Romeo and Juliet Coursework essay

        The Nurse plays a very important role in “Romeo and Juliet” because of her close relationship with Juliet. This is because the Nurse is Juliet’s carer, confidante and, most of all, friend. This is most evident in Act 2 scene 5, when Juliet is expecting the Nurse to come back with news about Romeo. The Nurse however, thinks otherwise, and reports back with “I am aweary: give me leave a while.” and “Jesu, what haste! Can you not stay a while?” The Nurse says these things because she is teasing Juliet by deliberately withholding the news from Romeo, and the Nurse knows she can do this because she has known Juliet for so long, therefore she can have fun with Juliet without Juliet getting angry. This particular scene is full of dramatic irony, as the audience can take part in the teasing as they know the news as well as the Nurse, but Juliet doesn’t. However, although this is a fun activity for the Nurse to enjoy, she may also be doing this to increase Juliet’s excitement at hearing the news, as she knows that Romeo wants to marry Juliet, so is delaying this for as long as possible for Juliet’s benefit. This shows a great bond between the two of them, which will eventually lead to heartbreak for Juliet when the Nurse insults her dearest Romeo.

        Despite not being related to her, the nurse is more of a mother figure to Juliet than Lady Capulet. This is partly due to the fact that Lady Capulet distances herself from Juliet, and is also cold hearted and distant towards her. In Act 1 scene 3, when the Nurse is first introduced, she is excluded from the room by Lady Capulet, who wants to talk to Juliet in secret about Paris’ intentions. However, when she thinks about it, she decides to let the Nurse back into the room. This over joys the Nurse, and she boasts “Faith, I can tell her age unto an hour.” She then proceeds to unnecessarily tell Lady Capulet the precise age of Juliet, to which she replies, “Enough of this. I pray thee hold thy peace.” The fact that the Nurse enjoys telling everyone the age of Juliet combined with the fact that Lady Capulet tells her to be quiet shows the audience who cares about Juliet more, and in addition to this it could be said that Juliet’s mother simply doesn’t care at all about her, which in the end will lead Juliet into thinking she is alone when the Nurse shares her true opinions.

        Although it is mainly the Nurse that is influential in pushing Juliet towards her suicide, the Capulets play a part as well. This is because in Act 3 Scene 5, they gang up on Juliet after she refuses to marry Paris, shouting abuse and threats at her like “I would the fool were married to her grave” and “I will drag thee on a hurdle hither.” Although a modern day audience would be feeling sorry for Juliet, and emphasising with her, an Elizabethan audience may not have, as she disobeyed her Father, and she is his possession. The language and punctuation that Shakespeare uses conveys anger, as he uses monosyllabic words, and plenty of exclamation marks to portray shouting. Other punctuation points he uses a lot are dashes, to convey breathlessness from all the shouting Lord Capulet does, as he is simply infuriated with Juliet. While this scene was being performed, I am sure that the actor portraying Lord Capulet would try and be fearsome towards Juliet, as he must shout and frighten her. The dramatic impact this would have on an Elizabethan audience is one of fear, but some may also emphasise with Lord Capulet, as they may also have had to discipline unruly children. In contrast, a modern day audience will definitely only emphasise with Juliet, and be very afraid of Lord Capulet.  In this scene, Lord Capulet also seems to be completely in control over Juliet, and he says “I will drag you on a hurdle hither”, as if he’s talking to a slave or criminal. This sentence has connotations of behaviour towards animals, as “drag” seems to be a derogatory and humiliating action, and “hurdle” has connotations of behaviour towards criminals, as that is what they were dragged along in before their execution. All this name calling and abuse makes Juliet feel very depressed and alone, so without this abuse from Lord and Lady Capulet, I don’t think Juliet would have been pushed over the edge by the Nurse’s comments. However, due to the fact that their relationship is so strong, perhaps all it would have taken is one comment from the Nurse to push her over the edge.

        During Act 3 Scene 5, while Juliet is being abused and insulted by her parents, The Nurse seems to ignore it. However, when it gets too much for her to bear, the Nurse snaps and proclaims “God in heaven bless her! You are to blame, my Lord, to rate her so.” Although this is meant for the best, it just makes Lord Capulet even angrier, and Lady Capulet offers her words of calm as well. The language Shakespeare has chosen to use against the Nurse is quite rude, and she is even told to go away. For example “Hold your tongue, Good Prudence. Smatter with your gossips.” To a modern day audience, these words would seem derogatory towards the Nurse, and the dramatic impact that would have had would be that the audience would feel empathy for the Nurse, and also be shocked that Lord Capulet would treat a long term employee that way. However, an Elizabethan audience would understand Lord Capulet, and the way he treats the Nurse. The way that Franco Zeffirelli presents the Nurse in this scene is that she is strong, and not afraid to stand up for her beloved ones. However, she is also presented as a bit headstrong, and shortly after bursting with rage at Lord Capulet’s remarks, she cowers in the corner while he booms at her in a commanding and frightening voice. Throughout this scene, the Nurse stands up for Juliet in front of her employers, so when she betrays Juliet, it would be a great shock for the audience, and they would feel very sad for Juliet that her oldest friend has betrayed her.           

By the end of Act 3 scene 5, it could be said that Juliet has already gone crazy. This is because the Nurse reveals her true feelings, and Juliet doesn’t know how to respond. During Act 3 Scene 5, Juliet is feeling isolated, alone, and scared, and she is expecting the Nurse to support her. However, the Nurse deals with this situation badly, and she reveals “I think it best you married with the County. O, he’s a lovely gentleman! Romeo’s a dishclout to him.” By insulting Romeo, the Nurse also betrays Juliet, and this is such a shock to her, as their relationship is so close. The comparison Shakespeare decided to use between a dishclout and an eagle is effective because he could either be relating to their social status in relation to the Capulet’s, where Romeo is hated, or could simply be talking about looks and power. In the previous paragraph, Shakespeare uses a lot of question marks to portray Juliet begging for advice, and on stage, I can imagine Juliet literally on her knees at the Nurse’s feet, begging and pleading for advice and comforting. However, this is when the Nurse betrays Juliet, and Juliet’s response to this is “If all else fail, myself have power to die.” This is incredibly serious for a devout catholic to say, as they believe committing suicide means they go to hell. This shows that Juliet is willing to do anything to be with Romeo, even if it means taking her own life. The dramatic impact this has on the audience is that they realise this is the turning point, and begin to realise that she has gone crazy. However, they would also emphasise with her, as everyone close to her has abandoned and betrayed her, except for Romeo.  Due to this fact, the Nurse indefinitely caused Juliet’s suicide.

        Throughout “Romeo and Juliet” it is clear that Juliet and the Nurse have an extremely good relationship, one that is comparable to mother and daughter, and it is due to this factor that Juliet is driven over the edge when the Nurse betrays her. Therefore, although the Nurse was thinking of Juliet’s best interests, she was the main influence in pushing Juliet towards her suicide, and the dramatic impact this has is that the audience emphasises with both Juliet, and the Nurse, as without knowing it, the Nurse caused her dearest friend to commit suicide.