Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Who does the Nurse say also wants to marry Juliet? What does she say Juliet's feelings are for this other suitor?

In Act II scene IV, Juliet's Nurse and the servant Peter find Romeo with his friends. The Nurse tells Romeo she has come on behalf of Juliet. She mentions to Romeo that Paris wants to marry Juliet. She tells Romeo that Juliet would rather see a toad than Paris.


                                                       O, there


is a nobleman in town, one Paris, that would fain


lay knife aboard. But she, good soul, had as lieve


see a toad, a very toad, as see him. I anger her


sometimes and tell her that Paris is the properer


man. But I'll warrant you, when I say so, she looks


as pale as any clout in the versal world.  (lines 186-190) 



By "fain lay knife aboard" the Nurse means Paris would gladly like her (Juliet's) attention, and by "as lieve see a toad... as see him" the Nurse means that Juliet would rather look at a toad than at Paris. We can see from this quote that the Nurse knows Juliet does not like Paris. She compares Paris to a toad, meaning that in Juliet's eyes, he is ugly. The Nurse goes on to say that when she tells Juliet that Paris is the "properer" or handsomer man, Juliet looks at her "as pale as any clout in the versal world," or as pale as a piece of linen. 


You can read the Nurse's exchange with Romeo on with modern translations and explanations of some key phrases. 

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