This shows us a very different Juliet to the one we were first introduced to. She has transformed from a cordial, courteous girl into a frustrated one. This mannerism is one that many members of the audience would have been rather shocked to see, as it is not what would have been expected from a girl coming from a wealthy family, who has been brought up to respect the strict social rules set at this period in history. Once the Nurse returns, Juliet throws questions at her, and demands that the Nurse tells the news - showing the eagerness of Juliet to receive the all important news.
'O honey Nurse what news?
Hast thou met with him? Send thy man away.'
Act 2 Scene 5
Juliet becomes increasingly irritated at the Nurses teasing, and begins to get rather angry. Shakespeare doesn't usually present Juliet as an angry character, but does so here to ensure that the audience have a picture of just how much Juliet is changing due to her burning love for Romeo.
At the end of the play, Juliet accepts death willingly when fate destroys their lives. Juliet is quick-witted, sharp and when needed, slightly manipulative as shown in her line of questioning to the Nurse when she wants to find out who Romeo is. Juliet truly loves Romeo and defies the world and everything that is in it, including her parents and their wishes, for him.
Lady Capulet is the most powerful woman in the play. Her arranged marriage to the much older Lord Capulet has given her wealth and status. However, despite her position, she seems to be marred by her early marriage and in the process, portrays a figure of bitterness and disillusionment. Her views on marriage are clear almost from the start as she tells Juliet that she could 'share all he doth possess' - clearly she sees marriage as a sharing of position and wealth rather than a sharing of love. This could also signify her reasons for her early marriage to Lord Capulet.
The Nurse's position in the Capulet household is far more superior to that of a normal servant, as she has been employed as a wet nurse to Juliet. After the death of her own daughter, Juliet has replaced her in the Nurse's affections. Juliet trusts her Nurse and relies on her advice and understanding nature. In Act 4 Scene 3, when Juliet begins to worry about whether or not to take the potion, she asks herself, 'Nurse, what should she do here?'
The character of Nurse is based on the stock figure of the obscene old woman, a common character in the time of Shakespeare. Ironically, Shakespeare has given Nurse the name of Angelica, meaning 'angel'. Contrastingly, the Nurse's language is full of very 'unangelic', broad humour and sexual references. In Act 1 Scene 4, the Nurse tells Juliet that when she is older and wiser, she would 'fall on her back', i.e she should be looking forward to the pleasures of sexual intercourse.
'Thou wilt fall backward when thou hast more wit, wilt thou not Jule?'
Act 1 Scene 3
It is the Nurse, not Lady Capulet who shows the necessary motherly love and affection to Juliet, as shown with the 'pet' names the Nurse has for Juliet, such as 'lamb' and 'ladybird'. She also has the attributes of a modern day parent - embarassing Juliet with tales of her youth.
'But as I said, when it did taste the worm-
wood on the nipple of my dug, and felt it bitter, pretty
fool, to see it tetchy, and fall out with the dug.'
Act 1 Scene 3
Coincidentally, amidst all the tales of Juliet and her childhood, Juliet is embarassed whilst in the presence of her real birth mother, Lady Capulet.
The Nurses views on marriage are similar to those of Lady Capulet. She agrees that Juliet could 'grow' by marrying Paris, but as usual has in mind a more bawdy and sexual meaning than Lady Capulet's! The Nurse, like Lady Capulet, has a hard-headed financial outlook, as depicted when she advises Juliet to marry Paris for his money. However, the Nurse sees love as a sensible action in order to ensure happiness. She sees love as a warm, natural, physical response to another person.
Juliets ideas on marriage are a sharp contrast to those of Lady Capulet and the Nurse. Juliet feels that her marriage should be primarily based on love, hence her resistance to marry Paris, and wealth that may be gained from the marriage as irrelevant.
'He shall not make me there a joyful bride.
I wonder at this haste, that I must we
Ere he that should be husband comes to woo...'
