Act III – Scene.ii
Summary
We return to the Capulet house where Juliet awaits
Romeo. The nurse rushes in to give her news of the fight between Romeo and Tybalt. At first Juliet thinks Romeo is dead, assuming that he has killed himself, but then it is clear that Tybalt is dead, and
Juliet fears that she has two to mourn.
Eventually the nurse gets the story straight and Juliet understands that Romeo has killed Tybalt and been exiled. She curses fate for having put the spirit of a fiend inside Romeo’s sweet flesh. Juliet laments that she will die without a wedding night, a maiden widow. The nurse assures her that she will find Romeo and bring him to her for their wedding night. Juliet gives the nurse a ring to give to Romeo as a token of her love.
Interpretation
The young love of Romeo and Juliet is being sorely
tested in these scenes, but it is clear from the start that Juliet will stay loyal to her new husband, and it is Romeo’s banishment that grieves Juliet most and not Tybalt’s death.
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