nurse when she was growing up. Their relationship is playful and caring throughout the beginning of the play. This shows how close the two of them are. In the beginning of the book Lady Capulet speaks to Juliet about a marriage with Paris and the Lady is unable to recount Juliet’s age while the nurse is able to as …show more content…

Many times throughout the play, the nurse speaks only of the physical aspects of a relationship or marriage. She does not speak of emotions or caring, and may not believe in this being a necessary component of love or marriage. The nurse refers to men as untrustworthy and cheaters even though she had been married. In act 3 scene 2 lines 85-87 the nurse says “There’s no trust, No faith, no honesty in men. All perjured, All forsworn, all naught, all dissemblers.” Her view on men is very pessimistic and narrow in believing that all men are the same. This belief may have led to the conflict further in the story where the nurse betrayed Juliet. Due to this understanding of love that the nurse possesses she may not have been able to comprehend the type of love that Romeo and Juliet had. This causing her to betray Juliet and lose her

Get Access