Exemplar Essay: Juliet
How does Shakespeare present Juliet?
In this extract, from Act Four, Juliet sends away the Nurse and takes the potion. Before she takes the potion, she speaks a soliloquy, revealing her fears about taking the potion. Time: Tuesday night.
JULIET
Farewell! God knows when we shall meet again.
I have a faint cold fear thrills through my veins,
That almost freezes up the heat of life:
I'll call them back again to comfort me:
Nurse! What should she do here?
My dismal scene I needs must act alone.
Come, vial.
What if this mixture do not work at all?
Shall I be married then to-morrow morning?
No, no: this shall forbid it: lie thou there.
Laying down her dagger
What if it be a poison, which the friar
Subtly hath minister'd to have me dead,
Lest in this marriage he should be dishonour'd,
Because he married me before to Romeo?
I fear it is: and yet, methinks, it should not,
For he hath still been tried a holy man.
How if, when I am laid into the tomb,
I wake before the time that Romeo
Come to redeem me? there's a fearful point!
Shall I not, then, be stifled in the vault,
To whose foul mouth no healthsome air breathes in,
And there die strangled ere my Romeo comes?
Or, if I live, is it not very like,
The horrible conceit of death and night,
Together with the terror of the place,--
As in a vault, an ancient receptacle,
Where, for these many hundred years, the bones
Of all my buried ancestors are packed:
Where bloody Tybalt, yet but green in earth,
Lies festering in his shroud; where, as they say,
At some hours in the night spirits resort;--
Alack, alack, is it not like that I,
So early waking, what with loathsome smells,
And shrieks like mandrakes' torn out of the earth,
That living mortals, hearing them, run mad:--
O, if I wake, shall I not be distraught,
Environed with all these hideous fears?
And madly play with my forefather's joints?
And pluck the mangled Tybalt from his shroud?
And, in this rage, with some great kinsman's bone,
As with a club, dash out my desperate brains?
O, look! methinks I see my cousin's ghost
Seeking out Romeo, that did spit his body
Upon a rapier's point: stay, Tybalt, stay!
Romeo, I come! this do I drink to thee.
She falls upon her bed, within the curtains
.
Starting with this extract, explore how Shakespeare presents the character of Juliet?
You should write about:
- How Shakespeare presents Juliet in this extract.
- How Shakespeare presents Juliet in the play as a whole.
[30 marks]
[+4 SPAG]
Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is about how strong emotions have tragic consequences. Juliet’s love for Romeo leads her to take huge risks and go against her family, which contribute to her tragic death at a very young age. The unwillingness of her mother and father to listen to her views about who she wishes to marry also result in her having to take drastic action. Through the character of Juliet, Shakespeare not only warns of the danger of acting upon strong emotions but also perhaps aims to educate parents to pay more attention to the feelings of their children, allowing them to marry later and not forcing them to marry young.
In the extract, Shakespeare makes clear Juliet is afraid and fearful before taking the potion. In lines 3-4, Shakespeare has Juliet say ‘I have a faint cold fear...that almost freezes up the heat of life’. In other words, Juliet is saying that her body is filled with feelings of terror and fear. Shakespeare’s use of a metaphor in these words, through which he suggests that her blood is almost frozen with fear, demonstrates that she is having an extremely physical reaction to the fear she feels; the fearful feelings have taken over her body and made her blood run cold. Shakespeare chooses to emphasise the fear that Juliet feels in order to show the lengths she will go to in order to be with Romeo, which not only demonstrates her courage but also highlights the power of their love for each other.
Also in the extract, Shakespeare demonstrates that Juliet is doubting herself, running through all the possible things that could go wrong when she takes the potion. Throughout the extract, Shakespeare has Juliet ask a series of questions, such as ‘What if this mixture do not work at all? Shall I be married then to-morrow morning?’. In this particular example, Juliet worries that the potion will not work and that she will have to marry Paris the following morning. Shakespeare’s use of many questions in this extract convey that Juliet is in a confused and worried state of mind. This is not surprising, given that Juliet is only thirteen years old. In line 44, Shakespeare has Juliet worry that she will wake up in the tomb and see ‘mangled Tybalt’ next to her. Shakespeare’s use of the word ‘mangled’ creates a graphic image of Tybalt’s bloody dead body. Through using this imagery, Shakespeare helps the audience to imagine the terrible fears that are flashing vividly through Juliet’s mind before she takes the potion. It is clear that Juliet is terrified because she cannot be sure that the potion will work and that Romeo will rescue her quickly. Perhaps Shakespeare has Juliet speak about all these terrible fears in order to emphasise the power of her love for Romeo because, in spite of her worries, she still takes the potion. It is clear that Juliet is willing to risk her life in order to be with Romeo. This behaviour from a thirteen year old girl would have been highly surprising to an Elizabethan audience. Perhaps they would have thought that she was foolish to disobey and deceive her parents in this way. Or perhaps they would have admired her courage and have respected the lengths she was willing to go to in order to be with the man she loved.
