Discuss the role of the Nurse in 'Romeo and Juliet'. You may wish to focus on the way she adds humour to the play and the dramatic impact she has on the audience.
Sian Rafferty
GCSE Shakespeare assignment.
'Romeo and Juliet'
TITLE: Discuss the role of the Nurse in 'Romeo and Juliet'. You may wish to focus on the way she adds humour to the play and the dramatic impact she has on the audience.
In this assignment I am going to discuss the role of the Nurse and how she adds humour to the play. Firstly I will talk about the social and historical background of the play 'Romeo and Juliet'.
William Shakespeare wrote 'Romeo and Juliet' in the Sixteenth century based on some ideas taken from Arthur Brooke's poem 'The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet' written in 1562. The poem was thought to be boring, so Shakespeare used his ample skill with language to change it so that it would be dissimilar and much more exciting.
The play is set in fifteenth century Verona. Romeo and Juliet are children of two very important families, the Montagues and the Capulets, who loathe each other and are still feuding after many years.
His play focuses on the forbidden love affair between the two youngsters, Romeo and Juliet, and the difficulties they have to face to be together. For example Romeo is banished from the city for slaying Tybalt in retaliation and Lord Capulet insists that Juliet marries Paris even though she doesn't love him at all; Juliet is not happy with this at all.
The story ends in tragedy when Romeo thinks that Juliet is dead and takes some poison so that he can be reunited with her again. Juliet then wakes but when she sees that Romeo is dead she takes her life by stabbing herself with Romeo's dagger. The play closes with the two grieving families vowing to be reconciled.
There have been many different versions of the play going back to the performances at The Globe in Shakespeare's time on a bare stage with very few props and brilliant actors. The actors wore very expensive costumes, which were appealing and created more atmosphere. Throughout the Twentieth century there have been a variety of stagings. Shakespeare dresses the Nurse in clothes that are made out a mockery by Romeo. In the film version directed by Baz Luhrmann, he showed the differences between the two families in his film by dressing the Montague family in casual clothes that were attractive and the Capulets in expensive designer clothes, which showed their wealth. It is a tragic love story, but it captures the audience and it is very well known.
I will now go on to discuss the role and character of the Nurse in detail. I will focus on her personalities, the way she responds to other characters and especially on the way she creates humour in the play for the audience.
The Nurse is portrayed as being quite rude, but talkative. She is always going on about subjects that were not even important. She uses lots of sexual humour, which captures the audience and makes the play more interesting. This is perhaps one of the reasons why modern audiences still enjoy the play so much.
In the play, Lady Capulet, Juliet's mother, wants Juliet to have a suitable marriage including lots of money and plenty of happiness with Paris, the son in law she prefers. However the Nurse only thinks about Juliet having lots of pleasurable sex in a marriage, by what she tells the girl;
'Go, girl, seek happy nights to happy days'. (Act 1, scene 3, L106)
Here the Nurse is inferring that if she has a 'pleasurable' evening she will be happy the following day. This adds humour to the play for the audience and it gives us a quick image of what the Nurse is like. Very early in the play we realise the Nurse's priorities.
Juliet and the Nurse have a close relationship, the Nurse relates to Juliet like a mother at times. There is evidence of this because the Nurse knows Juliet really well and says;
'Faith, I can tell her age unto an hour' (Act 1, scene 3, L12)
She is saying here that she knows Juliet's exact age. This also shows that she actually knows her better than Lady Capulet, her own mother. Lady Capulet becomes frustrated and changes the subject. At times the Nurse is like Juliet's friend, when she goes to see Romeo about the marriage. This is like the modern age when a best friend is told to go and ask the boy to 'go out' with the girl;
'If you be he, sir, I desire some confidence with you' (Act 2, scene 4, L105)
The Nurse's daughter and husband have passed away so the Capulets are her family now. She sees Juliet as her own daughter now and she cares a lot about her.
The Nurse wears clothes that are made a mockery of by Romeo and his friends. If I were to direct the play, I would have her wearing a modern day medical nurse's uniform. So that she is well presented and looks professional in her job. The Nurse is rude ...
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'If you be he, sir, I desire some confidence with you' (Act 2, scene 4, L105)
The Nurse's daughter and husband have passed away so the Capulets are her family now. She sees Juliet as her own daughter now and she cares a lot about her.
