Juliet

• Juliet 

  AO1 - Romantic/ passionate

  “My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep”
• AO2: Alliteration draws attention to how ‘boundless’ (infinite) she feels her love is for Romeo. The epic simile draws parallels between her love and the sea: deep, beautiful, mysterious. However, this also foreshadows their ‘death mark’d love’ as the sea can be unpredictable and dangerous, much like their relationship.
• AO3: Shakespeare’s audiences would think Juliet is not behaving properly for a young lady in a patriarchal society. She has gone from being a girl who followed her parents’ wishes (she says marriage is ‘an honour I dream not of’ in the exposition) to being passionate and forward towards Romeo, her ‘true-love passion’.
• Juliet

  AO1 - Insubordinate (rebellious)

  ‘He shall not make me there a joyful bride’
• AO2: In this scene, Juliet is no longer playing the role of the obedient daughter; her declarative tone shows she has found her own voice as a woman. She refuses to consent to her parents' demand that she marry Paris. Part of her ability to refuse her parents stems from the fact that her rebellious nature has already matured through the fact that she went behind their backs and married Romeo in secret. However, the grief she has suffered due to Tybalt's death and Romeo's banishment has also given her painful experiences.
• AO3: The most powerful reason behind Juliet refusing her parents is due to the fact she realises marrying Paris would be a sin. As a girl brought up in the Catholic Church, Juliet well knows that polygamy would be considered a sin under the Catholic Church. Therefore, Juliet's strong rebellion in this scene is not just based on her preference not to marry Paris, but rather on her religious convictions.
• Juliet 

  AO1 - Strong/ assertive

  ‘O swear not by the moon, th’ inconstant moon’
• AO2: Even though she loves Romeo, she refuses to be impressed by meaningless words. Her declarative tone is assertive, telling him to avoid clichés. Instead, she prefers him to be ‘more rich in matter than in words’.
• AO3: His phrasing, as elsewhere in this scene, is extremely elaborate and typical of courtly romantic gestures; note that Juliet cuts him off before he is finished. She does not want to hear Romeo say trite phrases like that. He has probably used the moon as a guide because, in the language of the time, the moon represented virginity and purity. Instead, she wants proof he is serious about her, hence the marriage.
• Juliet presented as

  • Brave: “Go, get thee hence, for I will not away” 

  • Beautiful: “The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars”