Using the skills you learned from our Anne Frank unit, analyze Juliet’s personality. Do you feel that she is an accurate representation of women in general or do you feel Shakespeare is unfairly portraying women? Or, do you feel that Juliet is a worthy subject for Romeo’s attention and more women should aspire to be like her?
Here are some things to consider:
1) Her ability to banter words with Romeo
2) The way she found out who Romeo was
3) The way she covered her self-reflection about finding out he was Romeo from the nurse
4) The way she tells Romeo to leave, then come back, to vow, then not to vow, to leave–to stay, and then forgets why she calls him
5) The fact that she essentially tells Romeo that if his intentions are good, they should marry
6) Her impatience when she sends the nurse to find out about the wedding details
April 7, 2009 at 3:42 pm
I think that juliet is a fairly accurate representation of women. She is inconstant, She aviods anwsering direct questions, and she is completely anoing.
April 7, 2009 at 4:44 pm
She appears to be a very average girl, she is only who she is because of her education and upbringing. That would account for her word-play and subtlety but she is still flustered and is unsure of her self
April 7, 2009 at 6:26 pm
i feel like she is a worthy subject for rome’s attention and that more women should aspire to be like her. but i do not really think she is anoing because that’s how some girls fell or talk when they are in love whit some one, just like she isnow.
April 7, 2009 at 6:41 pm
As the boys have pointed out, Juliet is a typical teenage girl. She spends her time debating over issues, such as telling Romeo that the relationship is going too fast, and then coming back and asking if Romeo will marry her. Personally, I wouldn’t be that committed to such an obsessive guy, but if that’s the way Juliet likes her men, so be it.
April 7, 2009 at 6:57 pm
I agree with Alec and Gabe that Juilet is a very average girl because, the way she talks to Romeo, and just the way she acts.
April 7, 2009 at 6:58 pm
As the boys and Rachel S. pointed out, Juliet is a typical, average teenage girl. Most girls will not point out who they like. Most girls will send other girls or friends to figure out who someone is or other information about that person and who they like. Girls cant really make up their mind most of the time so when Juliet is trying to decide what to tell romeo she cant decide what she wants him to say. I don’t think Juliet is a worthy subject for Romeo because he changes which girl he like every few seconds then sees Juliet and is like ” I’m going to marry her”.
April 7, 2009 at 8:27 pm
I think that Juliet represents an average teenage girl. Shakespeare definately knew woman. As much as a girl would like to disagree with what Shakespeare thinks a girl acts like, there really is neat to deny it.
April 7, 2009 at 8:28 pm
I meant no way to deny it. **
April 8, 2009 at 10:45 am
I think that in some ways Juliet acts like a normal teenage girl, like how she finds out who Romeo is by not just coming out and asking but taking time to get to her real question and acting very innocent in the way she does it. In other ways she is not like a teenage girl, most teenagers that I know don’t really want to get married so young and are much less blunt about how they feel.
April 8, 2009 at 10:48 am
I agree with Madison about how although it is a play and set in a completely time period Juliet has the nurse to find out about what is going on, where as most girls, like Madison said, would got a a friend to do that job.
April 8, 2009 at 12:31 pm
I think that she somewhat represents women in the way that she changes her mind often.But word usage and the way she talks is not the way we talk today but maybe a little exaggeration as far as speech. She probably is also a little confused as far as if she wants Romeo or not and whether she should confess her love to him and to marry him because they are from different families.
April 8, 2009 at 1:35 pm
I think that Juliet is really like the average girl in love. She can not stop talking about Romeo and it seems like she loves him a lot. I thought that it was a little weird how they feel in love so fast. They only knew each other for three hours, then they get married. No person can fall in love that fast.
April 8, 2009 at 1:37 pm
I agree with Darien. Girls do change their minds often. As i said three hours is not a long time to know someone. I agree with saying that she is unsure about her feelings in the beginning of the book.
April 8, 2009 at 2:37 pm
I feel that Shakespeare made Juliet like a normal girl. Many girls ask about a guy and cover it up like Juliet. She an average girl and I think Shakespeare portrayed her well.
