juliet

• Juliet

  The female protagonist of the play, who makes up the "pair of star-crossed lovers" the tragedy is centred around
• Juliet is only 13 years old
• Capulet arranges Juliet's marriage to Paris in the first scene she is mentioned
• Juliet is presented as

  An object of desire whose only function is to be married
• Juliet


  • Displays complexity and maturity which contrasts with her young age
  • The only character who attempts to reject the societal pressures she faces
  • Insists on marrying for love and takes action against her circumstances
  • Becomes the catalyst that causes the metamorphosis of Romeo from a Petrarchan lover to a Shakespearean lover
• Juliet's close relationship with her Nurse


  Directly contrasts with how distant she is with her mother
• The Nurse's role


  Carries out the role of the traditional mother; gives Juliet advice, looks after her, and even elaborates that she breastfed Juliet
• Preserving Juliet's chastity


  The Nurse has to sleep in the same room as Juliet
• Sonnet form


  Traditionally used by men to write about women, who were usually portrayed as objects with no agency
• Shakespeare subverts the sonnet form as Juliet, a female character, speaks to Romeo in the sonnet form</b>
• Juliet's ability to communicate with Romeo on an equal footing


  Would have been unusual at the time, showing the audience that she wasn't a stereotypical Elizabethan woman
• The first 14 lines of dialogue between Romeo and Juliet is a sonnet
• Shakespeare's use of the sonnet


  Subverts the patriarchal dominance over the form by giving his female character agency and a typically male voice
• Juliet


  • An atypical portrayal of an Elizabethan woman who transcends the cultural and societal boundaries of her time
  • Refuses to be subjected or reduced to her circumstances
  • A proto-feminist character that attempts to break down the patriarchy and reclaim her own fate
• Juliet's relationship with religion


  Explores it ambivalently - she both upholds religion and subverts it
• Juliet describes Romeo as "the god of my idolatry"
• Juliet ultimately commits the most sacrilegious act by committing suicide, which is considered a sin in the Bible
• Feminine and masculine contrasts


  Most of the men have scenes set in the outdoors, while Juliet's scenes often take place indoors, demonstrating the domesticity she is subjected to
• Juliet


  • Can be considered equal to Romeo within the play, as she is seen as being just as intelligent as she finishes Romeo's rhymes
  • A revolutionary character who does not perpetuate the narrative archetype she has been written into, as she rejects societal expectations and rules in order to pursue her love with Romeo
• Juliet's love


  Makes Romeo "effeminate" and unable to duel Tybalt, thus functioning as the antithesis to violence
• Juliet


  • The epitome of Shakespearean love, embodying a physical, tangible, real love that undermines the tradition of Petrarchan courtly love
  • A sexually liberated, self-autonomous lover who is not subservient to her male counterpart but is in fact his equal
• Juliet's fate


  • She is faced with the challenge of arbitrary fate, yet Shakespeare has given her agency within the play which allows her to confront and overcome these obstacles to be with her one true love, Romeo
  • Her suicide can be interpreted as a defiant act against fate and the society she inhabits, as she takes charge of her own life
• Juliet's isolation

  • In contrast to Romeo, she is never alone; she is never left in isolation, which symbolises her lack of freedom and privacy
  • Her final act of taking action alone and detaching herself from her family and the Nurse connotes an emotional maturity and growth
• Juliet's journey


  Is full of opposing forces, with antithetical themes such as Hate and Love, Life and Death becoming inextricably linked
• Juliet's self-autonomous nature


  Antithetical to fate, which is the set of conditions she is placed within
• Isolation


  • Juliet is never alone; she is never left in isolation. This symbolises Juliet's lack of freedom and privacy. Being alone does not always mean isolation, however, it can be an indication of feeling isolated. Isolation can be seen as an attempt at creating a place for oneself, therefore a lack of this suggests that Juliet does not have the freedom to construct her own space. Her final act of taking action alone and detaching herself from her family and the Nurse connotes an emotional maturity and growth.
• Opposition


  • Juliet's journey within the play is full of opposing forces; antithetical themes such as Hate and Love, Life and Death, become inextricably linked. Juliet is presented as liminal, as she is caught between two states. The fact that she is in between adulthood and childhood is evidence for her liminality. Through this Shakespeare is able to develop a complex character which is four-dimensional and does not simply adhere to simple, superficial themes.
• Romeo and Juliet


  Their relationship develops quickly which makes it incredibly passionate. Juliet is extremely young in comparison to Romeo and so it is highly possible that this is her first real relationship. Their initial interaction is incredibly flirtatious, which juxtaposes the terrible and debilitating tension it goes on to cause, but is also evidently pure and passionate. Their love for each other is potently strong, obviously demonstrated by how they both end of committing suicide as a result.
• Lord Capulet and Juliet


  Their father-daughter relationship changes drastically. The first time the audience meets Juliet's father he acts as an overprotective father who is just trying to shield his daughter from the world. However, this drastically changes after Tybalt's death and Lord Capulet demands that Juliet must marry Paris, saying that if she refuses he will disown her. It is clear that their relationship is complicated but it is also clear that Lord Capulet greatly cares for his daughter and only reacts when he is challenged.
• Lady Capulet and Juliet


  Their relationship is essentially non-existent. The only time in which the audience sees an exchange between the mother and daughter is when Lady Capulet must talk to her daughter or is sent by her husband to talk to her. Lady Capulet and Juliet are also opposites of each other; everything that Lady Capulet wants, Juliet does not.
• The Friar and Juliet


  The Friar is always a point of contact for advice for the lovers. However, it is through his plan that the lovers die which is quite ironic. Like the Nurse, the Friar is a tool for fate. The Friar is instrumental in Juliet's life as she seeks him out for advice, he also comes up with the plan and gives her the potion which ignites the sequence of events.
• Paris and Juliet


  They don't really have a relationship, and what they do have is incredibly one-sided on Paris' part. He represents the duty that is inevitably a part of a young Elizabethan's woman's life.
• Tybalt and Juliet


  Tybalt is Juliet's cousin who is dedicated to protecting their family honour.
• Capulet: '"My child is yet a stranger in the world,/ She hath not seen the change of fourteen years;"'
• Nurse: '"...Thou wilt fall backwards when thou hast more wit,/ Wilt thou not, Jule?"'
• Lady Capulet: '"Speak briefly. Can you like of Paris, love?/ Juliet: I'll look to like, if looking liking move./ But no more deep will I endart mine eye/ Than your consent gives strength to make it fly."'
• Romeo: '"O she doth teach the torches to burn bright!...As a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear-"'
• Romeo [To Juliet]: '"If I profane with my unworthiest hand. This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss."'
• Juliet: '"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, Which mannerly devotion shows in this; For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."'
• Juliet: '"My grave is like to be my wedding bed".'