Act 3 Scene 5
We get the feeling that if Juliet were to marry Paris, just to please her parents, we can almost envisage her in ten years time, being the mirror image of her mother - bitter, unhappy and disillusioned. Most of all, Juliet would be distraught at being involved in a marriage to a man for whom she feels nothing for.
In Act 3 Scene 5, we see the result of Juliets sincerity and bravery, as she is disowned by her parents, and is the victim of a tirade of abuse by the tyrannical
Lord Capulet. Also in this scene, the Nurses advice to Juliet marks the severing of Juliet's esteem and friendship with her. In our analysis, we can see that the Nurse has failed to understand Juliet and her attitude to life and as a result, has lost the person who for thirteen years, was the centre of her universe.
Paris is a character who although is only lightly sketched in the play, plays a decisive role in the final tragedy. Usually when we see him, he is with Lord Capulet to whom he is respective and courteous at all times, as he acknowledges his wealth and status.
Shortly after the death of Tybalt, Paris feels the time is right to once again ask Capulet for his daughter's hand in marriage. This shows his astounding arrogance. Tybalt has recently died and here, in the dead of night, Paris is begging Capulet for his consent so he can marry Juliet. At no stage is Juliet at all consulted about this by either Paris or her father, and is never involved in the marriage discussions, showing the neglect that was shown to females at this time.
Lord Capulet is portrayed as a caring father who wants the best husband possible for his daughter . At first, he truly believes that Juliet is too young for marriage. Later, he changes his views as he begins to realise just how profitable marriage to Paris could be, and he automatically asserts that his personal fortune would bring happiness to Juliet. However, when Juliet tells her father that Paris' love is unrequited, he flies into a rage and hits Juliet with a tyrade of verbal abuse, to the extent of him telling his daughter of how his 'fingers itch' to hit her.
Contrastingly to both Paris and Lord Capulet, Romeo treats Juliet like a queen. When he first reveals his love for Juliet, he says,
'It is the East and Juliet is the Sun.'
Act 2 Scene 2
Romeo uses metaphorical language to describe Juliet as the Sun. As we know, the Sun controls time as it travels around Earth. In Elizabethan times, the Sun was seen as a divine emblem and was the King of the Heavens. Here, Romeo compares Juliet to the Sun. Romeo also uses an incredible amount of Hyperbole in Act 2 Scene 2 to describe how Juliet is seen in his eyes, for example, he tells Juliet she has 'two of the fairest stars in heaven' , basically telling her that her eyes are like stars, which light the midnight sky - again, another example of how the devices of Shakespeare portray the extent of peoples feelings, in this example, the true extent of Romeo's feelings.
'Oh speak again bright Angel.'
Act 2 Scene 2
Here, he refers to Juliet as a holy and beautiful symbol of heaven that he worships, like a godess.
In the first and only meeting of Paris and Juliet, Paris is extremely courteous and acts as a typical romantic, rarely showing his true emotions. However, Romeo's love matures and he is much more of an unconventional lover. Romeo openly tells of his feelings for Juliet in a meaningful passionate manner.
In Act 1 Scene 3, we see the Nurse, Lady Capulet and Juliet, and a unique distinction in the type of language used between the three characters. This is known as iambic pentameter which Shakespeare uses to differentiate between his intelligent and uneducated characters - in this case, Juliet and Lady Capulet, compared with the Nurse.
'Juliet: And-stint-thou-too-I-pray-thee-Nurse-say-I
Nurse: Peace I have done: God mark thee to his grace
Lady Capulet: Mar-ry-that-mar-ry-is-the-ve-ry-theme.'
Act 1 Scene 3
In the infamous 'balcony scene', a great deal of imagery is used. Firstly, imagery of light and seeing is important to the context of the scene. For example, Romeo is intoxicated by his passion for Juliet but she says 'it is too rash, too unadvis'd, too sudden', like the lightning in a storm. In a way, Juliet is correct because their love will indeed be like a brief wondrous flash of light in the darkness of the feud between their two respective families, and their love is also potentially fatal. Also, the imagery of growth is used in this scene. In Juliet's word, their 'bud of love' may become a 'beauteous flower' when they were next to meet, if the 'summer's ripening breath' is breathed upon it. References to nature throughout the play tell us that their love is natural and that it is also natural for a woman to have the same feelings as a man, and in this case, be more practical and sensible than a man.
