Nurse Personality Romeo And Juliet

Jule Romans is the author of "Take Advice from Shakespeare" and other books. She has over 30 years of feel in the field of educational activity.

Who Is the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet?

The Nurse is a earthy, overly talkative, and humorous grapheme in Shakespeare'due south Romeo and Juliet. She teases Juliet but is also completely devoted to her. She eventually betrays Juliet'southward wishes by giving her unkind advice. Withal, the Nurse is completely grief-stricken by Juliet'southward feigned death.

The Nurse is a graphic symbol who helps Juliet and also provides comic relief throughout the first half of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In the second half of the play, the Nurse is no longer Juliet's ally. All humorous parts of her character seem to be lacking after that point.

The Nurse in the Kickoff of Romeo and Juliet

In the beginning 2 acts, the Nurse is loyal to Juliet and supportive of her underground romance with Romeo. She helps to suit the marriage of Romeo and Juliet.

Prior to the romance, the Nurse has speeches and scenes that are clearly designed to provoke laughter. In the course of carrying letters and bringing the two immature lovers together, the Nurse has many comedic scenes.

The Nurse in the End of Romeo and Juliet

In Act 3, all the same, the Nurse changes her stance and encourages Juliet to betray Romeo and deny their marriage. Subsequently that moment, all comic scenes are over, and the Nurse is no longer included in Juliet's clandestine plans.

The Nurse is left to mourn Juliet twice, along with all the other Capulets: start when Juliet feigns her own decease, and after when the two young lovers are discovered in the Capulet tomb.

Overview of the Nurse'south Character

Here is a breakdown of the various roles that the Nurse plays in Romeo and Juliet.

The Nurse Is a Humorous Grapheme

The Nurse dominates an early scene with Juliet and Lady Capulet. She launches into endlessly long speeches and makes dirty jokes while Lady Capulet attempts to have a serious discussion.

The Nurse uses no less than 45 lines to describe a simple incident from Juliet'south childhood. All the while, Lady Capulet is waiting to talk to Juliet about an important marriage proposal for Juliet.

Lady Capulet becomes annoyed and demands the Nurse finish talking. Not to be deterred, the Nurse continues her story and injects her thoughts throughout the conversation.

Throughout the play, the Nurse is a character full of humorous jokes. She is likewise the butt of some jokes made by others.

The Nurse Is Juliet's Confidante

At showtime, the Nurse supports the romance between Romeo and Juliet. She acts equally a messenger, encourages the hole-and-corner spousal relationship, and even helps Romeo secretly enter Juliet's bedchamber.

Later, however, the Nurse turns her position and encourages Juliet to carelessness Romeo. At that point, Juliet stops confiding in her nurse.

The Nurse Is Devoted to Juliet

When Juliet takes a sleeping potion, the Nurse believes, right along with everyone else, that Juliet is actually dead. She is devastated by the loss of her immature charge. At that point, the Nurse is no longer comic. She is entirely serious and wracked with grief.

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How Does the Nurse Provide Comic Relief in Romeo and Juliet?

In Romeo and Juliet, the Nurse is considered a comic relief character. She makes a number of jokes that relieve tension in scenes.

The Nurse Helps Interruption the Tension

For case, in an early scene, Lady Capulet is planning to talk to Juliet about the prospect of matrimony.

Up to this signal in the play, many scenes accept been serious in nature. The audience has witnessed fighting in the town foursquare and some serious words between Romeo and Benvolio.

The audience has also viewed the proposal from Count Paris for Juliet's hand in marriage. Now the scene is shifting to the Capulet household.

The Nurse Makes Bawdy Jokes

The Nurse breaks up the tension by making jokes. The scene (Human activity I sc. 3) begins with the Nurse looking for Juliet so that Juliet and Lady Capulet can talk. Lady Capulet asks the Nurse to call Juliet to her.

The Nurse responds with:

Now, by my maidenhead, at twelve year quondam,
I bade her come. What, lamb! what, ladybird!
God forbid! Where's this girl? What, Juliet!