The Nurse wears clothes that are made a mockery of by Romeo and his friends. If I were to direct the play, I would have her wearing a modern day medical nurse's uniform. So that she is well presented and looks professional in her job. The Nurse is rude and unthoughtful to Mercutio and she makes puns. Mercutio uses a pun and plays on words to add humour to the play. This makes the audience laugh and creates a balanced atmosphere;
'An old hare hoar, and an old hare hoar is very good meat in Lent, But a hare that is hoar, is too much for a score, when it hoars ere it be spent.' (Act 2, scene 4, L11)
Here Mercutio is trying to say that the Nurse is a whore. The Nurse is not happy with this and she comes back with a pun of her own. The Nurse is not a whore, but she is made out to be here. Then she drops herself in it by using sexual humour; this gives us a full picture of the Nurse;
'Use me at his pleasure!' (Act 2, scene 4, L129)
Then Peter, the Nurse's assistant, replies using sexual reference;
'I saw no man use you at his pleasure; if I had, my weapon should quickly have been out'. (Act 2, scene 4, L130)
Peter is not mentioned in the play a lot, as he is the Nurses assistant. This makes the Nurse seem more important than an ordinary servant. She is given higher status in the Capulet household and this is demonstrated by her having her own servant. At times this makes her rather 'big-headed'. She frequently bosses Peter around, which highlights her domineering nature.
The Nurse looks out for Juliet a lot and makes sure that no man would mess her around. She tells Romeo that if he two times her or treats her badly, he'll have her to answer to. The Nurse here proves not to be afraid and she is portrayed as quite a strong woman;
'If ye should lead her in a fools paradise, as they say, it were a very gross kind of behaviour...' (Act 2, scene 4, L136)
The Nurse adds atmosphere to the play as she uses rhyming couplets and alliteration;
'Is your man secret? Did you ne'er hear say,
Two may keep counsel, putting one away'? (Act 2, scene 4, L164)
This is just one of the rhyming couplets used. This means that if they keep their relationship secret, they will be in danger if their families come to realise that they are courting. Therefore, one of them will be locked away. The Nurse proves to be worried about Juliet here. This adds humour to the play and makes the speech sound interesting. The audience likes this and feels like a part of the play because they are getting involved.
Paris wants to claim Juliet for his wife, but Juliet doesn't like him. The Nurse is explaining to Romeo that Juliet shouldn't marry Paris by comparing him to Romeo. This makes Romeo feel good and the Nurse is portrayed here as a bit of a 'stirrer';
'I anger her sometimes, and tell her that Paris is a properer man..' (Act 2, scene 4, L171)
In Act 2, scene 5, Juliet awaits the Nurse's return with news of her marriage to Romeo. In this scene Juliet proves very fond of the Nurse by using sweet names for her;
'O honey Nurse.' (Act 2, scene 5, L18)
Here she is calling her 'honey', which is a loving word and it also makes the audience feel warm. The play is happier now and this scene creates a happy medium in the audience. One of the reasons why Juliet is being so nice to the Nurse is because she wants to know what Romeo has said. She is very clever here, but it does not work as the Nurse prolongs in telling her.
The Nurse delays telling Juliet information about the marriage. This creates tension for the audience. The audience become frustrated when the Nurse is prolonging telling her all about what Romeo said. This also makes the play much more interesting, creating suspense and drama. The audience are willing the Nurse to tell Juliet. It takes the Nurse from her entrance on line 18 until line 68 to tell Juliet about Romeo awaiting her at Friar Lawrence's cell. This contrasts from how the Nurse is portrayed in the beginning of the play because normally she is dying to tell Juliet news. The Nurse talks a lot, which contrasts to Juliet who uses a direct approach. The audience are anticipating when she is going to finally tell Juliet.
In Act 3, scene 2 The Nurse spills the news about Juliet's dear Romeo slaying Tybalt, her cousin. There is a misunderstanding and Juliet thinks that Romeo is dead. This is a very solemn scene. The Nurse shows that she is upset by using repetition, which is also used when Juliet is thought to be dead too;
'He's dead, he's dead, he's dead!' (Act 3, scene 2, L37)
You can see that she is quite shaken as she uses repetition again in line 39, but this time, she repeats the 'he';
'He's gone, he's killed, he's dead!' (Act 3, scene 2, L39)
There is emphasis on Tybalt being dead which creates tension for the audience.
