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Crazy Like the Fox

Feedback on the recent Romeo & Juliet exam practice

11/03/2020 by axonite   

 

The vast majority of people chose the first question. Here, most concentrated on explaining the meaning and implications of the imagery though – rather than on addressing the question of “in what ways does Shakespeare make you sympathise with Romeo and Juliet here?” Adapting your knowledge to the exact requirements of the question is a vital skill that you will need to practise.
 
In this particular question, the temptation to explain meanings should be resisted! (in fact, you will never be asked what – only how). There is so much content that could demonstrate your understanding – but if it is irrelevant, then it does not belong in your essay. This is very annoying when it happens, but you need to prepare for just such an eventuality. Here, in this question, it is only the emotional effect that interests us. There is no need to explain in detail in this response what birds or pomegranates signify – because what is important is that each element represents separation. Night and Day, the birds of night and day, the reference to Persephone, the sun and moon, life and death are all opposites – because the lovers are being pulled in opposite directions! They are torn between their desires and the demands of reality. The main way in which Shakespeare “makes us feel sympathy/creates a sense of” invites sympathy for the eponymous lovers is through the rich language. Yes, it is performed on stage (a visual medium) but it is not a movie – much of the visualisation arises from the words that Shakespeare has the lovers speak. It is hyperbolic. To modern ears, this exaggeration may seem silly, but it was intended to create emotional intensity.
 
The comical moments add piquancy to the lovers’ piteous parting, as they switch roles when Juliet realises the implications of Romeo staying any longer – her kinsmen will murder him. The notion of the lark “straining harsh discords and unpleasing sharps” is also amusing, undercutting the seriousness of their imminent separation. Thus, Shakespeare has Juliet declaim that (usually) “the lark makes sweet division” between night and day – but not now because it heralds the morning and Romeo’s hasty flight.
 
What of the rest of the extract? From the entrance of the Nurse, there is an even greater urgency, and they exchange intimate, highly relatable, tender assurances of love (I must hear from thee every day in the hour”). During their hurried terms of endearment, Juliet questions if they will “ever meet again.” Despite Romeo’s assurance that they will laugh about this in their future life today, the foreknowledge of their doom (from the chorus at the outset) ensures that this is a particularly poignant parting.
 
Question 2 is the general one. Here, we need to reflect on the ways in which Juliet and the Nurse interact over the course of the play. It is comical that this rambunctious and earthy woman (with her ribald humour) should be the surrogate mother for a highborn lady! As Friar Lawrence is confidant to Romeo, so the Nurse is to Juliet. When first we meet the Nurse, she talks of how she was originally a wet nurse to the baby Juliet (after her own daughter died). She speaks fondly of how Juliet “wast the prettiest babe that e’er I nursed” (that ever I nursed) indicating that there had been others. She also talks of how she dreams of one day seeing Juliet married. When Juliet confides her love for Romeo, it is the Nurse who acts as go-between. Although her duty is to Lady Capulet, her devotion to the daughter overrules her sense of decorum. Moreover, when Juliet is eager for the latest news of Romeo, the Nurse teases her by withholding the information, complaining about her aching feet and how she is out of breath. Juliet is exasperated, but quickly pleads with (and manipulates) the Nurse. This is more like the joshing of friends (a counterpoint to Romeo and Mercutio). However, ultimately the Nurse’s sense of pragmatism (in her advice to marry Paris and forget Romeo) leads to Juliet rejecting her. At the close of the play, whether or not the Nurse was truly a “good friend” to Juliet is thus a matter for personal judgement.

 


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