Juliet (quotes)

Question 1

Capulet: “My child is yet a stranger in the world,/ She hath not seen the change for teen years:”
(1,2,8-9)

Answer 1

• Shakespeare emphasises how Juliet is stuck in a period between childhood and adulthood: Capulet describes her as a “stranger”, yet discusses her forthcoming marriage to Paris
• This alludes to how Juliet is constantly caught between opposing forces. Juliet is only 13 which was still an uncommon age to get married in Shakespeare’s time

Question 2

Nurse: “… Thou wilt fall backwards when thou hast more wit,/ Wilt thou not Jule”
(1,2,43-44)

Answer 2

• Shakespeare illustrates how patriarchal Verona is, as the nurse and her husband had discussed Juliet reaching sexual maturity even when she was a child
• This highlights how Juliet has always been seen as an object to be married off
• The use of the rhetorical question is ironic, as Juliet is not being given a choice
• It rather cements the inevitability of Juliet’s circumstance

Question 3

Lady Capulet: “ Speak briefly. Can you like of Paris, love?/ Juliet I’ll look to like, if looking liking move./ But no more deep will I endart mine eye/ Than your consent gives strength to make it fly.”
(1,3,97-100)

Answer 3

• Dialogue indicates her emotional maturity and headstrong nature she rejects her ideals that society propagates
• Shakespeare uses half-rhyme to reply to Lady Capulet’s question, which illustrates Juliet’s dissidence
• It also foreshadows her future rebellion against her family and society
• Active verbs used with prominent first-person pronoun, “I’ll look to like…”, conveys an assertion of agency
• Juliet makes her own decision, thus opposing the forces of oppression- her family, and the patriarchy
• This means Juliet is atypical for her time, where women were conditioned to subjugation and submission

Question 4

Romeo: “O she doth teach the torches to burn bright!… As a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear-“
(1,5,43-52)

Answer 4

• Regular rhyming couplets heighten the feeling of love - they are two lines fit together as a singular unit/ anatomy
• This suggests Juliet is able to reciprocate Romeo’s feelings. Juliet is metaphorically portrayed as transcendental in this extract, as she “teaches the torches,” is a “snowy dove” amongst “crows”, and her beauty is “for earth to dear”
• Furthermore “doves” generally have biblical connotations of good luck and crows have connotations of bad luck
• Shakespeare establishes the lexically cohesive conflict between light and dark in this extract
• This alludes to the “artificial night” in act 1 scene one, which emphasises the weight of Juliet’s presence in the character narrative arc
• Shakespeare also portrays the objectification of Juliet, with the metaphor “As a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear-“

Question 5

Capulet: “M c i y a s i t w,/ S h n s t c f t y:”
(1,2,8-9)

Answer 5

Capulet: “My child is yet a stranger in the world,/ She hath not seen the change for teen years:”
(1,2,8-9)

Question 6

Nurse: “… T w f b w t h m w,/ W t n J”
(1,2,43-44)

Answer 6

Nurse: “… Thou wilt fall backwards when thou hast more wit,/ Wilt thou not Jule”
(1,2,43-44)

Question 7

Lady Capulet: “ S b. C y l o P, l?/ J I l t l, i l l m./ B n m d w I e m e/ T y c g s t m i f.”
(1,3,97-100)

Answer 7

Lady Capulet: “ Speak briefly. Can you like of Paris, love?/ Juliet I’ll look to like, if looking liking move./ But no more deep will I endart mine eye/ Than your consent gives strength to make it fly.”
(1,3,97-100)

Question 8

Romeo: “O s d t t t t b b!… A a r j i a E e-“
(1,5,43-52)

Answer 8

Romeo: “O she doth teach the torches to burn bright!… As a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear-“
(1,5,43-52)