Later in this scene, the Nurse makes the situation worse. She heightens the tension by describing what she saw and making it sound quite morbid. The audience like this, as it is quite sick and exciting at the same time. Juliet does not know that it is Tybalt she is speaking of, she thinks that it is Romeo that's dead. She weeps and Nurse again, comforts her, again, there is a mother - daughter relationship. Later she realises that it is Tybalt who is actually dead. The audience like this, as it creates confusion, yet it is exciting and suspense is added to the play.
The Nurse is still using repetition, she is not sure what to say, this shows she is pretty taken aback by the tragic killing of Tybalt. She feels for Juliet and her family, as she is a part of it all.
In line 88 the Nurse demands some brandy. It is ironic that the Nurse turns to alcohol in times of grief, because she is the Nurse and, in situations like this she should be helping and comforting to the family she's working for. This is not like the Nurse at all and she should be careful as she could lose her job. This could be humorous for the audience.
In line 128 she uses alliteration;
'Weeping and wailing over Tybalt's corse.' (Act 3, scene 2, L128)
She uses alliteration of the 'W', this represents crying. This is reinforced by the use of two words, which mean someone is upset. 'Weeping and wailing'. There is also alliteration of 'W' here, which highlights the crying and upset in this scene. This is good for the audience as it will probably be remembered because is sounds delicate to the ears. It is also effective and creates atmosphere. This is a very emotional scene.
In Act 3, scene 5, Juliet and the Nurse prove to be very close. The audience could relate to this, as it is comforting. It shows that Juliet turns to her at times of need for the advice, instead of her mother. The Nurse is like a mother in this scene to Juliet and Juliet will not go to her mother. Juliet thinks of the Nurse as a person who could help;
'Upon so soft a subject as myself! What say'st thou? Hast thou not a word of joy?
Some comfort, Nurse! (Act 3, scene 5, L210)
This is a loving scene in the play but it is also emotional which captures the audience and they feel a part of the play.
The Nurse is stating that Romeo is scum compared to Paris, by calling him names. This contradicts everything she ever said about him. This confuses the audience;
'Romeo's a dishclout to him.' (Act 3, scene 5, L219)
This creates humour for the audience, Nurse advises Juliet to go for Paris, which is not what Juliet wanted to hear. Juliet feels as if the Nurse has betrayed her;
'As Paris hath. Beshrew my heart, I think you are happy in this second match.' (Act 3, scene 5, L121)
This contradicts what she said earlier in the play that Romeo was handsome and that he was a great match. Also she respects the wishes of Juliet's parents, as they want her to marry Paris. The Nurse is just persuading Juliet. She doesn't want to get in trouble. Somewhere in the back of her mind is thinking about the wishes of Juliet's parents. This shows that the Nurse changes her mind a lot. This confuses an audience and also adds suspense as she could change her mind again. The Nurse shows to be fickle and she is always trying to agree with everyone.
In line 230 Juliet uses alliteration of the 'M' in her sentence which emphasises the sarcasm in her voice;
'Well, thou hast comforted me marvellous much'.
This adds humour and atmosphere to the play. The audience feel involved because they laugh at her words. In this scene Juliet is being ironic and she responds to this in a shocked manner that the Nurse is saying that Paris, the one she is to marry, is better than her fair Romeo is. Juliet thinks the Nurse hasn't helped her at all. The Nurse has turned on Juliet. The Nurse lets Juliet down and she is so upset that she wants to die. She decides she will take a remedy to kill herself quickly, before dawn;
'I'll to the Friar to know his remedy, if all else fail, myself have power to die! (Act 3, scene 5, L241)
At the end of this scene I feel part of the play. The scene was very emotional and it makes the play exciting. You're not sure what is going to happen. The audience are in suspense and can't wait to see what happens next, and what the Nurse will say.
The scene has stage directions to show that Juliet comforted and looked after the nurse. Juliet feels used as she has been nice to the Nurse and the Nurse betrays her.
