, Research Paper
The
Nurse is a very important character in the play of Romeo and Juliet. As her
title suggests, she is a Nurse for the Capulet family. She is also a surrogate
mother to Juliet. ??????????? She
acts as a go between for Romeo and Juliet and facilitates the tragedy, which
means she informs people of the news and keeps the story going. ??????????? She
provides entertainment by making jokes and bawdy comments. She also relieves
the tragedy with her humour. ??????????? The
Nurse?s job is to care for Juliet and to act like a surrogate mother for
Juliet. She is a wet nurse, which means she breast fed Juliet when she was
young. She is a servant for the Capulet family, who are a very rich and
powerful family in the city of fair Verona. She has been working there for ten
years and has a relationship of both a mother and a sister to Juliet, as she is
a confidante to Juliet, which means Juliet confides in her and tells her
personal secrets. I feel Juliet?s relationship towards the Nurse, as a mother
is stronger than her relationship with her mother. This is because when Lady
Capulet calls Juliet (Act 1 S3), Juliet does not recognise her voice quickly
while when the Nurse calls her, she immediately responds by replying to the
Nurse. This may be because the Nurse spends more time with Juliet than Lady Capulet,
and she has built a greater bond with the Nurse. Occasionally, the Nurse acts
as a go between for Romeo and Juliet as it is difficult for the two lovers to
meet due to their families being at war with each other. She also conveys
information. E.g. She informed Juliet of the death of Tybalt, her cousin. ??????????? From
the very first time the Nurse appears, she is bawdy and very loud. Her
bawdyness is shown in ?Now my maidenhead at twelve years old.? ??????????? This
illustrates her calling Juliet by calling her a virgin, which is quite rude,
especially when said in a house high status and sophisticated people. ??????????? The
Nurse frequently tells stories and is reminiscent about her past. E.g. She
often talks about her daughter Susan, who became deceased when she was only
months old. ??????????? ?Susan
and she- God rest all Christian souls- were of an age.? ??????????? The
Nurse likes to play games and tease Juliet. This is shown when the Nurse brings
the news of what Romeo has said to Juliet, and as Juliet anxiously asks the
Nurse about the information, the Nurse teases her and keeps her in suspense by
changing the subject and says that her back is paining.??? ??????????? ?She often repeats herself hence loses the
point. She normally does this when she receives bad news and is shocked. ??????????? She
is a source of mockery for Benvolio and his friends when she goes to talk to
Romeo in the town centre. ??????????? She
often does not think before speaking and is frequently tactless. She frequently
talks about sex to Juliet and says that marriage is not about love, but it is
about sex. ??????????? ?Yea?,
quoth he, ? fallst upon thy face? Thou wilt fall backward when thou comest to
age wilt thou not, Jule? It stinted and said, ?Ay?.? ??????????? She
talks about sex in the presence of Lady Capulet, which is not very appropriate
as she is a high status women and she is married, so when the Nurse talks about
marriage being just about sex, Lady Capulet may feel uncomfortable. These types
of characteristics irritate characters such as Lady Capulet but keep the
audience humoured and entertained. ??????????? ??????????? The
Nurse is totally devoted to Juliet and is also loyal towards her. Although she
is tactless at times, her intentions are always good. Even when talking about
uncomfortable issues such as sex to Juliet, she is only trying to warn Juliet
about life from her experience. E.g. when she was married, her marriage may
have mainly been based on sex, which maybe the reason the Nurse tries to warn
Juliet, but she doesn?t understand times and people have changed. This shows
the Nurse?s ignorance, as she is not well educated and not very intelligent. ??????????? She
is very protective of Juliet and cares considerably about her. ?But first let me tell ye, if ye should lead her
in a fool?s paradise as they say it were a very gloss kind of behaviour.? ??????????? Here,
she is telling Romeo to not use Juliet and treat her badly. ??for the gentlewoman is young and therefore, if
you should deal double with her, truly it were and ill thing? and very weak
dealing.? ??????????? The
Nurse tells Romeo not to cheat on Juliet and double-cross her, as that would be
a weak thing for a man to do. ??????????? Her
love for Juliet often clouds her judgement and she does things that she should
not really do. E.g. She sets up a meeting between Romeo and Juliet as they are
in love, but their families are fighting against each other and if her employers,
the Capulet family fo
they may feel she was being disloyal towards them and she may lose her job.
