Consider the character of Juliet. How does she change and develop from the beginning of the play and once she meets Romeo? Refer to Shakespeare's use of language

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Rachel Cutenar  11HYB                 Mr Newall

Consider the character of Juliet. How does she change and develop from the beginning of the play and once she meets Romeo? Refer to Shakespeare’s use of language.

Romeo and Juliet, one of the most revered and profoundly known  love stories of all time.  Adopted for play performance from an Italian poem first written by Masuccio Salernitano in 1476, William Shakespeare elaborated and enhanced the great tragedy; and it is his version that continues to be remembered through the ages. Shakespeare is worldly renowned as one of the best dramatists of all time and was famous for his plays – especially for his tragedies – such as Macbeth, Othello and Hamlet. These were most likely tinted by his own life experiences and idealistic view of love – which we can see from his other work, take for example Sonnet 18 – Shall I compare thee?                                        In the play Romeo and Juliet, the Elizabethan audience’s moral and social views (such as marriage and religion) are challenged as they are forced to see the inadequacies or sometimes harshness of the customs of their era. We are introduced to a young girl of 13 years, born into the comfort of an upper class family, whose life had already been predestined for her – in terms of marriage – and was expected to be compliant with her parents’ wishes. She is seen today as one of the best tragic heroines, because she starts off as a submissive and naive child who is unaware of the ways of the world and blossoms into a strong and resolute woman who overlooks the meaningless customs and is prepared to go to extreme lengths to fulfil her true destiny.

In Act 1 Scene 3, we meet the heroine of the play – Juliet – for the first time. She is being introduced to the audience by her nurse, as she calls her to come: ‘What lamb! What lady-bird!’ This first comparison already gives an impression that Juliet is vulnerable, quiet or needs lots of guidance, as lambs do. This could also be interpreted to mean that the Nurse believes that Juliet was just a follower of her parents’ commands and didn’t have a mind of her own.  We later see in this scene that Juliet was prepared to be guided wholly by her parents in view of marriage. ‘ I’ll look to like, if looking liking move./But no more deep will I endart mine eye/ Than your consent gives strength to make it fly’ and that she was very discreet and subdued.  When Juliet does come, she answers ‘What is your will?’ This response shows some of the characteristics of Juliet. It shows her directness and straight-to-the-point attitude towards her mother.  This could be because she didn’t see her mother often (they only talk twice in the play) and so there must be an important reason why her mother needed to call her. It could also be that she wasn’t close to her mother and so didn’t feel comfortable talking to her – we can clearly see that Juliet is much closer to her Nurse than to Lady Capulet (we see this in the casualness of speech between them, Act 2 Scene 5, and also when Juliet confides in the Nurse in Act 3 Scene 5).

Lady Capulet asks the Nurse to leave them so that they could speak privately, although quickly rethinks saying that the Nurse should ‘hear our (that is, Juliet’s parents) counsel’. It seems as if Lady Capulet doesn’t feel very comfortable talking about this subject to her daughter, because the speech comparing Paris to a book seems rehearsed, as it is in the style of a poem, for example ‘This precious book of love, this unbound lover/ To beautify him only lacks a cover’.

 This is the first appearance of double meanings in the play, as  Lady Capulet is actually talking about ‘bed’ covers rather than book covers, and she is possibly trying to entice Juliet into thinking of the sexual pleasures that will come with marriage.  

Also, despite the fact that Juliet had witnessed her mother using double meanings, she did not begin to use them until she met Romeo. This shows that even her mother didn’t make as much of an impression on her behaviour than Romeo does.   Shakespeare uses poetry in Romeo and Juliet, only at scenes of high importance such as the meeting of Romeo and Juliet, and so Lady Capulet’s speech doesn’t seem genuine. For example Romeo introduces poetic language to Juliet when they meet for the first time at the party and she carries on the poem such as ‘palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss’. Using poetic language is Romeo and Juliet’s secret language only to be used by them, and Lady Capulet intrudes on their poetic language by using it herself. This can be seen as allegory for the outcome of the whole of the play, the family intrude on Romeo and Juliet’s relationship resulting in the death of both of them.

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Children being close to their nurses was common at the time. The Nurse’s opinion was important, as nurses were valued members of the household in Elizabethan times, and would be in charge of the welfare of babies. The children were usually breastfed and taken care of, and raised by the nurse.

Lady Capulet speaks about Juliet being of a ‘pretty age’- or ready for marriage. This was a common view of the time, and Lady Capulet seems to have previous experience on the matter, as she had a baby around Juliet’s age which identifies her to be roughly 28 ...

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