Nurse's Role in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Essay Sample

Animals, plants, insects, all of them are reliant on their parents, mates, and those of the same species. As humans, it is also detrimental to have someone that one can depend on for their own well being. When a person has somebody that they can have faith in, hardly anything can phase them. If anything, if somebody has a friend who will pick them back up from their deepest darkest depths is an investment for their future health and wellbeing. There is compelling evidence around that having a strong relationship with someone will lead to a happy life. This is only proved in William Shakespeare’s story Romeo and Juliet. Throughout the story, we can see how much Juliet struggles with her marriage status, trauma, and the burden of being able to carry on the Capulet family’s name – and who is the one person who has stuck by her at all times? It was none other than Juliet’s surrogate mother and nurse, and because of this, it is an indisputable fact that the nurse is the one with the strongest and closest relationship with Juliet. The Nurse raised her like her own child from her childhood up until her passing. Juliet’s nurse was there for her when she was going through rough patches in her life by being supportive and creating a comfortable environment for Juliet, and finally, she was the only person Juliet told about her secret relationship with Romeo. 

Juliet’s life was truly a rollercoaster, she experienced a lifetime of occurrences in 14 short years, though the Nurse’s warm and comforting presence was sure to have greatly assisted Juliet through her hectic lifestyle. Readers of the book can all agree that Juliet’s nurse was always giving her compliments, especially regarding her beauty. For instance when she said that “ [Juliet] wast the prettiest babe that [she] e’er nursed.” 1.3.65. While the Nurse and her husband were raising Juliet, they gave her the nickname “Jule” (1.3.52). When saying this, they are making a comparison between Juliet and a jewel. The reason for such a claim, would be because, as mentioned before, this is one of the many compliments that the Nurse has given her, stating that she is as valuable and precious as a jewel. During the entirety of the story, readers can notice that the Nurse is in fact, the only person to have complimented Juliet’s beauty apart from none other than her love, Romeo. Another thing that readers can notice is how the Nurse demonstrates a close and compassionate relationship with Juliet. The Nurse recalls a moment her and Juliet shared “were not I thine only nurse, I would say thou hadst suck’d wisdom from thy teat” (1.3.72-74). Therefore making it clear that the two are evidently comfortable telling jokes with each other. Evidently, because the Nurse continued to play such a mitigating, stress relieving and supportive role in Juliet’s life, and we can see this from when Juliet is around others, it is more of a mature and serious atmosphere, whereas with the Nurse, Juliet is more relaxed. 

Keeping a secret is arguably one of the most difficult tasks one can face throughout one’s life, and the more grave it is, the more challenging it becomes to keep it. The secret could be as small as stealing a cookie from the jar, or as big as somebody having a secret lair in their basement. In Juliet’s circumstance, she had to keep a relationship with her family’s mortal enemy a secret from her whole town. She would have to find someone to tell this to before she told it to the wrong person, thankfully, her trustworthy and reliable nurse was there for Juliet. Her first order of business was to find Romeo, and tell him the arrangements that he and Juliet would have to make for them to meet that night. Upon finding and discussing with Romeo how they should approach the situation, Romeo directed her to “bring thee cords made like a tackled stair” and give them to Juliet, so that it can serve as “his convoy in the secret night”. Thanks to the Nurse, Romeo and Juliet were able to finally meet again, in spite of Lord and Lady Capulet’s wishes against it, as she values her relationship with Juliet over that of her own employers. 

From birth, the Nurse has always been alongside Juliet, she took care of all her needs growing up and carried on with her duties of being a surrogate mother for Juliet even when she was a teenager. Her nurse was able to share many experiences during Juliet’s infantile age, as she was around at all times taking care while her own parents were hardly ever present. The Nurse was known around the Capulet household to have a quite talkative nature, so, as soon as Juliet’s birthday was mentioned in a conversation, the Nurse goes on to talk about a delightful story of Juliet while she was still a baby that helps her remember that “Come Lammas Eve at night shall she be fourteen” (1.3.19). In relation to today, one can compare this thought process to that of Americans during the tragedy of nine eleven. Almost everyone recalls what they were doing when they were informed of this news. This is the same with the nurse and Juliet, and that is why the nurse will never forget when Juliet’s birthday is. The Nurse also had a child of her own as well, Susan, who was of the same age as Juliet, but sadly passed away at a young age (1.3.19-22). This is a major reason why her nurse is so caring for her, since she was not able to give the love to her own child, she instead gave it all to Juliet. In brief, because of all the time that the Nurse has spent doing motherly tasks for Juliet in the birth mother’s place. By doing all of this, she did not just grow any ordinary bond with her, but a motherly one at that.