On Juliet from Romeo and Juliet

Abstract：As one of Shakespeares most famous and most frequently performed plays， the romantic tragedy Romeo and Juliet describes the doomed love of two young “star-crossed lovers”. The female protagonist Juliet， a thirteen-year-old girl， is forced into adulthood in four days after she meets Romeo， the only son of her familys enemy. Since then she has to cope with different conflicts and issues of life and make her own choices and decisions.

Key words：Juliet； growth； love and fate

中圖分類號：H315.9 文獻標識碼：A 文章編號：1672-1578（2017）12-0003-01

In Romeo and Juliet， Shakespeare first introduced the heroine Juliet in Act 1.3. She meets Romeo in Act 1.5 and gets married with him in Act 1.6. She kills herself in Act 5.3. In such a short time she evolves from a girl that is obedient to family， innocent about what is love and marriage， to a self-assured， determined， intelligent and strong woman. It is also a development from immaturity to maturity. These changes are caused by love and fate that force Juliet to grow fast.

1 The obedient daughter

At the beginning of the play， Juliet is a thirteen-year-old girl that is faithful to her family， and has never thought about marriage. When Nurse calls for Juliet， she uses “lamb”， “ladybird” （Act 1.3， line 3） to indicate her， which shows that Juliet is always a well-behaved and dutiful girl that never breaks her familys expectation. When lady Capulet asks her about the idea of getting married， she replies： “It is an honor that I dream not of （Act 1.3， line 66）”. She has not considered marriage as a part of her life by then. When lady Capulet tells her about Pariss love for her， Juliet agrees to go to see him in the feast to decide if she will love him， but emphasizes that she will not look at him deeply unless her mothers “consent gives strength to make it fly （Act 1.3， line 99）”. This shows that Juliet is a very compliant child that relies on her parents decision—she will not let herself fall in love without her parents permission.

2 The girl in love

When Juliet meets Romeo her image of a docile and innocent girl begins to collapse. The audience see a different side of Juliet who is capable of love， full of passion， and knows her own mind. After the dance and kiss， Juliet falls for Romeo and begs the Nurse to find out who Romeo is. At first she is shocked at the reality that Romeo is the only son of her familys enemy. However， later on her balcony， Juliet declares that Montague is just a name or a title but Romeo is the person she loves： “Romeo， doff thy name/ And for thy name， which is no part of thee/ Take all myself （Act 2.2， line 47）”. After Romeo and Juliet talk to each other， she expresses her commitment in loving Romeo and tells him that he should propose marriage， although deeply in heart she knows her family will never allow them to get married. At this point， Juliet is determined to love and be loved， willing to go against her familys will and consent.endprint

3 The faithful wife

Juliet demonstrates her devotion， loyalty， intelligence and strength after she becomes Romeos wife. After their secret marriage when Juliet finds out that Romeo kills her cousin Tybalt and is banished， she struggles but finally decides to forgive him and be loyal to her husband instead of her family：“Shall I speak ill of him that is my husband...what tongue shall smooth thy name/ When I， thy three-hours wife， have mangled it？（Act 3.2， line 97-99）”When Capulet asks her to marry Paris， Juliet refuses and pretends to be dead. However when she wakes up in the tomb and finds Romeos dead body， she determines to follow her husband and stabs a dagger into her heart：“O happy dagger/ This is thy sheath； there rust， and let me die （Act 5.3， line 168）”.She gradually grows into a very confident， brave and strong woman.

4 Love and fate

The development in the character of Juliet is caused by love and pushed by fate. The power of love between Romeo and Juliet overrides all other values and faiths， which makes Juliet to defy her family and name. Love and passion give her courage and determination to disobey her familys will， be faithful to her husband， and commit suicide after the death of her husband. In death， Juliet is seeking a permanent love in which she and Romeo can be together forever. She becomes mature because of love and is transformed by love. Her growth and death are also pushed by fate which is implied at the beginning of the play—“a pair of star-crossd lovers （Prologue， line 6）”—that neither Romeo nor Juliet can control their life. As soon as she meets Romeo， fate forces her to face decisions to choose between her will （marry to Romeo） and her familys will （marry to Paris）， love （support Romeo） and family （revenge for Tybalt）， life and death. Under these circumstances， Juliet has to grow and adjust to life as fast as she can to solve all the conflicts.

In conclusion， as the protagonist in the tragedy full of love and sorrow， with her distinct characteristic Juliet has left a permanent impression in the mind of audience from all over the world.

References：

[1] Brown， Carolyn E. Juliet's Taming of Romeo[J]. Studies in English Literature 1500-1900，1996（36）：333.

[2] Bloom， Harold，ed.William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet [M].New York： Chelsea House，2000.

[3] Dusinberre， Juliet.Shakespeare and the Nature of Women [M].New York： Palgrave Macmillan， reprint edition 2003.

[4] Halio， Jay L.，ed. Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet： Texts， Contexts and Interpretations[M]. Newark， NJ： University of

Delaware Press，1996.

[5] Warmbrod，NancyC.A Psychological Profile of Shakespeare′s Juliet： Or Was It Merely Hormones[J]. The English Journal， 1980（69）：29.

作者簡介：謝琪嵐（1983-），湖北武漢人，湖北工業大學外國語學院大學英語教學部講師，碩士，研究方向：英語教學法。endprint