Explore the relationship between Juliet, her nurse and Lady Capulet in: Act1 Scene 3Act2 Scene 5Act3 Scene 5

    Juliet and the Nurse share a very close bond, one that surpasses one of a girl and her servant.  Since being her nurse the Nurse has become over the years Juliet's close companion, confident, friend, mother; and later on in the play her co-conspirator.  Juliet is comfortable and at ease speaking to the Nurse. This allows Juliet to take the Nurse into her confidence when she decides to defy the family feud and marry Romeo.

     As from the nurses conversation about marriage, “… and I might live to see thee married once…” we can establish that the Nurses only wish is to see Juliet as a bride like most mothers in a modern society. When Juliet is told by her mother that the valiant Paris has expressed an interest in her and she wants her to marry Paris, Juliet replies, “It is an honour that I dream not of…” This shows that Juliet is very submissive. Juliet responds by saying that she “shall behold him at our feast” meaning she will look out Paris at the feast to see if she might love him, she will only marry Paris to please her mother. Lady Capulet’s reasons for recommending her daughter to marry Paris isn’t good, it might be to gain more power and reputation or possibly because of Paris’s family background.  

    In Act2 Scene 5 Shakespeare cleverly generates an emotional atmosphere of euphoric love by focusing the whole scene on Juliet. At this scene the Juliet is the most powerful character because she disobeys her mother and secretly marries Romeo At this moment the nurse is aware that Juliet is secretly in love with Romeo. The Nurse plays a critical role in Romeo and Juliet.  Her relationship with Juliet and Lady Capulet and her part in the secretive romance of the two lovers causes the play's action to move quickly and in a powerful way.  The Nurse acts as Shakespeare's pledge to guide the events of the play in this dramatic tragedy.

    At the beginning of the scene, Shakespeare demonstrates soliloquy-using Juliet. Juliet awaits the news the Nurse brings, “…O honey Nurse, what news…” this gives us the sense of loving relationship between the Nurse and Juliet keeping secrets like teenage best friends to a modern audience, this is a relationship which will never occur with Lady Capulet.

     In Act 3 Scene 5 we discover that Romeo kills Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, and therefore the Prince sentences Romeo to banishment. After Romeo is banished the relationship between the Nurse and Juliet starts to change. In line 37 we notice that the Nurse calls Juliet “Madam” this shows that their relationship is moving towards a more like servant manner. When the Nurse suggests that Juliet should forget about Romeo and marry Paris, she loses Juliet's trust and confidence in her. The Nurse suggests that Romeo is a dishcloth compared to Paris, “…Romeo’s a dishclout to him…” when the Nurse makes this suggestion Juliet decides to break their bond of friendship and seek the help of Friar Laurence, thereafter she no longer involves the Nurse in her secret plans.        

     Due to the death of Tybalt, Lady Capulet checks up on Juliet and sees her crying. Shakespeare uses dramatic irony in the conversation between Juliet and her mother. Lady Capulet assumes Juliet is crying because Tybalt had deceased, but Juliet is actually crying because she might never see Romeo again. This is the first time Juliet lied to her mother, this shows how passionate love between Romeo and Juliet is. Their love is so passionate that the relationship between Juliet, Nurse and Lady Capulet is affected.