In Act IV, scene v of Romeo and Juliet, Nurse has entered
Juliet's chamber on the morn of Juliet's marriage to County Paris. Nurse is trying to
rouse Juliet from sleep with jests and exclamations. Finally she uncovers Juliet. This
is when she discovers that Juliet is dressed and her flesh is cold. Nurse calls for
help, and Lady Capulet enters. Considering that in Act III, scene v, Lady Capulet has
sworn that she finished with Juliet because she refuses to wed Paris, Lady Capulet's
reactions to Juliet's seemingly lifeless form are very important to understanding Lady
Capulet and the things that follow. Nurse is yelling:
Alas, alas! Help, help! my lady's
dead!
O, well-a-day, that ever I was
born!
Then, Lady Capulet
enters and cries out:
O me, O me! My child, my only
life,
Revive, look up, or I will die with thee!
Help, help! Call
help.
The audience is here
relieved to know that Lady Capulet does in fact have natural feelings of love and
motherhood for her daughter: It is clear that Lady Capulet is in deep shock and dismay
at finding Juliet thus.
Shakespeare goes further to show Lady Capulet's
feelings by having her continually lament in an alternating chorus with Nurse, whose
love for Juliet we have never doubted (thus giving an added measure of sincerity and
authenticity to Lady Capulet's outcries):
Alack the day, she's dead, she's dead, she's
dead! ...
O woful time! ...
Accursed, unhappy, wretched, hateful
day!
Most miserable hour that e'er time saw ...
And cruel death hath
catch'd [Juliet] from my sight!
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