nes of the play, her ignorance and indistinct speech causes problems. In this scene, Juliet’s anxiety towards the forthcoming news is apparent as she anticipates the message of the Nurse. As the Nurse returns from her ‘jaunce’ to speak to Romeo regarding plans for the couple’s wedding night, her “consternation results from the delivery of her tidings” (Stevens). The Nurse is so forlorn over the death of Tybalt, that her ignorance to Juliet’s frantic pleas led Juliet to believe that her beloved Romeo is dead. The anticipation and inflated dread to the alarming news of her cousin’s death, cause her reaction to Romeo’s banishment to be even more intense. Because she is so upset over the murder of her cousin by her most beloved, she begins to curse him: O serpent hear, hid with a flow’ring face! Did ever dragon keep so fair a cave? Beautiful tyrant! Fiend angelical! Dove-feather’s raven! Wolfish ravening lamb! Despised substance of divinest show! Just opposite to what thou justly seem’st, A damned saint, an honorable villain! (3.2.75-81)Quickly, the Nurse takes Juliet’s side, explaining that all men are liars, supporting Juliet’s curse toward Romeo, but Juliet will not accept the condemnation that the Nurse places on Romeo’s character. She stands up for her husband, damning the nurse for her unjust words regarding Romeo. Though this seems to prove her loyalty to Juliet, it actually proves only her loyalty to the current situation. The Nurse is a woman that feels a need to be liked and appreciated all the time. In order to achieve this sense of belonging, she places an emphasis on saying the ‘right’ thing at the ‘right’ time. This flaw extends further in the play as the Nurse proves her allegiance to the situation as Lady Capulet speaks to Juliet once again about her marriage to Paris. Only the night before, th...
