Writing+Improvement+Plan+(Sarah+B)

Sarah Bock November 2009 English 9E Ms. Porter Nurse: Does she know Juliet? Having taken care of Juliet all her life, the nurse should be the one person who really knows Juliet, but who would’ve guessed; the nurse does not know Juliet at all. Oh sure, the nurse may know the details of Juliet’s life, and the number of hours Juliet’s been alive, but does she really //know// Juliet? How Juliet feels? Juliet’s personality? No! Not even one bit. Even though throughout the play, the nurse seems like the character who knows Juliet inside out and backwards, she actually does not know Juliet entirely as well as she should. In //Romeo and Juliet//, Shakespeare does not mention the nurse’s detailed physical descriptions, but he does give us hinds and clues. In Act 2 Scene 4, Mercutio says: “Good Peter, to hide her face, for her fan’s the fairer face.” He is trying to say that the fan is a prettier face than the nurse’s own, and urges Peter to get the nurse her fan. We also know that the nurse is quite old, for Juliet says: “Had she [nurse] affections and warm youthful blood, She would be as swift in motion as a ball…” (Act 2 Scene 5). Here, Juliet is indicating that if the nurse had been youthful and young, she would’ve returned __quicker__ with Romeo’s message. During the play, we get the feeling that the nurse is rather a silly character, but most of the time, __unintentionally__. We see a lot of dramatic reactions from the nurse, such as when Tybalt and Juliet died. These reactions are overdone, and can be amusing to the audience. We can also obviously see that the nurse is very caring and wants what’s best for Juliet. The nurse says: “Go, girl, seek happy nights to happy days.” (Act 1 Scene 4) and encourages Juliet to find a man who would make her the happiest. From the beginning of the play, we are constantly shown how close Juliet and the nurse is­­­­. In Act 1 Scene 3, Lady Capulet first wishes to speak to Juliet alone, and then remembers that the nurse also knows all their secrets, and invites the nurse to their conversation. Also in Act 1 Scene 4, Lady Capulet fails to know the exact age of her own daughter, while the nurse is fully aware of Juliet’s age and birthday. We can also tell that Juliet is heavily dependent on the nurse, because the nurse is the one person that Juliet tells about her secret love and marriage, when even her own parents were unaware of this fact. Juliet trusts the nurse to be her faithful guardian and friend. Obviously looking out for Juliet, the nurse tries to help in every possible way. The night that Romeo is banned, the nurse acts as messenger between the two lovers so that they can share their first night before Romeo leaves to Mantua. Even though the nurse wishes Juliet to be happy, she is also forced to seek a practical solution when Juliet comes to her for advice about her arranged marriage to Paris. The nurse tries to be sensible, and coaxes Juliet to go ahead and marry Paris The nurse believes that Romeo is gone, and never to return. Why does the nurse even make this foolish suggestion? This shows us that the nurse is unaware of Juliet’s stubborn personality, and of Juliet’s passionate love for Romeo. On top of that, when Juliet apologizes to her father and agrees to the marriage after her visit to Friar Lawrence, the nurse is quick to believe her and does not doubt her at all. Again, we are shown that the nurse has somehow failed to notice Juliet’s headstrong nature over the years, and has completely ignored the infatuation that Juliet has held for Romeo for the past few weeks. Being the only adult that Juliet has confided in about the marriage, and being the one person who should fully understand Juliet, the nurse should’ve known better. The ignorance of the nurse was probably one of the main factors that led to Juliet and Romeo’s death. As strange as it may seem, it turns out that the nurse does not __actually__ know Juliet at all. Then who __really__ does?

I tried my best to find adverbs, but I don't think I did such a good job. As I was writing my essay this time, I watched out for repetition so I think it's a lot better than before!