Mercutio and the Nurse in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
Through out the whole of Romeo & Juliet there is a strong comparison
between Mercutio & the nurse. Neither are a part of either family, but
they get drawn into this family brawl. They are two parallel
characters. The play has many characters, each with their own role in
keeping the plot line. Some characters have very little to do with the
plot but some have the plot revolving around them. Mercutio is one of
the most unique characters in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. His
language is always powerful and imaginative. The Nurse is a very
important character in the play because as her title suggests, she is
a Nurse for the Capulet family. She is also a surrogate mother to
Juliet. She acts as a go between for Romeo and Juliet and facilitates
the tragedy, which means she informs people of the news and keeps the
story going. She provides entertainment by making jokes and bawdy
comments. She also relieves the tragedy with her humour.
The first comparison between Mercutio & the Nurse is that neither a
part of either family. Mercutio is not a Montague, the Nurse not a
Capulet. They are just two characters whom are close to either Romeo
or Juliet. When Romeo is down, Mercutio is there for him, much like
the nurse is who Juliet turns to, when she needs to talk. She chooses
to talk to the nurse rather than her own mother. Mercutio is the one
who gets Romeo over Rosaline, and tells him that there is more to base
his life round than just one woman. On the same night they go out
Romeo first sets his eyes on Juliet and it is love at first sight.
They are both they for Romeo or Juliet when they most need it. The
Nurse is totally devoted to Juliet and is also loyal towards her.
Although she is tactless at times, her intentions are always good.
Even when talking about uncomfortable issues such as sex to Juliet,
she is only trying to warn Juliet about life from her experience.
Juliet's Nurse is first introduced to the play in Act I Scene 3. It is
While reading Shakespeare's play “Romeo and Juliet” it is easy to see that everybody in the story is at fault for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Personally however, I believe that three of the main characters are more at fault then the other characters. First is Mercutio, Romeo’s best friend. Next is Benvolio, nephew of Lord Montague and Romeo’s other friend. Last is Friar Lawrence, Romeo and Juliet Franciscan Priest. In a story of unorthodox love, family feuding, and violence, many are at blame for the deaths.
It is human nature to place blame and point fingers at someone, but it is a lot less common to take responsibility for your own actions. Sometimes, we put ourselves in positions that are detrimental to our lives or well-being. Even though we are responsible, it is likely that we will place the blame elsewhere. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio found himself with a similar conflict. Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, killed Mercutio during a fight in the town square. It would be easy to say that Tybalt caused Mercutio’s death since it was his sword that killed him, but that is simply false. Mercutio ignored many warnings and continued to antagonize the fight that lead to his death. The character ultimately responsible for Mercutio’s death is
I love people think that Mercutio is responsible for most of the deaths in the famous play Romeo and Juliet people also commonly think that it could be Romeo spot too. In my opinion it was all the fires fault. The fire was doing the right thing at first when Romeo first confronted the fire about Mary and Juliet. The fire turn Romeo down saying that it was a crazy idea. He was right to say that because Romeo was just in love with Rosaline less than 24 hours before that. But unfortunately it doesn't stop there. The fire it's an idea. He thinks they're from you and Juliet get married then maybe the two households. She didn't come together for the power of true love. His idea eventually did work, but under different circumstances. The first is to Romeo to
seemed to turn the play into a comedy at times: but some can say that
In this assignment I am going to discuss the role of the Nurse and how
One of the most memorable characters in the play is the Nurse. Most prominently noted for her humor, the Nurse contributes a great deal to the play, though she appears in only twelve scenes. Once the climactic point of Mercutio's death is reached, the humorous qualities of the Nurse quickly diminish, never to be seen in their entirety again. At this point, the Nurse's main function as a messenger becomes apparent, which gives proof of her love and loyalty to her Lady. Her impact in the play is clear, the Nurse is the messenger of all news, good and bad, to Juliet regarding Romeo, until their tragic parting. Though the Nurse has nothing but good intentions for Juliet, her own personal flaws cause Juliet to lose full sight of situations. The Nurse has a somewhat questionable philosophy towards Juliet's situation with Romeo. "Her interests are immediate and material. Her commitment is to eros, and therefore toward the physical union of the lovers" (Stevens). The Nurse feels that her loyalty for Juliet overrides her loyalty for Capulet and his wife, and therefore believes she is justified in her interference wi...
Mercutio was to blame, though only partially, for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. The Nurse was also responsible for the tragic ending of the play. When Romeo and Juliet met, the Nurse became their messenger. She helped them be together even though she knew Romeo was a Montague and that Juliet's family would disapprove. The Nurse brought news to Juliet from Romeo telling her to sneak out so they could get married.
The Nurse was another ally to Romeo and Juliet. The Nurse loved Juliet and wanted what was best for her.