In Act 4, scene 5, the Nurse uses short sentences to emphasise her excitement that Juliet is getting married. She has to get Juliet ready;
'Mistress, what mistress!' (Act 4, scene 5, L1)
This makes the play sound interesting to the audience. She also uses alliteration of 'L', this makes the play fun and flowing and words stand out. This is a very exciting moment in the play, as the Nurse doesn't know that Juliet is dead;
'Why, lamb! Why, lady!' (Act 4, scene 5, L2)
Juliet has to be ready for the wedding and the Nurse feels privileged that she has to get Juliet dressed. She is aroused. It is a stressful day for her. The Nurse again uses sexual humour in this scene, which makes the audience laugh and adds humour and interest to the play;
'Sleep for a week, for the next night I warrant the county Paris hath set up his rest that you shall rest but little.' (Act 4, scene 5, L5)
The Nurse is 'dirty minded' as she uses sexual humour a lot. She infers that as soon as Paris marries her, he will have her in bed. The audience find this amusing and laugh at the Nurse. Although, they are probably wondering why the Nurse is speaking of adult nature with a child.
The Nurse then realises that Juliet is dead but she is not dead, she has taken the sleeping potion. The Nurse does not know this. She becomes stressed and starts to repeat things once again. She uses repetition, as she is worried that Juliet is not awake yet. This also happened in the scene where Tybalt was slain;
'Lady, lady, lady!' (Act 4, scene 5, L13)
The Nurse then demands some brandy once again, as in Tybalt's death scene. She is very tense. She then goes on to say what an awful day it is;
'O lamentable day!' (Act 4, scene 5, L18)
She is depressed and is very anxious. This creates a deadly atmosphere in the audience and the Nurse makes the plat highly intense. Alliteration is used again in this scene as the father of Juliet enters the chamber;
'She's dead, deceased, she's dead.' (Act 4, scene 5, L23)
This is very straight forward to Lord Capulet as he hasn't been let down gently, instead, the Nurse just tells him that Juliet is dead and she repeats it, which creates atmosphere and emotion between the characters and the audience. She reflects her personality once again, proving that she is never quiet. It is ironic that the Nurse shouts 'my lady' when Juliet is dead, as throughout the play she called her 'my child'. Nurse is so shocked because she thinks Juliet has passed away. She finds it hard to find words, which is emphasised by the way she repeats things. This is ironic because she talked a lot throughout the play. She also uses a lot of alliteration, which is clever and is extremely effective. This creates atmosphere in the audience. The audience like the Nurse here because it is quite funny that she has nothing to say. She normally has a great deal to say in all situations.
To conclude my assignment I will sum up the main points that I have made about the Nurse. Throughout the play the Nurse seems extremely talkative and she talks about many subjects that aren't even important. This shows that she loves to talk and being involved in all situations. She is also very rude, as she uses much sexual humour. This gives an overall image of her being crude.
The Nurse turns to alcohol a lot, which shows that she needs a stimulant to make her happy in times of grief and sadness and to calm her down in stressful situations. This isn't a good attitude and perhaps makes the audience feel that she is maybe a bad influence on Juliet. This also reflected in the sexual humour that she uses.
Throughout the play the Nurse has been quite funny and I like her character. She seems like a happy person and she is portrayed as being loved like a mother. The Nurse is a good person and helps Juliet at times of need. This emphasises what type of person she is.
In my opinion, the Nurse had a huge part to play in the tragedy. If she had not upset Juliet when she asked for advice about whom to go for she might have not taken the remedy and Romeo would not get the message that she was dead and the ending could have been very different. She doesn't prove to be a decent person here, as she stirs the story up a lot. Then again, the story finishes in a good way, and the audience enjoy it very much. I like the way the story turned out though, as it was a tragic love story that proved how much people can actually love each other.
I find the Nurse irritating at times, for example when Tybalt was killed she shouted 'he's dead!', over and over again. This is not very respectable and the Capulet family were wanting to mourn as she turned to alcohol for comfort instead of comforting them.
I liked doing this assignment because l have learnt so much more about plays and the old language that is used in them. The whole Shakespeare part of it was fun at times, like when we read about the history of it all and watching the film versions of Romeo and Juliet. This was exciting and I found that my whole class also enjoyed the film versions and it helped us a lot more in our assignment. The films contrasted from the actual text because certain scenes were added and the script was slightly changed. It was fun analysing the play as I learnt a few new words and meanings. Some of it was boring though, as we had to quote many lines and include page and act numbers. The language was hard to understand but I got through it and now I understand it a lot more.
I enjoyed this assignment and I am happy with my work.