Friar Lawrence and the Nurse

In Act 3 Scene 2 the nurse misleads Juliet into thinking Romeo is dead, this is accidental, the nurse is speaking erratically because of the shock and grief she is feeling because of the recent event (Romeo has slain Tybalt). The nurse does not hide her emotions in this scene. We are told that Tybalt and the nurse are very close and that she is devastated by his death.

'O Tybalt, Tybalt, the best friend I had! O courteous Tybalt, honest gentlemen, That I ever I should live to see thee dead!'

Despite her obvious love of Tybalt and the disgust she feels for Romeo:

'These griefs, these woes, these sorrows make me old. Shame come to Romeo!'

The nurse still goes to Friar Lawrence cell to tell Romeo to visit Juliet that evening.

Without the consummation of their marriage, Romeo and Juliet would not be truly married. Therefore she may have been easier to persuade into marrying Paris later on in the play. If the nurse had not loved Juliet enough to speak to the man that killed her friend then there may not have been such a tragic ending.

Friar Lawrence is a holy man that devotes his time to prayer, study and the concoctions of medicines from herbs that grow around his home. We are told this in Act 2 Scene 3 where the friar gives a short lecture on herbal drugs that can kill and cure. In this scene Romeo confesses his plan to marry Juliet. The Friar is obviously accustomed to Romeos confessions of love and knows how fickle men's love can be.

'Young men's love then lies Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes.'

Although he knows that this love may not be pure he sees the potential to use this love for greater good. By marrying Romeo and Juliet- Montague and Capulet- a long feud between two families could be ended.

'In one respect I'll thy assistant be: For this alliance may so happy prove To turn you households' rancour to pure love.'

Act 2 Scene 6 is just before Romeo and Juliet's marriage. Friar Lawrence asks the heavens to look favourably on the wedding, so that nothing bad comes of it:

'So smile the heavens upon this holy act, That after hours with sorrow chide us not.'

He also expresses a hesitation to go through with the marriage (as if predicting some misfortune to come of this wedding). He feels that the wedding is too soon but this does not diminish Romeo's urgency to be wed, so the Friar goes through with.

If Friar Lawrence had gone with his gut instinct, that this wedding was too soon and could bring great sorrow, and not married Romeo and Juliet. Then he would not have been obliged to help Juliet later on in the play, preventing the tragic ending.

In Act 3 Scene 3 the Friar is trying to calm Romeo. Romeo has just murdered Tybalt and is ready to kill himself. He feels as if banishment and separation from Juliet is worse then death. And of hearing of Juliet's sorrow is ready to commit suicide. The friar is successful in calming Romeo and tells him that one day he will be happier then ever:

'Where thou shalt live till we can find time to blaze your marriage, reconcile your friends, beg pardon of the prince, and call thee back with twenty hundred thousand times more joy.'

He seems disgusted with the way Romeo is behaving, insulting him many a time. But still he helps the boy. Without the Friars help Romeo would not have spent the night with Juliet, had anywhere to stay in Mantua and perhaps may even have been killed if the Friar had not hidden Romeo in his cell.

As we already know the Friar creates Herbal remedies and medicine that can cure and kill. In Act 4 Scene 1 the friar gives Juliet a concoction, 'Distilling liquor', that she must drink. He also tells Juliet that he will send a letter to Romeo:

'I'll send a friar with speed to Mantua, with letters to thy lord.'

This letter will tell Romeo what is to happen but it is a wonder to why he is doing this, for Romeo and Juliet. Is it for their young love and his loyalty to Juliet or is he helping them for the good of the city or perhaps for his own personal gain.

Act 4 Scene 5 is the first time we are shown that the Friar can be quite deceiving. In this scene the Friar comforts the Capulet's, over Juliet's death. He plays on words, which would not be picked up by anyone that does not realise that Juliet is not truly dead.

'Confusions cure lives not in these confusions.'

The quote above roughly means that the reason for this disaster is not what you think it is. And that they are crying for no reason. In a way how he and Juliet have deceived the Capulet's is cruel. But is he trying to punish them for the peace they have taken from Verona's streets.

