Juliet's Nurse example essay topic

After reading Shakespeare's, Romeo and Juliet, I have decided to do my detailed analysis on Juliet's nurse. I chose Juliet's nurse simply because she reminded me of my beloved great-grandma Dominguez whom, to this day, I miss dearly. Like my great-grandma Dominguez, Juliet's nurse showed profound compassion and understanding for children. The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate her compassion and understanding for children during three of her speeches in the play Romeo and Juliet. The first speech I would like to demonstrate occurs in section 1.3, lines 61-64. Here Juliet's nurse expresses her feelings about Juliet who appears to be one of the nurses favorite children (in that day it was fairly common for wet-nurses to become emotionally involved with their "children" despite the fact they were not actually the children's biological parent) and dreams about the day Juliet gets married.

I found humor in line 63 because the nurse implies that Juliet will be married more than once which, most likely, was moderately common in those days. It more or less brought about a reaction that marriage wasn't valued like it is in the present day which might explain why Shakespeare's, Romeo and Juliet, was so popular (meaning, people of that day probably dreamed of having a marriage that was lifelong and harmonious). It was obvious the nurse loved Juliet. Otherwise she would have not dreamed about Juliet getting married. This makes sense to me.

Think about it, the nurse almost certainly raised Juliet. Juliet's parents were well-off. Wealthy parents of that time did not do things like change diapers (or whatever they called them in that day), breast feed, and all those other responsibilities of raising children. They were only there when it was of convenience to them. Granted, I'm sure there were exceptions, however, in Juliet's case I don't think there were. So, of course, Juliet's nurse is going to become emotionally involved.

How couldn't you? Especially, in an occupation like hers being the child loving person she was. The second speech I would like to demonstrate occurs in section 2.3, lines 144-152. Here Juliet's nurse secretly meets with Romeo, obviously at the request of Juliet, to relay a message. However, before she relays the message she warns Romeo that he better not be playing with Juliet's emotions because it would be demoralizing if he were. Here the nurse is direct.

She is serious. She wants Romeo to acknowledge that Juliet is young. She wants him to understand the danger of a young girl, in love, especially if the young girl gets hurt. Again, the nurse is demonstrating her motherhood instincts.

Juliet is her baby; her favorite girl, therefore, she is determined not to let Juliet get hurt. This was the nurse's way of seeking comfort before taking the next step which was to find out when they were to be wed. The last speech I would like to demonstrate occurs in section 2.4, lines 38-44. Here Juliet's nurse appears to be teasing Juliet, implying that choosing Romeo was a simple choice because of his good looks and charm.

Also, the nurse encourages Juliet to go away with Romeo stating there is nothing at home worth staying for. Again, Juliet's nurse shows her love for Juliet through her sarcasm. I mean we only tease the ones we love, right? Also, it is evident that the nurse is a romantic. When she persuades Juliet to leave I couldn't help but think she too wanted to be in love. It seems like she appreciated love and understood the joy it brings.

Therefore, she did not want Juliet to let this opportunity pass because of her love for the girl. As funny as it may sound, I picture Juliet's nurse as a contemporary women living during an ancient time just like my great-grandma Dominguez.