This clearly shows her loyalty lies with Juliet more than the Capulet
household. ??????????? She
is also a confidante towards Juliet, which means Juliet can tell her secrets
and personal things. This is a relationship like the relationship between two
sisters and also a relationship between a mother and her daughter. This bond
has been developed because the Nurse has looked after Juliet ever since she was
a child and has treated as a daughter, maybe as a replacement for her deceased
child Susan. As they spend so much time together, they feel they can trust each
other and confide in one another. ??????????? The
Nurse is a go between for Romeo and Juliet but she does not think of the
consequences of her actions. Her role as a go between is essential in the play,
as without her, the story would not move on and there would be no meetings
between Romeo and Juliet, thus ending the drama. ??????????? She
is very defensive of Juliet and speaks her mind, no matter what the
consequences. ?God in heaven bless her. You are to blame, my
lord, to rate her so.? ??????????? This
clearly shows her loyalty lies with Juliet but after hearing Capulet?s threats,
she seems to change her mind. ??????? ??????????? ?I think it is best you married the County. O,
he?s a lovely gentleman. Romeo?s a dishclout to him.? ??????????? This
shows the Nurse telling Juliet to marry Paris instead of Romeo. She now calls
Romeo a dishcloth and praises Paris, where as before, the Nurse could not stop
praising Romeo. ?I think you are happy in this second match, for
it excels your first; or if it did not, your first is dead, or ?there as good
as he were as living here and you no use of him.?????? ??????????????????? ???? ??????????? Juliet
feels the Nurse has betrayed her and her loyalty now lies toward the Capulet
household, where as before her loyalty lied with Juliet. I think the Nurse
still has Juliet?s best interest at heart and has not betrayed in any way. I
feel the only reason the Nurse is telling Juliet to wed Paris as opposed to
Romeo is because then she will still keep a good relationship with the Capulet
family and so she doesn?t end up on the streets, with no money and not a
healthy life. As Romeo is banished, he cannot provide a good home and family
for Juliet while Paris can and Juliet does not break her bonds with her family.
I still believe the Nurse has changed her mind and not her heart, as I believe
the Nurse still thinks Romeo is a better gentleman and Juliet will love him
more than any other man. ??????????? The
Nurse?s importance is portrayed once again, as her ?betrayal? and change of
advice led Juliet to her plan of drinking poison, which had a devastating
affect on all of the members in the play and the drama itself. ??????????? ??????????? Although
the Nurse is ?larger than life? she also makes the audience appreciate the
sadder more emotional moments. She showed her pathos and sadness when Tybalt
died. ?Ah well-a-day, he?s dead, he?s dead, he?s dead!
We are undone. Alack the day, he?s gone, he?s killed, he?s dead!? ??????????? She
often repeats herself and sometimes loses the point, but we still feel her
pathos and are aware that she is in pain, and she has lost someone that is
close to her. ?O Tybalt, Tybalt, the best friend I had. O
courteous Tybalt, honest gentleman that ever I should live to see thee dead.? ??????????? When
she realises Juliet is dead, the Nurse is devastated. She cannot express the
pain she is feeling but we still sympathise for her, as her repeating shows she
is in pain and suffering. ?Alas, alas! Help, Help! My Lady?s dead! O
well-a-day that ever I was born? ??????????? She
says similar things she said when Tybalt died, but this time she felt more as
Juliet was her ?daughter?. ??????????? ?O
woe! O woeful, woeful, woeful day. Most lamentable day! Most woeful day. That
ever, ever I did yet behold. ? ??????????? She
feels her life is not worth living for as the one thing she loved the most has
now been taken away from her. ?O me, O me! My child, my only life. Revive, look
up, or I will die with thee!????? ??????????? ??????????? All
of this portrays the Nurse?s importance in the play. Without her, the play
would be less entertaining as she adds humour to the play, but also makes the
sad moment even more depressing as when Juliet dies, we feel sorry for the
Nurse the most as she has brought her up from when she was born and she has to
witness her tragic death, which she may feel partly responsible for, as she
advised Juliet to forget about Romeo and wed Paris. The plot could not have
been developed and the story could not have been facilitated if it was not for
the essential character of the Nurse!???????
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