Act 1 Scene 3 is our first encounter with the Nurse and is the audience’s first chance to form opinions about her. We see her as a loud and bawdy character, which reminds us of Samson and Gregory in the previous scene. Shakespeare presents her in direct contrast to Romeo in the first scene who is lovesick and quiet. Again, this technique grabs the audience’s attention because of the change in mood. The Nurse is a very garrulous character and is often tactless and disrespectful towards Lady Capulet in this scene. When Lady Capulet is talking to Juliet about marriage the Nurse repeats with relish her husbands joke when the baby Juliet falls down
‘A was a merry man – took up the child.
‘Yea,’ quoth he, ‘dost thou fall upon thy face?
Thou wilt fall backwards when thou hast more wit.
Wilt thou not, Jule?’’
The point of the joke is, of course, that Juliet will lie on her back when a man makes love to her. Overall the audience sees her as rude, loud and she can be annoying, the affection and fondness she has for Juliet is a factor, which makes the audience forgive and sympathise with her.
In act 2 Scene 5, the Nurse’s behaviour and relationship with Juliet affects the audiences perception of her. She is very manipulative in this scene, making Juliet wait to tell her the good news she has for her. An example of this is when the Nurse says;
‘Your love says, like an honest gentleman,
And a courteous, and a kind, and a handsome
And I warrant a virtuous – where is your mother?’
Although this is not malicious manipulation, it keeps Juliet waiting when she is already impatient. Although she seems to be being unkind to Juliet, she still shows signs of fondness and affection towards her. She shows this by saying Romeo is ‘not the flower of courtesy, but I’ll warrant him’ showing she cares about to whom Juliet is wed but allows the marriage to go ahead because Juliet has feelings for him. Another example of the strong bond between the Nurse and Juliet is Juliet’s dependence on the Nurse. For example, when the Nurse is acting as the messenger and returns late Juliet calls her ‘lame’ and says the messages should be sent ‘ten times faster than the suns beams. The Nurse is also very active in Romeo and Juliet’s conspiracy. She shows this by saying that she must ‘fetch a ladder, by which your love must climb a birds nest soon when it is dark.’ By creating these motherly aspects in the Nurse, Shakespeare makes the audience like the Nurse even when she is being obnoxious.
Act 3 Scene 5 is a key scene as it forces the audience to make a final decision about their opinion of the Nurse. Shakespeare manages this by again demonstrating the Nurse’s contradictory behaviour when she tells Juliet to marry Paris. Whilst in front of Lord and Lady Capulet the Nurse is brave, loyal and defends Juliet by arguing with Lord Capulet, However when they are alone in private she contradicts herself again by saying Juliet should do what her father says. This makes the audience feel betrayed as Juliet feels the same.
In the three scenes Shakespeare demonstrates fully his literal genius by using the Nurse in several ways. He creates a vital link between the audience and Juliet in the form of the Nurse because she puts the audience in Juliet’s position, frequently forcing the audience to feel Juliet’s emotions therefore further engaging the audience into the play. The Nurse has a huge presence on the stage because of her loud and garrulous ways, and the audience’s feelings towards the Nurse also changes repeatedly, making the audience further aware of this presence. Also by bringing humour the nurse gives the play more appeal to the audience. Without the Nurse many of the things that make the play so dramatic and engaging would not be possible.
