Romeo and Juliet Duologues (Act 3, Scene 5)

Many significant things happen in this scene that effect the play later on. This scene is all about Juliet and her relationships and feelings towards four different people in her life. She has four duologues in total, all adding a little more insight into how the play is mapped out. The duologues are with Romeo, Lady Capulet, Lord Capulet and Juliet's Nurse. At first she talks with Romeo. They express their feelings very clearly and Shakespeare helps build up the love and tension for the rest of the play.

Secondly she talks to Lady Capulet, her mother.

Although Lady Capulet is Juliet's biological mother they do not share a mother daughter bond. This duologue also helps bring insight into Juliet's true feelings. The third duologue is with Lord Capulet. He starts off by supporting her, but after she tells him she isn't going to do as he wishes, he turns into a violent, un-fatherly man. The fourth and final duologue is with the nurse, who had known Juliet since birth.

Get quality help now

Sweet V

Verified writer

4.9 (984)

“ Ok, let me say I’m extremely satisfy with the result while it was a last minute thing. I really enjoy the effort put in. ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

She ends up giving Juliet some un appreciated advice. Each duologue adds some prophesy, fate and a little more tension.

Romeo and Juliet start this scene with the first duologue. They are discussing their love for each other, and how happy they are together. Juliet is trying to make Romeo stay longer in bed and, as the play later explains, longer in her life. Shakespeare uses phrases like 'It was the nightingale, and not the lark. ' which means it was the night bird not the morning bird.

Shakespeare has used this effectively as the nightingale is seen as a romantic bird, therefore keeping the romance alive. Also using 'It is the lark that sings so out of tune'

Helps demonstrate Juliet's Hatred of Romeo leaving. Every time Romeo and Juliet are together it is exciting as the readers don't know what they will do next. Although there is a serious side to this play Shakespeare still plays around with the feeling of love, making Romeo and Juliet completely them selves around each other, very laid back and joking with each other. Romeo tells Juliet that he must leave. He uses the phrase 'I must be gone and live, or stay and die', which shows he's being much more serious than he was before when he was joking around with her.

Shakespeare draws the readers in by expressing their love very simply, They finish each others sentences and their words rhyme. This makes the future of the play more unbearable, as non of the audience would have liked to loose their love in such a tragic way. Also Shakespeare writes this play in such a way that it makes the audience feel like they are there, either one of Romeo or Juliet. To show Romeos compassion for Juliet he says 'Let me be tane, let me be put to death'. Romeo is soon forced to go as Juliet's mother comes to her room to comfort her and give her some 'good' news.

Shakespeare adds a premonition 'Methinks I see thee, now thou art below, As one dead in the bottom of a tomb: Either my eyesight fails, or thou look'st pale. ' this is key for later in the play as the next time Juliet sees Romeo he will be dead I the bottom of a tomb. After this premonition Shakespeare gives a good tug on the heart strings, with Romeo's last words, 'And trust me, love, in my eyes so do you: Dry sorrow drinks our blood. Adieu, Adieu! '. This is the final goodbye they will ever share, this is very relevant for the rest of the play as they do not want to let each other go, but they must. It is fate.

As Lady Capulet enters the feeling becomes suddenly cold. The welcome Juliet receives off her mother is hardly that a mother would give. 'Ho, daughter! are you up? ' not just the welcome off Lady Capulet but the reply off Juliet suggests the lack of relationship between Juliet and her mother. 'Madam, I am not well. ' Lady Capulet is telling Juliet to get over her cousins death as Lady Capulet thinks this is why Juliet is upset. 'some grief shows much of love; But much of grief shows still some want of wit. ' however this isn't the reason. The reason for her being upset is that it was Romeo that killed her cousin.

Lady Capulet is not understanding at all. She has not brought Juliet up and doesn't know how to comfort her, it was the Nurse that has brought her up. As Lady Capulet uncovers a possible ending to Romeo and Juliet, they play, the audience can sense the true feelings of Juliet. She does not want another man apart from Romeo. Paris' proposal has been accepted by Lord and Lady Capulet, as they believe Paris to be a good match for their only Daughter, However Juliet has other thoughts. She is in love with Romeo, and no other man can even begin to compare.

From this part in the duologue the audience can pick out the fact it will be Romeo and Juliet to end this, together. No matter what hardship comes to them, they will be together until their time is up. He has made an agreement so that Juliet can marry Paris, however this is not what she wants. Her mother is angry with Juliet for being ungrateful to her father as what he has done is very good of him. In this duologue, there is some use of prophetic irony, like when Juliet says 'Madam, if you could find out but a man to bear a poison, I would temper it,', this again is prophesy.

Shakespeare adds this in to introduce to the audience the way Romeo will die. In the duologue, they start having a verbal argument and when Juliet says that she would rather marry Romeo than Paris her mother gets extremely angry. She then, at the end of the duologue, says to Juliet 'Here comes your father, tell him so yourself; And see how he will take it at your hands. ' showing her lack of love for Juliet. This is important for the rest of the play because it shows that when Juliet makes the decision against her father and mother they will not support her, therefore leaving her alone.

The third duologue is with Juliet and Lord Capulet. Lord Capulet starts the duologue off by saying 'How now, a conduit, girl? What, still in tears? '. This means that he is just mocking Juliet for being upset still. He doesn't know the real reason for why she is crying and has not got much sympathy for her. This, as with Lady Capulet, helps the audience know that they will not support Juliet in the later part of the play. After telling Juliet the good news about marrying Paris, which is actually bad news for Juliet, her father gets confused.

He believes Paris is perfect for his daughter, 'So worthy a gentleman to be her bridegroom? ' Lord Capulet gets infuriated at how disrespectful Juliet is being. Her father knows best. Lord Capulet eventually sets things straight by saying 'Thursday is near, lay hand on heart, advise: And you be mine, I'll give you to my friend; And you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets,'. He is now back in control. All these words Lord Capulet uses to describe his daughter are related, directly or indirectly, to death. The last duologue is when Juliet is talking to the Nurse.

In this duologue, Juliet looks to the nurse for some help and support but she doesn't get any as the nurse says she cant do anything to help now. The nurse is the final person Juliet can go to for help, support and love, but when the nurse gives Juliet some unwanted advice 'I think you are happy in this second match, For it excels your first' The nurse is more like a mother to Juliet than Lady Capulet. The nurse knows about Romeo and is trying to keep it all secret and trying to comfort Juliet. Juliet cant be comforted now though and the nurse cannot help her with her situation.

She says 'Marry, I will, and this is wisely done. ' which means she would marry Paris if she really did love Romeo to keep him a secret. Juliet is not convinced and says that she will kill herself if she cannot be with Romeo. Shakespeare has cleverly added this in, as later on in the play, when Juliet sees she can never be with Romeo she kills herself. Juliet can't marry Paris as she is already married to Romeo. She takes a drug which sends her into a deep sleep and seems as if she is dead. Everyone is upset and when Romeo finds out about this, he goes to see if its true and then eventually kills himself.

Juliet then wakes up and sees what he has done and kills her self. All of the duologues have led up to Romeo and Juliet taking their lives and dying together. These duologues play an important part in this play. Shakespeare has added in prophecy and fate, meaning the audience has a slight hint to the outcome. Juliet may have though twice about killing herself if she had family who cared what happened to her, however she did not. Therefore taking her own life was nothing, as she felt she had nothing to live for.