Romeo and Juliet
Read the following extract from Act 3 Scene 2 of Romeo and Juliet and then answer the question that follows.
At this point in the play, the Nurse has told Juliet that Romeo has killed Tybalt and has been banished from Verona.
5 | JULIET O serpent heart, hid with a flow’ring face! Did ever dragon keep so fair a cave? Beautiful tyrant, fiend angelical! Dove-feathered raven, wolvish-ravening lamb! Despisèd substance of divinest show! |
10 | Just opposite to what thou justly seem’st, A damnèd saint, an honourable villain! O nature, what hadst thou to do in hell When thou didst bower the spirit of a fiend In mortal paradise of such sweet flesh? |
15 | Was ever book containing such vile matter So fairly bound? O that deceit should dwell In such a gorgeous palace! NURSE There’s no trust, No faith, no honesty in men, all perjured, |
20 | All forsworn, all naught, all dissemblers. Ah, where’s my man? Give me some aqua-vitae; These griefs, these woes, these sorrows make me old. Shame come to Romeo! JULIET Blistered be thy tongue |
25 | For such a wish! he was not born to shame: Upon his brow shame is ashamed to sit; For ’tis a throne where honour may be crowned Sole monarch of the universal earth. O what a beast was I to chide at him! |
Starting with this conversation, explore how far Shakespeare presents Juliet as a female character with strong emotions.
Write about:
- how Shakespeare presents Juliet in this extract
- how far Shakespeare presents Juliet as a female character with strong emotions in the play as a whole.
[30 marks]
AO4 [4 marks]
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