Characterization of Juliet in Act 3 Scene 2 Katie Long 10th Grade

One way that Shakespeare uses structure to present the character of Juliet in Act 3 Scene 2 is by dedicating most of the lines in the scene to Juliet. In pervious scenes with just Juliet and the Nurse, Juliet has had less lines and has listened obediently to the Nurse’s long teasing and joking paragraphs. However, when the Nurse speaks disrespectfully about Romeo, Juliet quickly jumps to his defence in the form of several long speeches. This shows that since meeting Romeo, Juliet has completely changed. Previously she was a perfect obedient daughter for her wealth parents, quiet, obedient and respectful. However, since marrying Romeo she has become a strong and confident young woman, willing to stand up for her husband even though he has killed her cousin, demonstrating her loyalty and passion.

At the start of the scene, Shakespeare presents Juliet as being an excited young girl, waiting for the night to arrive so she and Romeo can consummate their marriage. We see her longing for her husband to arrive, saying “come night, come Romeo, come thou day in tonight”. Although to a modern audience this behaviour seems relatively normal, however in the Elizabethan era, this would not have been an acceptable desire for a woman to...