Romeo and Juliet
Act 3 scenes 5: how does Shakespeare make the audience feel sorry for Juliet in this scene?
Juliet is one of the main characters in the play, Romeo and Juliet. She is a 13 year old girl, daughter of lord and lady Capulet. Because of her family Juliet is amongst the upper class society of Verona (where the play is set).
At the beginning of the play, when we first meet Juliet she, she is an innocent teenager, who is very obedient ad listens to her parents. However by act 3 scenes 5 this has all changed. Juliet rebels against her parents wishes for her to marry Count Paris, a leading figure in Verona. Instead she is soon flirting with Romeo. This is a very rebellious thing to do as Romeo is a Montague, and the Montague family are the Capulets (Juliets family) oldest enemy. Soon after this she is married to Romeo on the by the friar Lawrence. To make the marriage final she loses her virginity to Romeo. An Elizabethan audience would start to turn against her, because she did not follow the tradition of the time, which was for a young girl to marry a man deemed suitable by her parents.
Juliet interacts with four main characters: Romeo, the nurse, Lord Capulet and Lady Capulet. Each of these characters makes Juliet feel lonely and alienated in some way.
Act 3 scenes 5 opens with Romeo and Juliet just having consummating their marriage. Juliet is the first to speak. She is trying to persuade Romeo to stay a little longer. She is doing this by telling her that it is still the night, it is not morning yet. This is because Romeo has killed Juliets cousin Tybalt and Juliets family and the Capulets want him dead. But Romeo knows it is morning and he must go; this shows the desperation of Juliet. Juliet is feeling very lonely because he is leaving; after all he is her husband. The feeling of loneliness is deepened as it was only their first night as a married couple, and she had just lost her virginity. The Elizabethan audience will not feel sympathy for Juliet, but disgust at her actions.
In lines 60-64 she is begging to fortune, who is the Greek goddess of luck, asking for Romeo back and soon. The Elizabethan audience will start to feel a little empathy for Juliet. This is because the audience know it is going to end in tragedy, but Juliet still thinks that the Romeo will return to his wife. This is dramatic irony.
Dramatic irony is when the audience know something the character does not. Shakespeare uses dramatic irony in the conversation between Juliet and her mother, lady Capulet. Lady Capulet finds Juliet crying and believes it is because of Tybalts death evermore weeping for your cousin death. However, what lady Capulet does not know is that Juliet is actually crying because her husband Romeo has had to leave. The Elizabethan audience will feel sorry for Juliet at this point; this is because the audience would feel that Juliets own mother does not know how Juliet is feeling. Nevertheless Juliet goes along with her mother yet let me weep for such a feeling loss. Juliet is not crying for the loss of her cousin, but the loss of her husband. Lady Capulet mentions Romeo as that the villain which slaughterd him the same villain Romeo. Juliet would feel upset that her own mother is talking about her husband as if he is a common criminal, because Romeo killed Tybalt. Lady Capulet also describes Romeo as a rungate banished rungate doth live, Juliet would feel devastated hearing her mother talk about her husband like that, calling him something which is immoral.
Lady Capulet is planning on getting revenge on Romeo for Tybalts death. She is planning on sending someone to Mantua Ill send one to Mantua where she believe Romeo is hiding out banighd runagate doth live and have Romeo killed soon keep Tybalt company. Juliet goes along with what her mother says ...Romeo till I behold him dead. This is dramatic irony because the audience know this is going o happen. I think she only goes along with her because she just wants someone to talk to about Romeo. However I think she feels heartbroken that her family feel like this towards her husband, who is also her family now.
In the same conversation she tells Romeo she wants her to marry Count Paris, who is high profile citizen of Verona. Juliets reaction to this is hysterical; she begs and pleads with her mother because she doesnt want to marry Paris as she is already married. She is also tells her mother she is too young to marry. By saying she is too young to marry, is just a reminder to everyone that she is still a young teenage girl, with not much understanding of the world. She also tells her mother that she will not be happy with Paris he shall not make me there a joyful bride she is trying o tell her mother she is not yet ready to marry I will not marry yet. and when I do it shall be Romeo by saying this, she is saying that Romeo her families biggest enemy is more attractive to her than Paris. This dramatic irony because, we already know that Juliet is married to Romeo, but lady Capulet does not know this. When Juliet refuses, lady Capulet is angered and devastated by this, and now she thinks Juliet is a disappointment.
