Skip to main content

Why do you think the nurse puts off giving Juliet the news when she knows Juliet has been waiting? What does this scene reveal about their...

This scene is for comic relief, but it also shows Juliet and the nurse have a close and loving relationship. 


The reason the Nurse puts Juliet off is becauseshe knows Juliet is waiting. She realizes how important marriage is to an impatient teenage girl, and she is teasing Juliet, milking the moment for all it is worth. The scene is very funny, so it creates comic relief for the audience between many dramatic...

This scene is for comic relief, but it also shows Juliet and the nurse have a close and loving relationship. 


The reason the Nurse puts Juliet off is because she knows Juliet is waiting. She realizes how important marriage is to an impatient teenage girl, and she is teasing Juliet, milking the moment for all it is worth. The scene is very funny, so it creates comic relief for the audience between many dramatic and important scenes. Additionally, it shows what a close relationship the two have.  



Nurse


I am a-weary, give me leave awhile:
Fie, how my bones ache! what a jaunt have I had!


JULIET


I would thou hadst my bones, and I thy news:
Nay, come, I pray thee, speak; good, good nurse, speak.


Nurse


Jesu, what haste? can you not stay awhile?
Do you not see that I am out of breath? (Act II, Scene 5) 



We know Juliet is not close with either her father or mother. She was basically raised by her Nurse. Nurse is charismatic, bawdy, and genuine. She teases Juliet because she cares about her. She knows about Romeo. This means Juliet trusted her with this secret information.  



JULIET


Here's such a coil! come, what says Romeo?


Nurse


Have you got leave to go to shrift to-day?


JULIET


I have.


Nurse


Then hie you hence to Friar Laurence' cell;
There stays a husband to make you a wife. . . (Act II, Scene 5)



Since Nurse is one of the few people who knows about Romeo and Juliet, she is also one of the few who understands why Juliet can’t marry Paris.

Popular posts from this blog

In chapter one of The Great Gatsby, what advice does Nick's father give him? How does this make him a good person to tell this story?

Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches... Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches into a discussion of how pe...
Post a Comment
Read more

How did the United States become an imperial power?

"Imperial power" is a bit of a vague label. It tends to mean several things at once, so let's unpack it. In the sense of "this country was built on conquest by force," the "imperial power" part of America actually predates the United States proper. The territories that would become the United States were imperial colonies, established by the great European empires of the 17th and 18th centuries. Much of the US Constitution and American governance generally goes back to England, history's largest and most successful imperial power, but vital aspects of American culture come from other imperial powers, such as France and Spain. Much of American culture comes from sources other than the old empires, but they were key influences on what the United States became. In the sense of "this country treats conquest by force as a fundamental component of its culture, economy and politics," the United States has always been an imperial power. Even earl...
Post a Comment
Read more

How and why does James Gatz become Jay Gatsby? Describe the young Gatsby/Gatz.

James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune,... James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune, whereas they arose from well-to-do families. Gatz became Gatsby through determination and discipline. At the end of the novel, the narr...
Post a Comment
Read more