The opening scene creates atmosphere because Juliet lost Romeo and it will intensify because as we get into the scene Juliet is rejected by her mother and father, she is told she should marry Paris by the Nurse this would make her feel vulnerable and rejected from all the people she loves, as she is all on her own. Juliet’s surprise that her mother is coming to her room reminds us that Lady Capulet is very distant from her daughter. Earlier in the play when Lady Capulet was on her own in the room with Juliet, Lady Capulet got nervous and asks the Nurse to come back, this shows she is very distant from her daughter. This was not unusual for noble ladies in this time because most of them had wet Nurses to bring up the children.
In act three of scene 5, When Lady Capulet walk sin she sees Juliet crying for Romeo, however she thinks Juliet is crying because Tybalt has died. Lady Capulet tries to talk her out of her grief by saying ‘wilt thou wash him from his grave with tears?’ Saying that you will not wash him out the grave by tears, she also says ‘ but much of grief shows still some want of wilt’, so she is trying to say that is not intelligent to keep crying like she is. Lady Capulet is talking about the ‘villain’ who is Romeo and she would like to take vengeance upon him by poisoning him, this is dramatic irony because at the end she does die from some poison. Juliet is very resourceful in using clever language towards her mother by saying that she wants him ‘dead’ and trying to disguise her love for Romeo. Juliet says ‘ to wreak the love I bore my cousin upon his body that hath slaughtered him!’ that is hiding her passion for Romeo. Lady Capulet uses dramatic irony of associating Romeo with poison by saying ‘madam, if you could find out but a man to bear a poison I would temper it, that Romeo should upon receipt therefore sooner sleep in quiet’, This is dramatic irony as he does die from poison. Lady Capulet brings the dramatic news from her husband that Juliet is to be married to Paris. Lady Capulet feels that this will really cheer her up. When Juliet is told about the arranged marriage she is angry and horrified because she is already married. She declines to marry Paris and she says ‘I will not marry yet’ which shows she is buying time to try and get out of marrying Paris. Juliet cleverly disguises her love for Romeo by saying ‘I swear it shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate ‘. She says this to hide her love. There is dramatic when Lady Capulet says ‘I would the fool were married to her grave ‘ Because Juliet eventually takes her life. Juliet is so desperate not top marry Paris that she threatens to kill herself over the whole dilemma. Lady Capulet rejects Juliet and says ‘ talk to me for I will not speak a word do as thou wilt, for I have done with thee’. This shows that she doesn’t care anymore and she is done with her and wants nothing more to do with her this then leads Juliet to being ‘deserted by everyone’.
When Paris approaches Capulet, Capulet says to Paris that she is too young to marry and that she has not changed much in fourteen years, this shows Capulet Love to Juliet and how he is in her best interest. When Tybalt wants Romeo to leave the ball, Capulet says no and tell Tybalt to bear him because Capulet is having such a good time and does not want anything to spoil it. When Capulet enters believing that Juliet is crying for her dead cousin Tybalt, Capulet compares her emotion to the storm ‘ for still thy eyes, which I may call the sea, do ebb and flow with tears’. Capulet has arranged the marriage of Paris and Juliet without Juliet’s consent because he really wants for a match with his daughter. He has really changed since the ball about how she needs to grow up more. In this scene Capulet is revealed as the patriarchal head of the family, his wife and daughter are expected to do as he says. A modern audience is shocked by his treatment of Juliet at this point and even a Shakespearean audience would feel that his treatment to her is unreasonable. Juliet begs not to marry Paris but Capulet is not having any of it and doesn’t let Juliet speak, Capulet starts abusing Juliet and calling her some insults, he says that if Juliet does not marry Paris then Capulet would never have anything to do with her again and that he would not care if she was to die on the streets because she would be thrown out the family and never looked at again. Capulet is angry because he thinks that Paris is a good man and will bring a lot of riches into the family, Capulet has provided Juliet with Paris and he expects Juliet to feel honoured and thankful and accept his offer to marry Paris. Capulet says what Juliet will benefit from marrying Paris as he says ‘a gentleman of noble parentage of fair demesnes, youthful and nobly lign’d stuff’d, as they say, with honourable parts’. Capulet persuades Juliet to marry him. Capulet has now put his foot down and is not taking no for an answer, Capulet thinks that it is his right to decide and not Juliet’s. Juliet shows strength of character and determination by sticking up for herself and not giving in to what Capulet is asking of her, usually in those times the children were told who to marry an expected to be grateful with the decision, but Juliet is determined not to marry Paris.
After Juliet if rejected by Capulet and Lady Capulet she then turns to the Nurse to try and get some advise on what to do. The Nurse and Juliet have a great relationship because the Nurse was Juliet’s wet Nurse and she looked after her all through her childhood and the Nurse in Juliet’s confidante and who listens to her like a mother. Juliet knows she cant marry again because she would do an act of bigamy which in those days was terrible and you would go to hell for it. Juliet shows her awareness of the religious meaning of her marriage vows to Romeo by showing her faith and that if she were top marry Paris then she would be cheating on Romeo. There is now a big dilemma for Juliet as she does not know what to do and who to turn to, and she is willing to listen to any advise to get her out of this terrible heart throbbing dilemma.
In the argument with Capulet, the Nurse supported Juliet and protected her. The Nurse said ‘let her speak’ trying to let Juliet have her say and trying to resort the problem. When Juliet asks the Nurse for advise, the Nurse then says that it is best to marry Paris, this betrays her emotionally by telling her to marry Paris, morally because she will commit bigamy and spiritually because she will lose her soul. We now see Juliet’s inner strength as she disguises her true reaction to the Nurses Judgement when she makes the Nurse think that she will go along with the marriage but actually she is being sarcastic. Juliet gives the Nurse the impression that she will go to friar Lawrence and the Nurse thinks that Juliet will confess her sins. In Juliet’s soliloquy she reveals her feelings towards the Nurse by calling her ‘an ancient damnation’ and a ‘wicked fiend’ she is also upset that the Nurse has betrayed her that she reveals her dislike to the Nurse. Juliet accuses the Nurse of hypocrisy because she knows how much Juliet loves Romeo and the Nurse has helped her all through the marriage of Romeo, now she is saying that she should leave Romeo and marry Paris. Juliet now turns to friar for help and also outside her family and Juliet’s says ‘if all else fails, myself have the power to die’, so if friar cannot come up with a solution then Juliet will kill herself. Juliet has never given up and is always trying to find ways out of the dilemma. We have the impression that she is strong and willing to go on to get herself out of this mess, she now has to stand alone, despite what her family have said, including the terrible threat to reject her from the house and the family.
I think that Juliet did make the better decision by not marrying Paris because if she did then it would have been an act of bigamy and in her view; she would have gone to hell.
The dramatic importance of this scene is that Juliet is married to Romeo and that she cannot marry another person, her family don’t know this because she kept it a secret from the people she knew would be against it. The Importance of this scene is that Juliet keeps getting more and more deserted and she starts to become enemies with the Nurse and her family, she is pressured by her options on what to do and is slowly pushed to the edge. Juliet feels that she can’t really cope anymore and that if all else fails then she will kill herself. The scene has weighed the balance against Juliet and Romeo. When she next sees Romeo he is dead and she then commits suicide herself.
