When the nurse enters she shocks the audience because she warns Juliet that her mother is coming to her room. In these days that would never happens as the Capulet’s are aristocrats. Juliet replies to this with alliteration, “…Let day in, and let life out.” The word life is a metaphor and it really means Romeo. Just before Romeo leaves, Juliet has a premonition. She says, “Methinks I see thee, now thou art so low, as one dead in the bottom of a tomb.” By getting Juliet to say these lines, Shakespeare is foreshadowing Romeo’s death. When Romeo leaves he says, “Adieu, adieu!” It is in Italian and it means goodbye, but I will see you later.
When Lady Capulet enters Juliet’s room in line 68, Shakespeare creates dramatic irony because she doesn’t know what has happened and the other characters and audience do. Lady Capulet thinks Juliet is weeping because of Tybalt’s death, but really she is crying about Romeo’s departure. She tells her mother, “Let me weep for such a feeling loss.”
Soon after Lord Capulet enters with the nurse. Capulet is excited as he thinks Juliet will be happy to marry County Paris. He uses hyperbole, “Thou counterfeit’st a barle, a sea, a wind.” When Lady Capulet replies to his speech she says “Ay sir”. Shakespeare does this to show how Capulet is the most important person in the family and to show how even the wife of an aristocrat has to obey her husband. Capulet wants Juliet to marry Paris in Saint Peter’s Church or she will be kicked out of the family. The Shakespearian audience would find this tense. Juliet does not want this marriage. Shakespeare again uses foreshadowing when he makes Juliet say “make the bridal bed in that dim monument where Tybalt lies.”
Prior to Act III Scene V the audience sees how fond the nurse is of Juliet but know Capulet is her boss. However, this does not stop her helping Juliet meet with Romeo, her father’s enemy. Now, in Act II Scene V, when she hears Capulet Threaten to throw Juliet out, the nurse changes her mind about Romeo and tells Juliet to marry Paris. She does this because if Juliet is thrown out, the nurse will loose her job. Shakespeare does this to shock the audience and leave Juliet stranded.
The nurse tells Juliet that Paris would be a better husband. “Your first is dead”, which means that Juliet’s marriage with Romeo is over. Juliet then knows everyone is against her, apart from Friar Lawrence, who is her last hope. The scene ends with Shakespeare once again using the foreshadowing technique. Juliet says, “If all else fail, myself have the power to die”. She is basically saying this is her last hope and if it fails she has the power to commit suicide.
In my opinion the scene is very exciting and it would have been for the Shakespearian audience. However, I think the bit that stood out for me was near the end, when Juliet is all on her own, but one man Friar Lawrence.
