Nurse Flashcards
- Reminiscing Juliet’s childhood (A1S3)
“Thou wilt fall backward when thou comest to age.”
• What: Makes crude sexual joke about Juliet’s future
• How:
• Innuendo/pun → introduces physical view of love early on
• Contrast with Lady Capulet’s formality = lower-class perspective
• Colloquial tone → intimacy, yet lack of boundaries
• Foreshadowing → Juliet will “fall” into love & tragedy
• Why: Nurse represents earthy, pragmatic femininity → highlights tension between physical and emotional love
• Themes: gender, generational divide, love/relationships, appearance vs reality
- Gushing about Paris (A1S3)
“Why, he’s a man of wax.”
• What: Praises Paris for his physical perfection
• How:
• Metaphor → “man of wax” = superficial ideal, beauty without substance
• Imagery of sculpture = passive, mouldable male figure
• Objectification → love = aesthetic admiration
• Ironic shallowness → contrasts Juliet’s view of Romeo
• Why: Reveals how society prioritises looks in match-making → satirises value of arranged marriage
• Themes: love/relationships, social divide, gender, appearance vs reality
- Reacting to Romeo at Capulet ball (A1S5)
“His name is Romeo, and a Montague; The only son of your great enemy.”
• What: Tells Juliet the truth about Romeo’s identity
• How:
• Emphasis on “only” + “enemy” = sharp blow to Juliet’s hope
• Measured tone = dramatic weight despite brevity
• Chiasmus in phrasing → reflects mirrored fates
• Ironic delivery → innocence destroyed by information
• Why: Nurse becomes conveyor of truth → agent of fate
• Themes: family loyalty, fate, love vs hate, appearance vs reality
- Teasing Juliet before delivering Romeo’s message (A2S5)
“I am a-weary, give me leave awhile.”
• What: Delays telling Juliet about Romeo
• How:
• Comic delay → contrast with Juliet’s urgency
• Dramatic irony → audience shares Juliet’s frustration
• Physical exaggeration → age vs youth, body vs passion
• Prose style → grounded, ordinary speech breaks tension
• Why: Nurse’s humour humanises the play → also reflects generational disconnect
• Themes: youth, time, generational divide, love/relationships
- Delivering Romeo’s marriage proposal (A2S5)
“I am the drudge and toil in your delight.”
• What: Complains about serving Juliet’s love life
• How:
• Oxymoron (“drudge” vs “delight”) = clash of class vs romance
• Alliteration (“drudge…delight”) = tension between roles
• Comic self-pity → contrast with Juliet’s passion
• Tone shift → from carer to comic victim
• Why: Shows Nurse’s liminal role → in service to romantic ideals she doesn’t fully share
• Themes: gender, generational divide, individuals vs society
- Retrieving “news” from Romeo (A2S4)
“But first let me tell ye, if ye should lead her in a fool’s paradise…”
• What: Warns Romeo not to use Juliet
• How:
• Metaphor → “fool’s paradise” = deceitful illusion of love
• Protective tone → maternal figure surfaces beneath humour
• Moral authority despite low status → challenges Romeo
• Contrast with bawdy humour earlier → moment of seriousness
• Why: Nurse becomes moral intermediary → loyalty to Juliet’s well-being
• Themes: love/relationships, appearance vs reality, individuals vs society
- Finding Juliet “dead” (A4S5)
“O lamentable day!”
• What: Reacts to Juliet’s supposed death
• How:
• Repetition in scene → refrain of grief
• Heightened melodrama → exaggerated mourning
• Structural role = marks tragic turning point
• Dramatic irony → audience knows Juliet lives
• Why: Nurse’s breakdown = emotional climax → comic now turned tragic
• Themes: death, love/relationships, fate, appearance vs reality
- Weeping over Juliet’s “death” (A4S5)
“Never was seen so black a day as this.”
• What: Declares this the worst day ever
• How:
• Hyperbolic metaphor → “black” = death, despair
• Symbolism → foreshadows real death still to come
• Monosyllabic phrasing → blunt, emphatic grief
• Patterned speech → rhythmic mourning chant
• Why: Nurse’s grief makes Juliet’s feigned death feel real to audience
• Themes: death, love/relationships, time, appearance vs reality
- Urging Juliet to marry Paris (A3S5)
“I think it best you married with the County. / O, he’s a lovely gentleman.”
• What: Betrays Juliet by siding with Paris
• How:
• Declarative certainty → Nurse sees practical solution
• Epithet “lovely gentleman” → superficial admiration
• Juxtaposition → betrays Romeo, previously praised
• Tone = transactional → love = social contract
• Why: Highlights Nurse’s pragmatism over loyalty → betrayal breaks trust
• Themes: love/relationships, gender, social divide, appearance vs reality
- Tries to justify Paris (A3S5)
“Romeo’s a dishclout to him.”
• What: Insults Romeo, glorifies Paris
• How:
• Metaphor (“dishclout”) = domestic, degrading comparison
• Colloquialism = shift from poetic to vulgar
• Contrast → love becomes ridicule
• Comic tone → but undercuts emotional depth
• Why: Nurse’s betrayal rooted in class values → values security over passion
• Themes: love/relationships, appearance vs reality, honour, gender
- “I think it best you married with the County. O, he’s a lovely gentleman!”
The Nurse urges Juliet to marry Paris (Act 3, Scene 5).
• What: Betrayal of Juliet’s trust; shifts loyalty to Capulet wishes
• How:
• Sudden pragmatism → no longer defends Juliet’s emotional needs
• Comic figure now mirrors society’s pressure = tragic irony
• Language = shallow praise (“lovely gentleman”) shows lack of depth
• Emotional consequence → Juliet’s support system breaks
• Why: Prepares for the Nurse’s structural exit; Juliet must face fate alone
• Themes: generational divide, love/relationships, fate, betrayal, individuals vs society
- After Juliet rejects her advice (A3S5)
Nurse exits and does not return to Juliet (Stage direction)
• What: Physically and emotionally removed after betrayal
• How:
• Absence as motif → loyalty severed
• Structural removal → comic figures can’t exist in tragedy’s climax
• Symbolic abandonment → Juliet left truly alone
• Irony → maternal figure fails at critical moment
• Why: Nurse’s absence mirrors Juliet’s growing isolation, tragic arc completed through loss of nurturing figure
• Themes: betrayal, individuals vs society, love/relationships, gender