This is a somewhat bawdy reference in that the nurse is saying:

Now, as sure as the fact that I was a virgin when I was twelve, I KNOW I called her already.

The use of the word "maidenhead" was a common reference to the hymen and thus to virginity. The audience in Shakespeare'due south time was sure to respond to this with some laughter.

The Nurse Makes Jokes Nigh Herself

Later in that same scene (Act I sc. 3), she makes a joke while discussing Juliet's young age.

I'll lay 14 of my teeth,—
And withal, to my teeth be information technology spoken, I take merely four—
She is not 14.

She'south proverb:

I would bet 14 of my teeth— but wait, speaking of my teeth, I but have four teeth left— that Juliet is not yet xiv years old.

In case it's not obvious, the Nurse is making a joke confronting herself in this case. Still, sometimes other characters brand fun of her.

The Nurse Is the Butt of Mercutio's Jokes (Literally)

When the Nurse is looking for Romeo in the boondocks square (Act ii, sc. 4), some of the boys tease her.

Nurse: My fan, Peter.

Mercutio: Good Peter, to hide her confront; for her fan's the

fairer face.

— Romeo and Juliet, Human activity two, Scene iv

In this, Mercutio is calling the Nurse ugly by making a pun on the word fan. the nurse asks her assistant to hand her the fan, and Mercutio says

Yep, give her the fan so she tin can hide her face because her fan (fanny) is better looking than her face.

Mercutio is clearly maxim that the Nurse'southward face is actually uglier than her "fanny," which is another word for her buttocks.

Put another way, Mercutio is cleverly calling the Nurse a buttface.

This provides comic relief because the tension between the Montague and Capulets is mounting, and the Nurse has entered forbidden Montague territory. The audience will sense the tension equally the Montague boys surround the Nurse. This joke helps to break up that tension.

How Does the Nurse Betray Juliet?

Subsequently their secret wedding, Romeo gets into a fight with the Capulets. Enraged with grief, Romeo kills Juliet'south cousin Tybalt as revenge for Mercutio's death. As a outcome, Romeo is banished from Verona by Prince Escalus.

The Nurse Knows the Matrimony of Romeo and Juliet

No 1 knows about the union of Juliet and Romeo except Friar Laurence and the Nurse. Lord Capulet, Juliet's begetter, has no idea that Juliet is already married to Romeo.

Lord Capulet Threatens That Juliet Must Marry Count Paris

For reasons that are still somewhat unclear, Lord Capulet decides that Juliet must be married to Count Paris right away. He makes plans for a wedding to take identify the very next twenty-four hour period.

This is a terrifying prospect for Juliet, and she tries to talk him out of it. Only Lord Capulte is insistent. He says that Juliet must do equally he says or he will abandon her completely.

Juliet asks the Nurse for communication.

The Nurse Advises Juliet to Marry Paris Instead

The Nurse betrays Juliet by advising her to deny the marriage to Romeo and wednesday Count Paris instead. Her reasoning is that Romeo is banished and cannot come up back to object.

Since no one else knows of the marriage (except Friar Laurence), The Nurse suggests that Juliet should just proceed as though her union to Romeo never happened.

Organized religion, hither information technology is.
Romeo is banish'd; and all the world to nothing,
That he dares ne'er come back to claiming you lot;
Or, if he practice, it needs must exist by stealth.
Then, since the case so stands as now information technology doth,
I recall information technology all-time you married with the canton.

In this example, "I think it all-time you married with the canton" means "I think its all-time that y'all marry Count Paris." The Nurse uses the discussion "county" to refer to the "Count," significant Count Paris.

This is in consummate opposition to Juliet'southward wishes and, to Juliet, a kind of expose.

Scenes for the Nurse in "Romeo and Juliet"


Human action I	Scene 3	Scene 5
Human action II	Scene two	Scene four	Scene 5
Act 3	Scene 2	Scene 3	Scene 5
Act IV	Scene two	Scene four	Scene v

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author's knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.