Read the text below. THE ORIGINAL VERSION is shown first. The same passage, in more MODERN VERSION follows (in a different font) to help you understand the conversation. After reading, answer the questions in a post. In the event that a post is not possible, please email your response to me.
Lady Capulet
Enough of this; I pray thee, hold thy peace.
Nurse
Yes, madam: yet I cannot choose but laugh,
To think it should leave crying and say 'Ay.'
And yet, I warrant, it had upon its brow
A bump as big as a young cockerel's stone;
A parlous knock; and it cried bitterly:
'Yea,' quoth my husband,'fall'st upon thy face?
Thou wilt fall backward when thou comest to age;
Wilt thou not, Jule?' it stinted and said 'Ay.'
Juliet
And stint thou too, I pray thee, nurse, say I.
Nurse
Peace, I have done. God mark thee to his grace!
Thou wast the prettiest babe that e'er I nursed:
An I might live to see thee married once,
I have my wish.
Lady Capulet
Marry, that 'marry' is the very theme
I came to talk of. Tell me, daughter Juliet,
How stands your disposition to be married?
Juliet It is an honour that I dream not of.
Nurse An honour! were not I thine only nurse,
I would say thou hadst suck'd wisdom from thy teat.
Lady Capulet
Well, think of marriage now; younger than you,
Here in Verona, ladies of esteem,
Are made already mothers: by my count,
I was your mother much upon these years
That you are now a maid. Thus then in brief:
The valiant Paris seeks you for his love.
Nurse
A man, young lady! lady, such a man
As all the world--why, he's a man of wax.
Lady Capulet
Verona's summer hath not such a flower.
Nurse
Nay, he's a flower; in faith, a very flower.
Lady Capulet
What say you? can you love the gentleman?
This night you shall behold him at our feast;
Read o'er the volume of young Paris' face,
And find delight writ there with beauty's pen;
Examine every married lineament,
And see how one another lends content
And what obscured in this fair volume lies
Find written in the margent of his eyes.
This precious book of love, this unbound lover,
To beautify him, only lacks a cover:
The fish lives in the sea, and 'tis much pride
For fair without the fair within to hide:
That book in many's eyes doth share the glory,
That in gold clasps locks in the golden story;
So shall you share all that he doth possess,
By having him, making yourself no less.
Nurse
No less! nay, bigger; women grow by men.
Lady Capulet
Speak briefly, can you like of Paris' love?
Juliet
I'll look to like, if looking liking move:
But no more deep will I endart mine eye
Than your consent gives strength to make it fly.
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LADY CAPULET
Enough of this. Please be quiet.
NURSE
Yes ,madam. But I can’t help laughing to think that the baby stopped crying and said, “Yes.” I swear, she had a bump on her forehead as big as a rooster’s testicle. It was a painful bruise, and she was crying bitterly. “Yes,” said my husband, “Did you fall on your face? You’ll fall backward when you grow up, won’t you, Jule?” And she stopped crying and said, “Yes.”
JULIET
Now you stop too, Nurse, please.
NURSE
Peace. I’m done talking. May God choose you to receive his grace. You were the prettiest baby I ever nursed. If I live to see you get married someday, all my wishes will come true.
LADY CAPULET
Well, marriage is exactly what we have to discuss. Tell me, my daughter Juliet, what is your attitude about getting married?
JULIET
Describe the relationships between the 3 women (Juliet and the Nurse; Juliet and her mother; the nurse and the mother). What do you find surprising or unusual?
It is an honor that I do not dream of.
NURSE
“An honor?” If I weren’t your only nurse, I’d say you had sucked wisdom from the breast that fed you.
LADY CAPULET
Well, start thinking about marriage now. Here in Verona there are girls younger than you—girls from noble families—who have already become mothers. By my count, I was already your mother at just about your age, while you remain a virgin. Well then, I’ll say this quickly: the valiant Paris wants you as his bride.
NURSE
What a man, young lady. He’s as great a man as any in the whole world. He’s as perfect as if he were sculpted from wax.
LADY CAPULET
Summertime in Verona has no flower as fine as him.
NURSE
No, he’s a fine flower, truly, a flower.
LADY CAPULET
(to JULIET) What do you say? Can you love this gentleman? Tonight you’ll see him at our feast. Study Paris’s face and find pleasure in his beauty. Examine every line of his features and see how they work together to make him handsome. If you are confused, just look into his eyes. This man is single, and he lacks only a bride to make him perfect and complete. As is right, fish live in the sea, and it’s wrong for a beauty like you to hide from a handsome man like him. Many people think he’s handsome, and whoever becomes his bride will be just as admired. You would share all that he possesses, and by having him, you would lose nothing.
NURSE
Lose nothing? In fact, you’d get bigger. Men make women bigger by getting them pregnant.
LADY CAPULET
(to JULIET) Give us a quick answer. Can you accept Paris’s love?
JULIET
I’ll look at him and try to like him, at least if what I see is likable. But I won’t let myself fall for him any more than your permission allows.