Early in the play, Shakespeare presents Juliet as a young, obedient character, who is willing to follow her parents’ orders. When Lady Capulet requests that Juliet consider Paris as a future husband, Shakespeare has Juliet agree. Juliet also states that she will seek Lady Capulet’s ‘consent’ at the Capulet ball before looking at, or speaking to, Paris, which demonstrates that she is willing to do anything Lady Capulet says and is trying her best to be a good, obedient daughter. Juliet’s attitude would have been considered normal and expected by a traditional Elizabethan audience, who were used to the conventions of arranged marriage, and would have believed that it was important for a young girl to obey her parents’ wishes. Perhaps Shakespeare presents Juliet as such an obedient character early in the play in order to demonstrate the change in her character after she falls in love with Romeo; the power of her love for Romeo propels her down a different path, causing her to deceive and disobey her family.
After Juliet meets Romeo, Shakespeare demonstrates a change in her character. The night of the Capulet ball, when Romeo visits her balcony, Shakespeare has Juliet state ‘be but sworn my love and I’ll no longer be a Capulet’. In other words, Juliet is saying that she will happily be rid of the Capulet name in order to be with Romeo as long as he swears that he loves her. She seems to be implying that she would be happy to marry Romeo and adopt the Montague name. This behaviour would have been highly surprising at the time for multiple reasons. Not only was it extremely unusual for a young, wealthy girl such as Juliet to take it upon herself to choose her own husband, but also it would have been shocking that she so willingly agrees to abandon her family in order to be with a man she has just met. Through Juliet’s choice, Shakespeare could be conveying the power of human emotions and the way that our strong emotions can lead us to make very impulsive decisions. Juliet has fallen in love with Romeo at first sight and this love has overpowered the love she once felt for her family, causing her to want to abandon her family in order to be with Romeo.
Later in the play, Shakespeare uses Juliet’s disagreement with her father to explore traditional attitudes to marriage. After Tybalt’s death, in an attempt to bring happiness to the family, Lord Capulet speeds up Juliet’s marriage to Tybalt. Expecting Juliet to be delighted by this news, Lord Capulet is shocked and outraged when she says no, shouting at Juliet to ‘hang, beg, starve, die in the streets’ if she refuses. In other words, Lord Capulet is stating clearly that he will throw Juliet out and have nothing more to do with her if she chooses to disobey him. Juliet’s choice to disobey her father is, in itself, a very surprising action, because it was highly unusual for a daughter to disobey her father in a patriarchal society. But it is even more surprising that, when she knows that she will have no home and will be left to starve on the streets if she refuses, she still has no intention of marrying Paris. Shakespeare clearly demonstrates the power of Juliet’s love for Romeo, which has caused her to go against her family and risk her life in order to be with him. Shakespeare’s choice to create conflict between the Capulet family could be challenging traditional attitudes to marriage in the Elizabethan era. Perhaps Shakespeare is suggesting fathers like Lord Capulet should take more interest in what their daughters are saying, and try to respect who their daughters want to marry, rather than forcing them into a marriage that won’t make them happy. If Lord Capulet had tried to do this, Juliet’s death could have been avoided.
In conclusion, it is clear that Juliet is one of the characters who changes and develops the most throughout the play. Her love for Romeo propels her against her family, causing her to courageously defy her parents’ wishes and take significant risks to be with the one she loves. Unfortunately, the naivety of her actions and the impulsive decisions that both she and Romeo take lead to them both tragically losing their lives before they can be together. Additionally, the unwillingness of Lord and Lady Capulet to consider her views catapults her towards her death. Perhaps Shakespeare is warning us against allowing our emotions to override our ability to make rational decisions, while also warning parents against ignoring their children’s wishes.