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Struggles In Romeo And Juliet

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The play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare takes us on a journey through love and death. It tells the story of how Romeo and Juliet’s love keeps them together through everything, even to their demise. Throughout this tale, Juliet faces struggles such as having a father who takes away her freedom and controls how she wants to live her life, causing many problems between Romeo and herself. Many women in this play have similar struggles where they are treated, and written, differently to the men. One of Juliet's caregivers, the nurse, is not treated with respect even though she is undoubtedly deserving. Lady Capulet as well faces many of the same challenges as Juliet does in terms of choice and freedom of will, often being spoken to as if she is also a child. Since this play is set in Elizabethan times, the women are often misunderstood and portrayed …show more content…

Two characters that especially like to tease and insult the nurse are Mercutio (Romeo's friend) and Benvolio (Romeo's cousin). “Good. Peter, to hide her face, for her fans the fairer face.” (2.4.52-53) Is what Mercutio says to the nurse. In saying this he implies that she is extremely ugly and that she should use the fan (he implies is way more good-looking) to hide her ugly face and make her look more attractive. Mercutio is naturally witty, but he tends to tease her looks or age, and gender. Benvolio teases the nurse by saying “She will indite him to some supper” (2.5.65). He is teasing her because she had previously miss worded her comment to Romeo saying “I desire some conference with you” (2.5.64) meaning she would like to speak with Romeo. Benvolio takes her misstatement to his advantage and uses a word similar to want he intended to say, but not exactly correct. These two characters like to give the Nurse a hard time even though she is a very giving

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892 Words | 4 Pages

While there are many different characters in this play, the Nurse is a prominent character shown in most of the play. She works with the Capulets, and most closely Juliet. On the outside, the Nurse seems like an innocent, caring woman that puts her job first before anything else, but you all would be wrong. The Nurse had been a loved and quite useful member of their family, until now.

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548 Words | 3 Pages

In the story both the friar and nurse are well-liked in the community. They are also the only two that believed in their love, and handled the whole situation very well, unlike the family. Throughout this play you see a series of characters and events that are shocking. Looking from Romeo and Juliet’s point

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385 Words | 2 Pages

The nurse is the best character in Romeo and Juliet. She cares the most about Romeo and Juliet. The nurse is the only character that unselfishly cares about Juliet. Romeo cares about her for her physical appearance, her mom doesn’t really know her very well, her dad isn’t a huge part of her life either, and without the nurse, Juliet would be pretty much alone in the world. She also cares about Juliet’s love of Romeo, however, which makes her care about him.

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478 Words | 2 Pages

Her naivety blinds her to the potential dangers of the clandestine marriage between Romeo and Juliet, leading to a lack of caution in their interactions. Rather than exercising prudence and urging restraint, the Nurse enables their forbidden love affair by facilitating their secret meetings, thereby disregarding the implications of their actions. Her negligence in considering the potential repercussions of their relationship directly contributes to the mounting tensions and escalating violence that ultimately leads to their untimely deaths. Despite her position of trust and loyalty to Juliet, the Nurse's allegiance proves questionable when confronted with conflicting loyalties. In Act III, when Juliet's world collapses following Romeo's banishment, the Nurse advises her to abandon Romeo and marry Paris, betraying the deep bond she once shared with Juliet.

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853 Words | 4 Pages

This exchange of information shows that the nurse wants Romeo to know how Juliet feels because she wants them to stay together. Later, when Juliet is convinced that she is in love with Romeo, the nurse tells her she made the wrong choice. She says, “Well, you have made a simple choice; you know how to/ choose a man: Romeo! / ... he is not the flower of courtesy” (40). The nurse is now saying that she thinks Juliet made the wrong choice choosing Romeo and she should have chosen her family's recommendation, Paris.

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483 Words | 2 Pages

In the play Romeo & Juliet by Shakespeare, the character Mercutio is portrayed as playful and witty, yet still considerate of his friends; His personality is shown through both the words of Shakespeare and the actions of his actor Alex Peng. Just prior to the end of Act 2 Scene 4, Mercutio tells the Nurse “Farewell, ancient lady. Farewell, lady, lady, lady” (2.4.72). Mercutio feigns respect to the Nurse, who had just previously demanded to be treated as nobility. He refers to her as a lady, yet adds in that she is an “ancient” lady — alluding to the fact that the Nurse is old.

