Romeo and Juliet – from Act 2 Scene 5, lines 35 to 64
In this extract, Juliet and the Nurse are talking about Romeo.
JULIET
Is thy news good or bad? Answer to that. 35
Say either, and I’ll stay the circumstance.
Let me be satisfied: is’t good or bad?
NURSE
Well, you have made a simple choice – you know not
how to choose a man. Romeo? No, not he. Though
his face be better than any man’s, yet his leg excels all 40
men’s – and for a hand and a foot and a body, though
they be not to be talked on, yet they are past compare.
He is not the flower of courtesy, but, I’ll warrant him,
as gentle as a lamb. Go thy ways, wench: serve God.
What, have you dined at home? 45
JULIET
No, no! But all this did I know before!
What says he of our marriage? What of that?
NURSE
Lord, how my head aches! What a head have I!
It beats as it would fall in twenty pieces.
My back a’ t’other side – ah, my back, my back! 50
Beshrew your heart for sending me about
To catch my death with jauncing up and down!
JULIET
I’ faith, I am sorry that thou art not well.
Sweet, sweet, sweet Nurse, tell me – what says my love?
NURSE
Your love says, like an honest gentleman, and a 55
courteous, and a kind, and a handsome, and, I warrant,
a virtuous – Where is your mother?
JULIET
Where is my mother? Why, she is within.
Where should she be? How oddly thou repliest!
– ’Your love says, like an honest gentleman, 60
”Where is your mother?”’
NURSE
O God’s lady dear!
Are you so hot? Marry, come up, I trow!
Is this the poultice for my aching bones?
Henceforth do your messages yourself.

Explore how Shakespeare presents the character of the Nurse in this extract.
Refer closely to the extract in your answer.

In Act 2, Scene 5 of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare portrays the character of the Nurse as a talkative, humorous, and sometimes scatterbrained individual. Through her speech and actions, the Nurse comes across as a comical figure who is often preoccupied with her own physical discomforts, but also shows genuine care and concern for Juliet.

The Nurse’s dialogue in the extract is filled with colloquial language and exaggerated expressions, which highlight her jovial and informal nature. For example, she describes Romeo as having a better face, leg, hand, foot, and body than any other man, but also mentions that these features are “not to be talked on.” This use of hyperbole and informal language adds a humorous tone to her speech.