The scene that you need to refer to is Act I scene 3, when
Juliet is confronted by both the Nurse and her mother as her mother tells her that Paris
is seeking her hand in marriage. Both the Nurse and Lady Capulet spend much time
praising Count Paris and his beauty and importance, trying to persuade Juliet that he is
a great man to have for a husband, but if there is one difference between them, it is
that the Nurse makes rather unhelpful but very funny comments regarding marriage and
comments that detract from the formality of Lady Capulet's description of Paris. Note
the following examples:
readability="10">No less? Nay, bigger! Women grow by
men.Nay, he's a flower, in faith--a very
flower.Note how these
comments compare to the elegant description of Paris made by Lady Capulet, when, in an
extended metaphor, she compares him to a book:readability="17">Read o'er the volume of young Paris'
face,And find delight writ there with beauty's
pen;Examine every married
lineament,And see how one another lends
content;And what obscuredi n this fair volume
liesFind written in the margent of his
eyes.Thus we can see that
there is a big difference between Lady Capulet and the Nurse and how they view marriage.
Both are united in trying to persuade Juliet to marry Paris, and both almost expect her
immediate agreement, but Lady Capulet is far more elegant and persuasive in her speech,
whereas the Nurse is more comic and inappropriate. Some productions have made much of
this comic element, having Lady Capulet look disapprovingly at the Nurse when she makes
such comments.
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