When Romeo and Juliet first meet, Juliet orders Nurse to figure out who Romeo was. Nurse upsets Juliet when she says, “His name is Romeo, and a Montague;/The only son of your great enemy” (I.v.142-143). Once Juliet hears this, she realizes that her only love has sprung from her only hate. The Nurse however, doesn’t take this into consideration. She doesn’t see the trouble that this has started, and only cares about Juliet’s feelings. As a result, she delivers this message to Romeo which becomes the beginning of a dangerous relationship. Later in the play after Romeo is banned from Verona, Juliet desperately looks for advice from her Nurse. She is told that,“Romeo is banish'd; and all the world to nothing/That he dares ne'er come back to challenge you;/Or, if he do, it needs must be by stealth” (III.v.224-226). What the Nurse is saying to Juliet leads to danger because there is an imbalance between the irresponsibility and loyalty of Nurse’s advice. Nurse thinks she is being loyal to Juliet because she believes that marriage will cheer her up and Romeo will do her no good. She is making a practical decision here, since it is not the person, but the marriage that will make a difference. For Juliet, this is an act of betrayal and it ruins her relationship with the Nurse. This leads Juliet to Friar Lawrence’s plan, which becomes danger. The loyalty and irresponsibility in the Nurse led to more danger than happiness for Juliet. By not thinking twice about her actions, Nurse led Juliet in the wrong
Romeo’s best friend is Mercutio, while Juliet’s best friend is the Nurse, who is also the closest thing she has to a mother. When Tybalt challenges Romeo to a duel, Romeo refuses to fight because of his marriage to Juliet. This results in his friend Mercutio fighting Tybalt on Romeo’s behalf, becoming wounded, and dying. Romeo is distraught at Mercutio’s death and proclaims, “My very friend, hath got this mortal hurt/ In my behalf… O sweet Juliet, Thy beauty hath made me effeminate/ And in my temper softened valor’s steel” [3.1.114-120]. The phrases “thy beauty hath made me effeminate” and “softened valor’s steel” imply that Romeo blames himself for not protecting Mercutio because of his relationship with Juliet. He puts Mercutio and a man’s bravery second to Juliet because of love. Similarly, the Nurse is Juliet’s mother figure and her confidant. When the Nurse urges Juliet to forget Romeo, Juliet decides to become independent from her for the first time and states, “Thou [Nurse] and my bosom henceforth be twain” [3.5.240]. By using the word “twain”, Juliet cuts off all ties she has with the Nurse. This proves that Juliet’s love for Romeo is so strong that it forces her to stay true to him above all else. Their love and devotion to each other have found no equal and transcend
In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the Nurse, by her thoughtless support of the affair between the lovers and fickle counsel, is partly to blame for the tragedy. However, it is not one factor alone that brings about the death of Romeo and Juliet, but a combination of significant actions and underlying forces.
The Nurse possesses many qualities. For example, she is very hearty towards Juliet, kind, protective, compassionate and a loving lady. In some parts of the play The Nurse can be long-winded, insensitive, arrogant, insecure and stupid at times but she loves Juliet very much, partially as she imagines that Juliet is a substitute for her own daughter Susan. She has a bawdy sense of humor, which brings out the naturalness of sex and childbearing. This is seen when she tells Juliet to look for love, - “Go girl, seek happy nights to happy days';. This displays a realistic attitude to love. Such bawdy realism is, like the ribaldry of Mercutio and company, a contrast with the tender, romantic and passionate feelings of Romeo and Juliet. The Nurse is a practical but rather stupid woman at times. She loves Juliet like her own child. Throughout the play The Nurse is very talkative. She will usually do what she believes is right or what Juliet wants, like secretly meeting with Romeo and arranging the wedding of Romeo and Juliet.
Mercutio in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Mercutio adds energy to the play yet ironically also hastens the tragedy with his impetuous actions. He has a vivid imagination and frolicsome personality with his name derived from the adjective 'mercurial'. This gives an excellent description of the young man's vibrant, quick-witted, volatile nature. His strong sense of humour often turns into bawdy innuendos; "open arse and thou a poperin pear," as he teases Romeo the romantic. Indeed Mercutio is used as a dramatic foil to Romeo's love loin "soul of lead.
The Nurse’s job is take care of Juliet and raise her; however, upon learning that Juliet is romantically involved with their family’s enemy, she doesn’t provide any form of counsel to Juliet.” I must another way, To fetch a ladder by the which your love Must climb a bird 's nest soon when its dark.” (2.5.77-79). The Nurse aides Romeo by telling him a way to Juliet’s room showing her approval of the relationship. She did not provide any form of counsel to Juliet or inform Capulet or Lady Capulet about Juliet’s relationship. Due to the fact that the Nurse does not do her job and doesn’t tell Juliet to end her relationship with Romeo, it caused this ill-fated relationship to continue. To add to the issue, the Nurse later betrays Juliet when Juliet begs her for help. “I think you are happy in this second match, For it excels your first, or, if it did not, Your first is dead, or 'twere as good he were, As living here and you no use of him.” (3.5.226-238). The Nurse goes against her previous actions and expects Juliet to forget about Romeo by dispraising him. Juliet wants to remain faithful to her husband and this betrayal along with Capulet’s ultimatum causes Juliet to act hastily and want to die if she wasn’t with