The nurse has a number of pet names for Juliet including “Lamb” and “Ladybird” this is a sign of their close relationship and is picked up upon by the audience.
Shakespeare hints to the audience that the nurse has mothering instincts over Juliet by using the line “And I might live to see thee married once” She is like mothers who has seen her daughter blossom and develop day by day and the next step is to see her walking down the aisle.
She informs the audience that she had a daughter who was the same age as Juliet but died “Susan is with God”. This forces the audience to wonder whether the Nurse see Juliet as a replacement to her daughter.
In act 1 scene 3 Lady Capulet wants to discuss things with Juliet and so asks the Nurse to leave them in private for a while. But she finds it uncomfortable and so calls her back she is clearly one of the family.
The nurse holds Juliet’s happiness so high that she betrays the trust of employers when arranging Romeo and Juliet’s wedding and their last night together. This just goes to show how much she cares for and loves Juliet like her own child.
In act 3 scene 5 Capulet calls Juliet a “disobedient wretch” but the nurse tells him that it’s his fault for assuming that Juliet would want to marry Paris in the first place. She puts Juliet once more before her employer showing how much she cares for her.
When Juliet was younger the Nurse used to breast feed her and it is a proven fact that children usually have a strong link with those who breast-feed them.
Overall throughout the whole play Juliet confides in the nurse and feels more comfortable around her than even her own mother. She is completely relaxed around her, but with her mother she all rigid and stiff. The nurse is employed to look after Juliet so she has no other priorities unlike her parents who have other issues to deal with. This plays a factor in why they are so close the Nurse is there for her to talk whenever she needs it and her parents aren’t. She is certain of Juliet’s age and her parents aren’t this shows just how close she and Juliet are.
In act 2 scene 3 Friar refers to Romeo using the word “Son” and Romeo to the Friar as “Father”. This indicates that there is a father-son relationship.
By the Friar questioning Romeo’s previous ‘love’ for Rosaline by asking “Is Rosaline…so soon forsaken?” he is showing the audience that Romeo had confided in him before and indicating at their tight bond. It also shows that the Friar has picked up on Romeos fickleness.
Friar says to Romeo “Young men’s love then lies, not in their hearts but in their eyes” this is saying that Romeo was only in ‘love’ with Rosaline because she was beautiful and not for what was inside of her. This points to Romeo’s fickleness. It also points to the father son relationship because it is a father like statement.
Later in this scene Friar refers to Romeo as his “pupil” indicating that not only could it be a father son relationship but a pupil student relationship.
The Friar also nicknames Romeo “Young waverer” which is referring to the fact that he can’t make up his mind about who is in love from one moment to the next and that they are so close that he can give him a nickname.
Friar tends to look at the bigger picture. He says, “ To turn your households’ rancour to pure love” he sees that the marriage of Romeo and Juliet as a way to end the feud between the two families. But he warns Romeo to take it slow else it won’t work “wisely and slow, they stumble that run fast”. This shows the audience that he has visions for the future but he also keeps his and Romeo’s feet firmly on the ground and head out of the sky.
Friar believes that he is doing a good deed in marrying Romeo and Juliet “so smile the heavens upon this holy act” this shows the audience that he is trying to be a good Samaritan. He doesn’t want to be deceitful if it’s not for a good cause.
He offers the advice of an experienced mind when he says “Be patient, for the world is broad and wide” he offers the father like statement so Romeo doesn’t rush into things and make mistakes showing that he cares for Romeo and doesn’t want to see him get hurt.
Both Romeo and Juliet have close relationships with two other people other than their parents. They seem to have surrogate parents watching over them, as their real parents are to pre-occupy with other things. This play deals with many themes; one then is the fact of the growing rift between parents and their children. Children nowadays seem more willing to go for outsiders help than the one offered to them from between their own four walls. Lying to parents is another strong theme in the play Romeo and Juliet have to manipulate and deceive their parents.
Some may say that Shakespeare has used this play to show to the world that no matter how much you love someone your family should always come first else you will lose the battle.
He has shown that hate may become a good thing. As shown using Romeo and Juliet as examples, they are sprung from two families who despise each other but love conquers all and has a firm grip on them. They both die because they are willing to make the dearest sacrifice of their own life so that they may be together.
Revenge is not so sweet for Romeo. He goes after Tybalt and kills him for killing Mercutio but results in him being banished from the city. The butterfly in South America has flapped its wings once more. All this has begun for a mistake by Tybalt as he didn’t mean to kill Mercutio but it cultivated into 4 deaths, two families ripped apart by the death of their children and a whole city weeping in mourning.
Trust has been a big feature in this play; Juliet trusts the nurse and the nurse to Juliet; Romeo trusts the Friar and Mercutio and vice versa. They all trust one and other and none of them betray another person’s trust. This is what true friendship is about. This is what Shakespeare is trying to say. Notice that The Nurse didn’t care that Romeo was a Montague but she saw that Juliet was happy and that was all that mattered and this is the same for the Friar.
Manipulation, deception and lying is all part of a ‘normal’ parent-child relationship. This is more than apparent in this play. Both Romeo and Juliet have to lie to their parents as they do not want them to know that they are in love with the sworn enemy. Juliet has to pretand that see is going to shrift when really see is going to marry the sworn enemy. She has to pretend that she does not want to marry Paris because she does not feel ready. But the audience knows better, they know that the reason is because she is already married to Romoe.
Obviously love is the most obvious of the themes, it is the the one that the whole play is based upon. Two madly in love teenagers are struck by the arrow of love. They have to do through so much so that they can be together. They are prepared to risk all they have
