What events in Juliet's life shape this change in her personality, and how does her language reflect this change?

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Hollie Calton

What events in Juliet’s life shape this change in her personality, and how does her language reflect this change?

At the age of fourteen Juliet was a young and naïve innocent girl. However, during the play she matures emotionally and broadens her ideas and her way of thinking. This vast and rapid change was a consequence of  her relationship with Romeo and there are many ideas in the play which illustrate these points but it is through her language that we can see these changes.

 The prologue gives an outline of what is yet to come and explores these ideas using metaphors and many linguistic devices.

“From ancient grudge break new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.”

 This shows the audience the basis of the story. Each line skips to a different event such as

“ And the continuance of their parent’s rage, which but their children’s end nought could remove.”

 This suggests that each event happens quickly through-out the play, showing changing events happen in a short period of time. The use of the word “children” suggests that Romeo and Juliet are very young and irresponsible, thus requiring the events to be fast to emphasise some of the irrational decisions.

 The secrets of the play are revealed in the prologue yet it also gives many hidden depths.

 “The which if you with patient ears attend, what here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.”

 These are left for the audience to ponder on and to await the  

“…two hour traffic of our stage…”.

 From the play we see that Juliet’s responses and actions to others around her moulds her character. Juliet changes her approach to her mother in the play. In her first appearance Juliet is found talking to her mother and nurse; however, even though Lady Capulet called upon her daughter, she directs her speech towards the nurse as though Juliet is not there.

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“We must talk in secret. Nurse come back again”- Act 1 Scene 3, line 9.

This indirect speech between Juliet and her mother shows that there is a distance between them and this is also shown further on into the play as the nurse becomes even closer than before to Juliet.

 Her mother brought up the topic of Juliet’s appearance to lead on to the topic of marriage. Never the less Juliet, with a formal approach, expresses that she is not yet longing for marriage.

”It is an honour that I dream not of” (Act ...

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