‘what, lamb! what, ladybird!’ - nurse, act 1 scene 3
- The nurses uses informal terms of endearment which suggests her + Juliet’s close relationship where the nurse is an acting mother
‘seek happy nights to happy days’ - nurse, act 1 scene 3
- The nurse’s attitude to marriage - physical enjoyment! but, it also highlights how she wants Juliet to be happy in her marriage as well
‘i think it best you married with the county, oh, he’s a lovely gentleman. Romeo’s a dishcloth to him. an eagle’ - nurse, act 3 scene 5
- Nurse advises Juliet to forget Romeo and marry Paris
- Juliet will feel very betrayed by this opinion especially considering her + the nurse’s extremely close relationship
- The Nurse compares the two men: Paris is the obvious choice to the Nurse and probably to the audience as well because of his wealthy status
- However, this choice proves a moral conundrum - as Juliet is already married to Romeo she cannot marry Paris as this would count as bigamy (marrying someone who is already married) was a big sin. * The things that the Nurse compares the men to is also very interesting.
- The Nurse compares Romeo to a “dishclout” which is an object while Paris is an “eagle” an animal which is a symbol of pride and honour but it also has agency.
- This suggests that if she marries Paris, Juliet will have more freedom and agency than she does being married to Romeo where they have to hide their relationship from the outside world.
- This is also ironic because Romeo is of high status but the way in which the Nurse describes him is as though he is a peasant which just expresses the extent of the Nurses of disapproval.
‘faith, I can teller her age unto an hour’ - nurse, act 1 scene 3
- Here we can see how well the Nurse knows Juliet.
- This is clearly better than her mother who has to ask the Nurse how old her own daughter is.
- The small period of time an “hour” mirrors the close relationship of Juliet and the Nurse.
‘“yea,” quoth my husband, “Fall’st upon thy face? Though wilt fall backward when though comest to my age.’ - nurse, act 1 scene 3
- Here the audience is introduced to the crude and sexual language of the Nurse. * The Nurse is telling a story about a joke that her late husband made about her daughter who has passed away.
- The Nurse tells the story about when she was trying to wean her baby Susan off of breastmilk and so she put the “wormwood” breast to make it bitter which made Susan fall “backwards”
- The quote above is the nurse’s husband’s reply, the joke is about a woman’s subservience sexually when she comes of age.
- The crude nature of the joke also typifies the nurse as from a lower class.
‘the gentlewoman is young; / and, therefore, if you should deal double with her, / truly it were an ill thing … and very weak dealing’ - nurse, act 2 scene 4
- The Nurse’s protective sentiment highlights her care for Juliet as well as reinforcing the pervasive sentiment that Romeo is a foolish youngster who may lead Juliet astray.
- The use of the adjectives “ill […] weak” augments this image of deficiency, depicting the false lover as a lesser human being, and one which saps others of their health
- This line also highlights Juliet’s vulnerability via the use of the adjective “young” which connotes fragility and tenderness and thus the dangers of Romeo pursuing her
‘doth not rosemary and Romeo / being both with a letter?’ - nurse, act 2 scene 4
- The Nurse highlights the parallels between Romeo and rosemary, highlighting Romeo’s effeminacy by associating him with the traditionally female imagery of flowers
- Rosemary is a symbol traditionally associated with love, hence its use when describing Romeo as a lover, but also with lust.
- Again, the audience is made to question the sincerity of Romeo’s love.
- Rosemary, like Romeo, represents a combination of both selfless love and selfish lust.
- Rosemary is also a flower for mourning and so the Nurse’s line is unknowingly proleptic of the tragic ending of this affair.
'’he is not the flower of courtesy, but I’ll warrant him as gentle as a lamb’ - nurse act 2 scene 5
- The Nurse offers one of the few more objective descriptions of Romeo.
- She recognises his gentility, yet also his innocence and brashness.
- The imagery created by the simile “gentle as a lamb” is Christ-like in implications (Jesus as the Lamb of God).
- This suggests Romeo could be Juliet’s saviour, but also suggests he is a sacrificial character.
- This means there are both positive and negative connotations to this image
‘theres no trust, no faith, no honesty in men. all perjured, all forsworn, all naught, all dissemblers.’ - nurse, act 3 scene 2
- The Nurse is basically saying men are trash.
- The Nurse says that Romeo, like all men, is wicked.
- The use of asyndetic listing creates an overwhelming concept, as though men’s faults are endless.
- Alternatively, the nurse could also be trying to suggest that Romeo’s faults are not his own but just the consequence of his biology.
‘blubbering and weeping, weeping and blubbering. stand up, stand up. stand, an you be a man. for Juliet’s sake, for her sake, rise and stand’ - nurse, act 3 scene 3
- Shakespeare uses polysyndetic listing to emphasise Juliet’s emotions.
- The use of the conjunction “and” makes it seem as though Juliet sadness is never-ending. * The listing is also repetitive and maybe suggests that the Nurse is tired of Juliet.
- The Nurse tells Romeo to “stand” and “rise” these verbs connotate going above and beyond for Juliet which is ironic as when the Nurse arrives Romeo is “on the ground” paralysed due to the pain.
- The Nurse also tells Romeo to be a man which also adds to the traditional idea of masculinity, which is a theme that is present throughout the play.
‘here, sir, a ring she bid me give you, sir (gives Romeo Juliet’s ring) - nurse, act 3 scene 3
- The ring that the Nurse gives Romeo from Juliet is a symbol of their love for each other, the circle represents how it is endless and will last forever.
‘mitress! what, mistress! Juliet […] why, lamb! why, lady! […] why, love, I say! madam! sweetheart! why, bride!’ - nurse, act 4 scene 5
- The Nurse’s fragmented and continuous dialogue represents her gradual realisation that something is amiss, though she maintains a jovial tone (“lamb”) which ensures her final realisation is all the more tragic.
- Further, her choice of words here summarises Juliet’s different identities: she is a “Mistress” - forcibly tied to the men around her - a “lamb” and a “lady” - supposedly innocent - and finally a “bride” - ultimately defined by her marriage
She’s dead, deceas’d, she’s dead; alack the day!” / “Alack the day, she’s dead, she’s dead, she’s dead” - nurse, act 4 scene 5
- The repetition here both between and within Nurse’s and Lady Capulet’s dialogue reflects their utter shock at Juliet’s “death” - they have nothing to say, so can only repeat the obvious.
- This is made aurally clear to the audience via the unpleasant dental alliteration (repetition of ‘d’) which repeatedly drums into one’s ear.
