The nurse had a daughter of her own, Susan. She was born on the exact same day as Juliet; she unfortunately died leaving the nurse very distraught. When she got the job of looking after Juliet she was at last contented. Juliet was like her own daughter; she took the place of Susan. This shows that the nurse is quite an affectionate character. She continuously looks out for Juliet, “God in heaven bless her, you are to blame, my lord to rate her so” she sticks up for Juliet against Lord Capulet. It also shows that the nurse is quite caring; taking on the job of a full time nurse is hard. However, she shows love continuously. Although the nurse is Juliet’s servant, the relationship between the pair is so close that the idea of the nurse being Juliet’s servant is hidden.
The nurse is of a much lower class than Juliet; this is shown in her characteristics and the crude language she uses, “ ‘Yea’ quoth he, ‘Dost thou fall upon thy face? Thou wilt fall backward when thou hast more wit”. “I tell you he that can lay hold of her, Shall have the chinks” in this sentence the nurse tells Romeo who he has fallen in love with, this sentence shows mercenary. Through the play she refers to language with sexual nature, which spices things up a little bit and keeps the audience entertained, “Go, girl, seek happy nights to happy day”. The Nurse is quite a comedian, joking with Peter. “I am none of his flirt-gills”. In act scene 5 we see more of the nurse’s comedy. This is when she returns to Juliet with the news of the marriage. She is in a mischievous mood and she enjoys keeping Juliet in suspense. “Jesu, what haste, can you not stay a while”
Throughout the play there are lots of references to show the close relationship of the nurse and Juliet. Act 1, scene 3; is where we first see the nurse. This is the scene that we can gather her background information. The two sit together reminiscing on the “good old days”. She can remember the exact date of Juliet’s birth, a sign of a close connection. “Come Lammas Eve at night shall she be fourteen”.
When Lady Capulet enters the room to talk to Juliet, she dismisses the nurse. “Nurse, give us leave a while. We must talk in secret”. The Lady wishes to discuss things with Juliet, but finds it uncomfortable. She calls the nurse back immediately. This shows how the mother-daughter relationship is stronger between the nurse and Juliet rather than Juliet and lady Capulet.
Another point that emphasises on the stronger bonds between nurse and Juliet is the fact that when Juliet speaks to her mother she speaks very formally, calling her “madam”, the conversation is stilted and proper, whereas with the nurse, she talks very openly and is playful like it should be like, in a mother-daughter relationship, “How art thou out of breath when thou hast breath to say to me that thou art out of breath”. The nurse uses many different terms when she is referring to Juliet. When calling on Juliet in act 1 scene 3, she says: “What, Lamb? What Ladybird?”. The language in which they use to communicate is far less formal than that of the language with Lady Capulet. There seems to be a relaxed atmosphere around them.
It is the nurse who brings Romeo and Juliet together. The nurse is clear about what is going on. She does what she thinks is best, and tries to protect Romeo by telling him who Juliet is. This shows a soft touch. The nurse may like him. However, she knows that it can only cause trouble “Her mother is the lady of the house”. The nurse talks to Romeo and answers his questions in a very down to earth way as she explains that Juliet is the daughter of the host and that the man who will marry her has to be rich. “Can lay hold on her shall have chinks”. The nurse obviously wants the best for Juliet and she believes that he should have a lot of money.
The part that the nurse plays in the action is a critical one. The nurse is a source of information for Juliet, a sort of secret spy. “His name is Romeo, and a Montague”.
The nurse holds Juliet’s happiness so high that she betrays her employer and arranges Juliet’s marriage and a last night with Romeo. The bond between them is so strong that the nurse would do anything to keep Juliet content.
The nurse is the one who tells Juliet of the death of Tybalt and the Banishment of Romeo. She shows more sadness for the death of Tybalt than the banishment of Romeo. This is natural because Tybalt is part of the family that have come to adopt her. “Tybalt is gone and Romeo is banished”. Juliet sends the nurse to friar Laurence’s cell to speak to Romeo. Although the case of more affection for Tybalt may be, the nurse still obeys Juliet and goes to seek Romeo. She hastens Romeo to see Juliet. She has realised that, that is what would make Juliet happy and that is what she wants. It is thanks to the nurse, in the end, that the couple get to spend the night together.
After Lord Capulet tells Juliet that she has to marry Romeo the nurse suggests that Juliet should forget about Romeo and should listen to her father and marry Paris even though she knows Romeo and Juliet are in love and marrying Paris is against Juliet wishes. The nurse tries to persuade Juliet to marry Paris as she thinks this is the best way to get rid of their troubles, “I think its best you married with the county, Romeo’s dishclout to him” however she earlier on told Juliet how impressed she is by Romeo and encouraged Juliet’s expectations. “Your love says, like an honest gentleman, and a courteous and a kind and a handsome….”. It is because of this that she loses Juliet’s confidence, and trust. Juliet decides to seek the help of Friar Laurence; thereafter she no longer involves the nurse in her secret Plans.
The nurse seems irresponsible, for allowing the two to go ahead with the plans and get married. She knows they have only known each other for a little while but she still approves of their marriage and she even arranges it, “this afternoon sir? Will she be there?”. She is employed by the Capulet to look after their daughter but allows their daughter to marry this is what eventually causes Juliet’s death.
Maybe if it were not for the nurse, Romeo and Juliet would not have even met, and definitely if it were not for the nurse no message from Juliet would have gotten to Romeo and therefore after a while the two would have forgot about each other.
The nurse plays a critical role in Romeo and Juliet. Her relationship with major characters and her part in the secretive romance of the two lovers cause the play’s actions to move quickly and in a powerful way. The nurse acts as Shakespeare’s pawn to guide the events of the play in a dramatic manner.