At this moment lord Capulet is expecting Juliet to be proud and excited about marrying Paris, that she should be thanking Capulet for the idea. When he sees Juliet crying, his first reaction is sorrow and sympathy for Juliet as he also, like lady Capulet believes she is crying due to the death of her cousin Tybalt sunset of my brothers son. But son his sympathy turns to resentment, as he fully realises that Juliet his own daughter- is disobeying him young baggage disobedient wreck. Lady Capulet would use a disappointed voice at this point, but I believe it will also have sarcasm.
Lady Capulet is utterly disappointed; she also gives Juliet a cruel remark, which suggests that she wishes Juliet were dead I would the fool married to her grave. This would make the audience feel sorry for her, as her own mother, who is supposed to care and love Juliet, now wishes she were dead.
Lord Capulet makes a mini speech, this speech breaks Juliets heart. As during the end of this speech, Lord Capulet says that he o longer cares for Juliet, that he does not care if Juliet starves and dies in the streets starve, die in the streets. He also implies that she should never ask him for help again. This would demolish Juliet as Lord Capulet has supported Juliet through the entire story, but no longer has his support. She would now feel that she has lost the entire support of her family.
At this moment Juliet panics ad turns to the nurse for help o nurse, how shall this be prevented?. She turns to the nurse because the nurse is her confidant, and is the only person who she can depend on. And we, the audience know she trusts the nurse, for it was the nurse who was one of the two witnesses she needed at her wedding. Juliet expects the nurse to be supportive and also wants the nurses help to find a way for Juliet to not marry Paris.
Juliet cannot marry Paris because she is already married to Romeo and that will be bigamy, and bigamy is against her faith my husband is on earth, my faith in heaven. Juliet wants the nurse. Juliet wants the nurse to give her a solution she has entangled herself in. But the solution should not be against her faith Alack, alack, that heaven should practice stratagems.
But the nurse just turns to Juliet and tells her that Romeo is gone Romeo is banishd and that he will never be back he dares neer come back. And despite Juliet straining her does not wish to do anything against her faith, the nurse just like both her parents, still tells her she should marry Paris. She does this to try and persuade Juliet that Romeo is gone, and that Juliet should just marry Count Paris, because no one will know she has married Romeo.
This will make the Elizabethan audience warmer towards. This is because Juliet tells the nurse she does not want to commit sin by marrying Paris, which make her seem more religious and the audience will start to understand the desperate position she is in. The Elizabethan audience will also start to think that this situation is not just down to Juliets mistakes, but down to others, especially the nurse. The audience will turn against the nurse because she is advising Juliet to turn against her faith and commit a sin by marring Paris.
Juliet is very irritated that everybody keeps telling her to marry Paris, especially now that the nurse suggested it, because the nurse knows of her situation. But Juliet feels even more alienated because she does that have anyone to talk to or confide in. She does not have her husband, Romeo. Juliet has also lost the support of both her parents, Lord and Lady Capulet. And now Juliet has also lost her confidant, the nurse, the person who she has trusted all he life.
Juliet tells the nurse she is going to confession because she needs the friars help, and f the friar cant help hers, she decides she will kill herself Ill to the friar to know his remedy, if all else fails, myself have power to die.
Shakespeare uses various techniques in act 3 scene 5. He changes the audiences perception of Juliet by alienating her from the other characters. Juliet becomes very rebellious against the traditions of the time. This makes the Elizabethan audience feel that Juliet is disobedient and disrespectful. However through the use of dramatic irony, Shakespeare makes the audience feel Juliet is all alone and has nobody to talk to. Shakespeare makes Juliet look as if she is alienated. It is this extreme alienation which makes Juliet decides that if the Friar Lawrence cannot help her she decides she will kill herself.
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