Examine Shakespeare s presentation of Juliet in Act one scene 3 of the play How does
In Act one scene 3, where Juliet is introduced for the first time in the play, Shakespeare here shows us a girl, who is obedient to her parents and still has her decisions made for her. ... This shows us, that her parents make all of her decisions for her and dominate Juliet’s life, leaving her with little or no say as to what happens to her. As the play progresses, Juliet’s character develops as Shakespeare shows her turning from a young girl into a woman. The first hint of change in Juliet is in Act one, scene five, where Romeo and Juliet first meet. In this scene, Juliet forgets what is going on around her and lets her feelings take over. She makes her own decisions, as opposed to her Mother and Nurse making them for her in the previous scene. The first words that Romeo and Juliet exchange is in the form of a sonnet, this isolates them from the noise and hubbub of the party. ... The language in the sonnet is the language of love; the language used by both Romeo and Juliet in the sonnet contains imagery, which they use to disguise their emotions. ... ” Here, Romeo describes Juliet as a shrine, which could mean that she Juliet is something to be worshipped. As Romeo and Juliet kiss on their first meeting, after only exchanging fourteen lines of speech, Shakespeare is showing us that Juliet’s character is developing as she is now making her own decisions, but still shows us her innocence in how she is taken away by the moment, unaware of the consequences of what she is doing and with whom and the complications that her new found love can bring. ... Towards the end of the scene Juliet is called back by her mother, and therefore has to leave Romeo. This creates dramatic impact as we see Juliet being drawn back in with her family, where she has no control over her life. There is also a sense of dramatic irony, as the audience knows that it will be extremely difficult for Romeo and Juliet to marry, or even meet again as they are enemies by name. The scene ends by Juliet instructing the nurse to find out the name of the person she has just kissed, and says, “If he be married, My grave is likely to be my wedding-bed.” This is ironic, as the audience knows from the prologue of the play that the play will have a dramatic ending and knows that the proceedings of the play will result in death. However, Juliet does not know that what she is saying is actually going to become true. By inserting this detail into Juliet’s speech, Shakespeare has the audience sympathising with Juliet and her position. The scene ends with Juliet finding out that Romeo is a Montague, she has a confused response, saying, “My only love sprung from my only hate.