The Nurse In Romeo And Juliet Essay

, 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 found out that she had been setting up these meetings, then

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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