In Act 3 Scene 2, Juliet uses personification and metaphors in her soliloquy that provoke the imagery of light and darkness. For instance, with a reference to love and passion, Juliet personifies light as someone who closes a curtain on the world, portraying the idea that darkness brings intimacy.
'Spread thy close curtain love-performing night...'
Act 3 Scene 2
In Act 3 Scene 5, Juliet becomes cunningly deceitful as she manipulates her words to avoid telling her mother of her her love for Romeo, and her refusal to condemn him. If we compare this to the coy, obedient conventional daughter at the start of the play, we see how much Juliet has grown in terms of strength in character and maturity. At this point, we see that Juliet has now freed herself from the restricting chains of her family life and in the process has totally distanced herself from the 'traditional' ideas of how a conventional woman should act and behave at this time.
'Indeed I never shall be satisfied
With Romeo, till I behold him. Dead
In my poor heart so for a kinsman vex'd:'
Act 3 Scene 5
In Act 4 Scene 3, when we analyse Juliet's soliloquy we notice that Shakespeare has abandoned the use of iambic pentameter in order to show the true extent of Juliet's distress. Also added are rhetorical questions which are used to produce imagery and are used to give us an insight into Juliet's current state of mind. For instance, when Juliet pictures herself waking in the tomb, she wonders whether she will begin to 'madly play with my forefathers' joints.'
The entire soliloquy is full of genuine reasons not to take the potion - it may not work, Friar Laurence may have decided to poison Juliet, the fears of waking in the tomb. Such is her love for Romeo at this point that all she needs against these objections is the thought of their happiness.
'Romeo! Romeo! Romeo! I drink to thee.'
Act 4 Scene 3
Shakespeare evokes a suitably tense atmosphere by using contrasting opposites to show the conflict of Julilet's emotion.
'...I have a faint cold fear thrills through my veins.'
Act 4 Scene 3
Juliet is constantly confused and frightened. Shakespeare shows this by the thoughts and fears darting through her mind - What if she wakes before the arrival of Romeo is just one of Juliet's many worries at this stage. Following on from that is a use of dramatic image and personification.
'To whose foul mouth no healthsome air breathes in,
And there die strangled ere my Romeo comes.'
Act 4 Scene 3
In this soliloquy, Shakespeare creates a sensory experience - sight, smell and sound to add more tension but also to show what was at stake for Juliet - giving the audience an idea of just how courageous Juliet actually is.
As previously mentioned, the role of the conventional woman during the Elizabethan period of history, was to refrain from conveying their true feelings and emotions, and be perfectly content with being considered second class citizens in relation to men. However, as we know, Juliet distances herself from these preconceived ideas, and becomes a mature, strong-willed, independent woman.
I don't believe that a modern audience would be shocked to discover a woman with similar characteristics to Juliet. People of today haven't been brought up to abide by the strict gender roles set at this period in history and as we live in a world of equality, it is likely that they would be more shocked upon discovering that a world of so much discrimination and prejudice could have previously existed. However, an Elizabethan audience may have reacted somewhat differently. Although they would have been shocked to watch a play containing an unconventional female, I don't believe that they would have taken this too seriously as after all, they would only be watching a play.
In 'Romeo and Juliet', Shakespeare has a hidden message within his character of Juliet. In giving her the characteristics of an unconventional female, he is telling the audience that women shouldn't have to abide by the 'gender roles', as they are human, and should be allowed the freedom to show that they possess the same characteristics as men. Finally, as both modern and and Elizabethan audiences, Shakespeare invites us to respond to Juliet being a human being forced with tremendous difficulties, rather than just a woman.