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723 Words | 3 Pages

The Nurse acts like a mother figure to Juliet. At the beginning of the play, the Nurse would let her go and see Romeo and told Juliet to follow her heart, when Juliet's mother, Lady Capulet wouldn't. But after Romeo gets banished from killing Tybalt, she advices that she should stop following her heart and marry Paris. Juliet then starts to think of her similar to Lady Capulet because she

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516 Words | 3 Pages

“His name is Romeo, and a Montague; The only son of your great enemy”(Nurse). The Nurse helps her see Romeo even through she knew that the families hate each other. The Nurse helped Juliet see Romeo even through it was wrong so therefore the Nurse is also to be

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742 Words | 3 Pages

In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, two important women, Nurse and Lady Capulet, are both so alike as mother figures to Juliet. Juliet has had two motherly figures in her home growing up. One was her biological mother, and the other was just “a caretaker”. The Nurse and Lady Capulet are both very selfish people, they both have their own way of loving Juliet, and they also both end up betraying Juliet. Despite their similarities, these two givers are completely different people.

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1406 Words | 6 Pages

Rome and Juliet is a play written by William Shakespeare which is set in 16th century Verona, Italy and is the tragic love story between two young lovers. From this play, we can see the difference in attitude towards women between 16th century Verona and the 21st Century vividly. This essay will look at how Shakespeare presents women in Romeo And Juliet. We can see the difference straight away as Act 1 Scene 1 opens with a conversation between two servants of the Capulets named Samson and Gregory. They convey that women are weak as in line 14 they say "women being the weaker vessels".(1.i.14).

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890 Words | 4 Pages

The Nurse and Friar Laurence act as mentor figures throughout the story of Romeo and Juliet, where the two are limited to whom they can reveal their love to, only to end up hurting the due in the end, making the duo ending their lives, only for each other. The Nurse and Juliet are very close with each other, as she is essentially a mother to her, always giving her the aid that she needs in that occasion. Although, all of her different advice does not accumulate to each other, and ends up having a negative aftermath. At first, the Nurse along with Lady Capulet tells Juliet a plethora of reasoning on why she should marry Paris, and how they are meant to be

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566 Words | 3 Pages

This shows how Juliet is loyal and makes the Nurse feel better even though Juliet knows what her family thinks about Romeo

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935 Words | 4 Pages

The Nurse helped out Juliet when her Parents could not. “As I told you my young lady bade me inquire you out; what she bade me say, I will keep to myself”(Act II.II.148-149). The Nurse has offered to keep the secret of the marriage between the two young ones and she will not tell anyone about it. After the Nursze comes back from visting Romeo she finds ways to not tell Juliet the good news instead she starts talking about other things, the Nurse also knows how delighted juliet will be once when she finds out about the wedding “Your love says, like an honest gentleman, and a courteous, and a kind,...where is your mother?”(Act II.II.55-57). The day of Mercutio and Tybalt 's death she did not think Romeo would do such a thing, and now her thoughts about Romeo have changed instead she thinks Romeo would end up hurting her young lady.

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1472 Words | 6 Pages

Lastly, Shakespeare uses Romeo and Juliet to show true love. Nurse shows parental love to Juliet throughout the play. Despite being a servant to the Capulet household, she has a role equivalent to that of Juliet’s mothers and regards Juliet as her own. Even with the fact that Nurse is not the birth mother of Juliet, she still treats Juliet like a daughter. Nurse cares about Juliet and wants her to be happy and find success.”

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747 Words | 3 Pages

The betrayal of the nurse by not staying loyal to Juliet in her most desperate time of need caused Juliet to lose faith in her and keep her thoughts a secret.” I think it's best you marry county oh he’s a lovely gentleman, Romeo’s a dishcloth to him”. Hence, instead of staying loyal to Juliet and helping her get out of a marriage the nurse goes against her and insults her husband, this act of disloyalty is what provokes Juliet to keep her plans a secret if the plans were not secret the death could have been avoided. To conclude throughout Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet”.

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