Question

Adult characters play an important part in shaping the world of the play in which Romeo and Juliet’s relationship must function. In the space below, write a minimum 150-word response in which you analyze what role the nurse plays in relation to Romeo and Juliet’s love. How does the nurse impact Romeo and Juliet’s relationship? How does she help and/or hinder it? Support your thoughts with at least three specific examples from the text.

Answer 1

The nurse helps Romeo and Juliet's relationship because she acts as a confidante for Juliet, one of the very few people who actually knows that they are together. After they meet, the Nurse goes on an errand to make the wedding arrangements with Romeo. She appears in the street and he lets her know when to be at the Friar's for the wedding. She says "This afternoon, sir? well, she shall be there." This plotting continues when she relays the news to Juliet, saying "Then hie you hence to Friar Laurence' cell;
There stays a husband to make you a wife." 

The Nurse also makes it possible for them to see each other even after Romeo has been banished. When Romeo is hiding in Friar Laurence's chambers, the Nurse comes in with a ring for Romeo from Juliet, showing that she still wants to see him. She says "Here, sir, a ring she bid me give you, sir: Hie you, make haste, for it grows very late." This is in reference to the plan they have just made for Romeo to sneak into Juliet's chambers for one last visit before he has to go to Mantua. Her interactions with both Romeo and Juliet, helping them get together, get married, and see each other is part of the reason they are able to do all of those things.