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Lady Capulet's Foils In Romeo And Juliet

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Nurse and Lady Capulet Foils A foil is a literary element utilized in Shakespeare’s famous plays, such as Romeo and Juliet. A foil is used to put emphasis on stark contrasts in two characters. One of the most prominent foils featured in Romeo and Juliet is Lady Capulet and the Nurse. Lady Capulet is the mother of Juliet and Nurse is the wetnurse that has helped raise Juliet. Lady Capulet is held in high esteem and her personality reflects that. The Nurse is seen as a simple nurse who does not have to be too concerned with her behavior or how she is seen. These two are characters are foils because they have such diverse ideas of what constitutes an appropriate subject matter. At the beginning of Act 1, Scene 3, Lady Capulet states that she knows that Juliet is “of a pretty age”, meaning that it is almost time for Juliet to get married. She calls for Juliet so they can begin discussing the plans for her possible wedding. Lady Capulet simply wants to put the idea of marriage into Juliet’s head. She also gently asks “What say you? Can you love the gentleman?” Lady Capulet doesn’t want to force Juliet into marriage too soon even though she knows its unavoidable. …show more content…

When Lady Capulet says “This is the matter- Nurse, give leave a while; we must talk in secret. Nurse, come back again. I have rememb’red me; thou’s hear our counsel. Thou knowest my daughter’s of a pretty age.” it is evident that she is uncomfortable conversing about things related to this topic. This is mostly due to her demure mindset. She is interested in little more than a purely formal relationship with her daughter; bringing up such topics may heighten the relationship above levels Lady Capulet is comfortable

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