In Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, he uses foils to further isolate key aspects in a main character’s personality. He has three examples of this literary element: Romeo and Mercutio; Tybalt and Benvolio; and the Nurse and Lady Capulet. The curt, imperious Lady Capulet and her foil, the somewhat crude, suggestive Nurse, are the topics of this paper. Lady Capulet is very different from her foil in many ways, but they are also similar in some ways. Their similarities and some of their differences are mostly related to Juliet, a girl in which they both love. Lady Capulet and the Nurses’ first difference is their age. Lady Capulet is a young mother. Lady Capulet proves this true during a conversation with Juliet about marriage: “By my count/ I was your mother much upon these years/ That you are now a maid.” (1.3. 71-73). Because Juliet is turning fourteen, this shows that Lady Capulet conceived Juliet around the age of fourteen which would make her approximately twenty-eight years old. Conversely, the Nurse, whose name was never mentioned, was portrayed as elderly. Sarah Carter describes the Nurse as “an earthy, bawdy older …show more content…
The nurses’ daughter died when the girls were both three-years-old. The nurse shares this information during her monologue: “Susan and she (God rest all Christian souls!)/ Were of an age. Well Susan is with God;” (1.3. 18-19). The death of Susan can be inferred for the cause of the Nurse’s “close relationship with Juliet” (Carter), which is a contrast to Lady Capulet’s relationship with Juliet. Both women obviously care for Juliet, but they show it differently. The nurse was always sympathetic to Juliet’s love for Romeo: “Hie to your chamber. I’ll find Romeo/ To comfort you. I wotwell where he is.” (3.2. 138-139). Lady Capulet was “unsympathetic to her daughter's qualms” (Boyce). This is also shown after Lord Capulet tells Juliet that she has to marry
This conflict in viewpoint shows itself when she encourages Juliet to overlook the expelled Romeo and wed Paris, deceiving Juliet's trust by upholding a false marriage: I think it best you wedded with the County. O, he's a lovely gentleman . Romeo's a dishclout to him. Juliet can hardly imagine how the nurse offers such a strategy after she praised Romeo and united the couple. The nurse attendant is at last subject to the impulses of society. Her social position puts her in the serving class — she isn't enabled to make change around her. Her maternal nature toward Juliet floats her to help Juliet in wedding Romeo; be that as it may,when Capulet winds up incensed, the Medical caretaker withdraws rapidly into accommodation and desires Juliet to overlook
The nurse is also a very comical character at times. She provides comedy at serious points in the play to amuse the reader. The following quote is when the nurse returns to the Capulet house with news of Romeo's intention towards Juliet. She is pretending to be in need of a massage for her aching body when she very well knows that Juliet is dying to know what Romeo has
Even more, Lady Capulet, Juliet's mother, continually allows Juliet's nurse to take the role of Juliet's mother, friend, and confidante without making even the slightest effort to build a bond with her daughter. The very idea of being alone with her daughter makes her feel uncomfortable. For example, when Lady Capulet wants to speak to Juliet about marriage she tells the nurse, "This is the matter.--Nurse, give leave awhile,/ We must talk in secret.--Nurse, come back again;/ I have remembered me, thou's hear our counsel" (I. iii. 8-10). In other words, the distance between Juliet and her mother is so evident that Lady Capulet feels uncomfortable to even speak to her daughter alone and would rather have her nurse present to ease the discomfort and awkwardness. Furthermore, when Juliet learns of Tybalt's death, her father decides that although his daughter is mourning her newly murdered cousin who was killed that very day, that it is the perfect time to arrange Juliet's marriage to Paris and have the wedding within 4 days (III. iv. 1-32). Even Paris understands that it is not a good time to try to pursue the marriage as he tells Lord Capulet, "These times of woe afford
he is later in the play. He thinks that Juliet is too young and if she
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet discusses the many challenges the ‘star crossed lovers’ face. It is their own deceptive actions that ultimately lead them to their untimely end. However Romeo and Juliet are forced to be deceptive due to their fate and misfortune, the ongoing feud in Verona, and the misleading guidance they receive from others; which also contribute to their deaths. Romeo and Juliet focuses on the theme of love and hate, this theme is interweaved throughout the play.
