Rather than Paris. These are news indeed!”
Juliet tries to persuade her mother that she would rather marry Romeo who she ‘hates for killing Tybalt’ instead of marrying Paris.
This scene also gives us clues to what will happen throughout the rest of the play.
Although we don’t see a lot of Romeo in this scene we do learn more about him from what he says to Juliet. It shows that he is more determined to stay with Juliet and die than flee out of Verona and live
“I have more care to stay than will to go”
This shows also that Romeo is serious about the relationship with Juliet because he says that he has a lot more to stay for to be with Juliet than he has will to go and live.
Furthermore this scene shows that he is mature about the whole situation at hand and that he knows even though he doesn’t want to leave he knows that he has to.
We learn a lot about Juliet’s father, Lord Capulet from what he says and does in this scene because it show that he is narrow-mined and proud of the decisions he has made
“To go with Paris to Saint Peter’s Church,
Or I will drag thee on hurdle thither.
Out, you green-sickness carrion! out, you baggage!”
The social and historical context shows the arrangement of marriage which in Elizabethan times it was customary that the parents, in this case Lord Capulet to choose an appropriate husband for his daughter, these days, that doesn’t happen and the daughter is allowed to marry whoever she wants to. The quote also shows that Capulet is very strict because he has just told Juliet that he will drag her all the way to the church, and when he says “Out, you green-sickness carrion! out, you baggage!” I think that he is saying you disgust me and clear off basically.
We also learn a great deal about Juliet’s mother (Lady Capulet) from what she says in this scene because it shows that she recessive meaning that she doesn’t make her feelings known to the rest of the family and that she is easily lead by Lord Capulet meaning that anything he says she follows.
“Talk not to me, for I’ll not speak a word.
Do as thou wilt, for I have done with thee.”
This shows that she doesn’t want to speak her mind in case that Lord Capulet hears it and that she is showing that of the power that he has she says to Juliet do as your father says or you’ll get hurt. The quote also shows she wants to keep her relationships as distant as possible because she doesn’t want to be seen taking sides just in the middle of it all.
The Nurse plays an important part in this scene. We learn more about her characters from what she says and does because she appears to be a mother figure to Juliet
“Your lady mother is coming to your chamber.
The day has broke, be wary, look about.”
She is looking out for Juliet and Romeo by saying that Juliet’s mother is coming and that Romeo should be leaving. Furthermore she is protective of Juliet by virtually putting her job on the line to help out Juliet.
“God in heaven bless her!
You are to blame, my lord, to rate her so.”
This shows that she must be quite tough to stand up to Lord Capulet and that she must care deeply for Juliet jump in and defend her against her father.
No matter what we learn about the other characters, we learn about the development of Juliet’s character in this scene because she is dishonest by telling her mother that she is crying for her cousin’s death but really is not even crying and that she will never marry, even though she has already married Romeo. She is also rebellious and that she sticks up for herself
“Delay this marriage for a month, a week,
Or if you do not, make the bridal bed
In that dim monument where Tybalt lies.”
This shows that unlike her mother, she expresses herself by telling her father that she doesn’t want to get married and makes a compromise that if he doesn’t she will be lying next to Tybalt in the Capulet monument and also she is realistic when she talks about moving the wedding to a later date because if she said to move the wedding to next year he would probably go mad and lash out at her and tell her is a disobedient wench.
In conclusion, I think that this is one of the most important scenes on the whole of Romeo and Juliet because all of the main characters develop during the whole of the scene and also it carves the outcome for the rest of the play, for example, when Juliet says she will go to Friar Lawrence’s cell to seek absolution, she is going there to get a potion from the Friar to make her look dead, so she won’t have to get married to the County Paris.