Act 5 Scene 2 is where we learn why Romeo does not know of the Friars plan. In this scene the Friar predicts great danger because the letter could not be sent.

'The letter was not nice but full of charge, Of dear import, and then neglecting it may do much danger.'

Act 5 Scene 5 is the last scene of the play. The friar goes to Juliet's grave to be at her side when she awakens, but is welcomed by the death of Romeo. When the lady wakes the Friar hurries her to leave as the 'watch' are coming. But when Juliet does not come straight away he leaves. He is more concerned with his own fate then hers. Perhaps if he had stayed a while longer and convinced her to leave than she may not have killed herself.

I have considered the roles of The Nurse and The Friar and have considered their importance in the play. The Nurse and the Friar played major parts in the progression of the play.

Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet in approximately 1595, although the outline of the story can be traced to as early as the third century. Since the play was written English culture has changed greatly. Society has become more accepting of certain things such as sexuality and finds some things that may have been normal 16th century very strange and weird.

I am now going to consider and discuss how these characters and how their actions maybe perceived differently by a modern day audience. I feel that nowadays a Nurse and a Friars involvement in young people's love affairs would be very insignificant.

The nurse is a significant figure in Juliet's life. She has been with the Capulet family since Juliet was born, and there has probably never been a day when Juliet has not seen her Nurse. It was not odd in the 16th century for families to have a Nurse with the family for many years; this is no different from modern day Nanny's or Au pairs. Although now Nanny's and Au pairs are not employed to protect a child's virginity, as the Nurse is.

Nowadays employing a chaperone is seen as very strange as today society allows contact with the opposite sex. Where as in the 16th century a young girls virginity was regarded as very important. Girls were shunned if they were not a virgin when married.

It seems that the Nurse and Juliet are very close in the play and this may be due to the Nurse having been Juliet's wet nurse. Britain today would have a very different opinion on employing someone to breastfeed a child than 16th Century Britain. Today it is seen as unnatural and perhaps cruel on the child but then it was seen as perfectly normal.

The Nurse acts like a mother to Juliet throughout the play and it is obvious that she cares for her greatly, more than anyone in the world. She is very protective of Juliet all of this is personified in Act 2 Scene 4, where she goes to see Romeo to arrange his and Juliet's wedding plans. She says to Romeo:

'But first let me tell ye, if ye should lead her into a fools paradise, as they say, it were a very gross kind of behaviour, as they say; for the gentlewoman is young; and therefore, if ye should deal double with her, truly it were an ill thing to be offered to any gentlewoman, and very weak dealing.'

Showing that she does not wish her dear Juliet to be lead on and feel any pain. It is the fact that the nurse cares for Juliet so much that I do not believe that she was not betraying Juliet when she tells her to marry Paris. The Nurse knows how fickle love can be and that soon enough Juliet will forget about Romeo, who has no way to travel into Verona and claim Juliet as his wife. The nurse knows that it is much more practical for Juliet to marry Paris and he is after all

'a lovely gentlemen'.

Romeo has murdered someone and as far as the Nurse knows Paris has not, he is a more respectable man and more suitable for Juliet. It is apparent that the Nurse must be concerned for Juliet's welfare; she feels that Romeo may be dangerous.

I am very drawn to whether or not audiences in the 16th century would have found the nurses behaviour less forgivable then audiences today would.

I feel that audiences in the 16th century may have found the Nurses behaviour less forgivable. After all the Nurse is only a servant and she has been employed to be at Juliet's bidding and she is not doing this when she does not comfort her. But then again the nurse has been employed by Capulet so her initial duty is to stay loyal to him. So the audiences in the early days of the play may have commended the nurse for staying loyal to her employer.

In general I feel that there may be slight differences between the opinions audiences may have on the nurse because of changes of the norm in society. But the opinions people have on the nurse and her actions are influenced more by their social class and the persons self, regardless of the century the play was watched in.

Friar Lawrence is a very significant figure to the characters in this play. The church is the centre of Verona's society. It is a universal church used by both Capulet's and Montague's alike so the Friar is regarded very highly in Verona. He is seen as God's representative on Earth so people were less likely to contradict or question him.