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
Although along the course of the play, the nurse has many times caused discouragement and show unsupportive attitude, but her maternal instincts and moral values prevents her from reporting Juliet’s behaviour to the Capulets. Despite her sudden betrayal towards the end of play, Shakespeare positions us to empathise for the nurse that she was the one who raised Juliet, fed her , cared for her, yet witnessed Juliet’s tragic death. William Shakespeare portrays both the likeable and irritable persona positioning the audience to dislike the character, yet empathise for the immense regret that she has to suffer for the rest of her
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.
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.
A foil character contrasts the personalities of another character, which particularly enlightens certain characteristics of the individual. This element portrays these characteristics in an obvious manner, as it benefits the reader or audience. By showing the characteristics of one, it directly heightens the character traits of the other, creating a foil illustration of an individual. Nowhere is this element of literature more prudent than in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, as he effectively engages the use of foil characters. In the play, two lovers from opposing, and hateful families fall in love, but the hatred between households lead to their downfall. Characters in the immoral city of Verona are set to represent key themes and
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
Foil characters are defined as characters that are used to contrast another character. This character in most cases is the protagonist. Moreover, foil characters tend to be based on the protagonist’s hubris, wherein contrasting the fatal flaw shows how it has ballooned out of control. Foil characters further themes by highlighting the characteristics of certain characters that will help enhance the theme. The role of foil characters in Shakespearean tragedies is to show what could have happened if the protagonist made a different choice. Likewise, this idea is prevalent within Romeo and Juliet. Furthermore, this play portrays two children from warring families who meet and fall in love, but eventually kill themselves as their love is not
This proves that The Nurse does not have any pre judgmental thoughts about Romeo, that she believes in him, and is substantial because it solidifies that she is kind not only just to Juliet (Act 3, Scene 3, line 85-173). The Friar actually accompanies her in this scene, acting out the same behavior, attempting to keep Romeo from slipping into a deep depression at the thought of never seeing Juliet again. And When The Nurse is commanded by Lord Capulet to bring forth the news to Juliet that she must marry Paris, though reluctant as she is, she agrees that marrying Paris would be in her best interests, and The Nurse tells Juliet what she must do which is critical because it validates that The Nurse will do anything to keep Juliet from harm even if she does not like it. Although marrying Paris is not something Juliet wants to do, The Nurse knows that that is what is best for her, and Juliet lies and tells her that she will marry him (Act 3, Scene 5, Lines 176-246).
Lady Capulet is the mother of Juliet. She also happens to be one of the highest ranked members of one of the most prominent families in all of Verona, which has a fierce rivalry with another distinguished family. This puts a lot of pressure on her and causes her to be more serious and somber towards others. This can be witnessed in Act 1 Scene 3 when the nurse jokes about Juliet’s age by saying, “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?”. Lady Capulet then responds with, “ Enough of this; I pray thee, hold thy peace,”. This shows that Lady Capulet is a responsible individual who can manage her family.
Juliet is the daughter of Lord and Lady Capulet. When the play begins, we learn from the nurse that Juliet is soon turning fourteen (“Even or odd, of all the days in the year come Lammas-Eve at night shall she be fourteen”). In Juliet's first meeting with her mother and the nurse, she seems to be an obedient and responsible child. She comes immediately when they call her and answers always respectfully to her mother: "Madam, I am here, / What is your will?" (“Act 1, Scene 3). She is also clever as when her mother asks her what she thinks about marriage, she gives an ambiguous answer by saying what her mother wanted to hear really: “it is an honour I dream not of” (“Act 1, Scene 3). We learn that she is