April 8, 2009 at 2:41 pm
I disagree with Darien why he says that girls can not make up their mind and that Juliet does not know if she likes Romeo or not. Juliet is sure of her feelings for Romeo otherwise she would not have married him. Also many girls today can make up their mind. Many women today are indepednet.
April 8, 2009 at 3:50 pm
i agree with most of people. She is definitely teenage girl. shakespear described juliet perfectly. I think that is how teenage girls think and talk.
April 8, 2009 at 4:50 pm
I agree with Kelsey. Juliet is acting like how I know teenage girls to act. Butt I do feel that he maybe plays her out to be a little to desperate. Saying she fell in love after three hours is a little much.
April 8, 2009 at 4:55 pm
I think Juliet portrays woman badly. In the book Juliet seems very helpless and needy. In our time woman are independent and usually don’t fall in love in three hours to a creepy guy who hides in her bushes. Although I feel this way, I do think she is having normal teen behavior.
April 8, 2009 at 5:33 pm
I agree that Juliet displays the way girls act today quite well. I have noticed that when a girl likes a boy, she will send a messenger (her friend) over to talk to the boys friends and the boy to dig up all the information she can. Then the messenger returns and relays the information to the first girl. This is exactly what Juliet did, and it is still a popular thing for girls to do. Juliet also says things to Romeo without getting to the point for a while. I love you- Oh, wait! I guess not. This is how girls talk to some boys today; they randomly say things to try to dodge the point of the conversation, which could be as simple as, “I like you”. Therefore, I think that Juliet shows the same behavior of girls in love today.
April 8, 2009 at 5:41 pm
I agree with Rachel L. and Eric that today women are more independent, but I disagree with Eric on the point that Juliet portrays women badly. Even today women say things indirectly to try to confuse the men they like. I think that Juliet does exactly that, and sometimes she succeeds in confusing Romeo.
April 8, 2009 at 5:41 pm
I believe that Shakespeare, however hard it is to admit it, has got us right on target. We do manipulate boys, and we do make them think about what they are about to do. We are usually good at cleverly finding out more about a person, and I do believe we can be very impactient to find out about important details.
April 8, 2009 at 5:44 pm
I agree with many people above who state that Juliet is an average teenage girl. She is lovesick, confusing and intelligent. I also agree with Rachel when she disagrees with darien. Juliet definetly knew that she liked Romeo, but the was smart enough to test if Romeo liked her just as much.
April 8, 2009 at 5:54 pm
I believe that Shakespeare is representing women who are in love the correct way. Juliet is nearly obsessed with Romeo, and women in love act almost the same way that Juliet is acting. Also, Juliet sends her nurse to talk to Romeo. This is because she does not want her family to know that she likes him. Many girls do not want specific people to know about who they like. I do not have an opinion on whether or not Juliet is worthy of Romeo’s love because it is Romeos choice, and if he really loves her, then Juliet is worthy.
April 8, 2009 at 5:55 pm
In Juliet, I think Shakespeare portrayed normal women of the Middle Ages. Even though Juliet loves Romeo, she didn’t run away from the family. She depended on other people to solve her problems. For example, she used the nurse to get the answer from Romeo about their marriage. I think the couple won’t last long because Juliet doesn’t know about Romeo and she will depend on Romeo too much. Also, both grew up in rich families, so they will not adapt to a new life. Juliet is just a normal teenager in the Middle Ages who can not make up her mind.
April 8, 2009 at 6:02 pm
I don’t like Shakespeare’s way of showing a female. I think by the way Shakespeare has Juliet so blinded by love with Romeo, whom she’s only known for a week. I think it portrays Juliet as weak and it may be thought by others that many other females are just the same. Although some women may be just as weak, many more are strong and won’t let men get in the way of their lives.
April 8, 2009 at 6:20 pm
I agree with Kelsey and Karli. Shakespear definitely knew women/young girls. Like Juliet, young girls are very obnoxious and are always very impacient when it comes to boyfriends or in Juliet’s case, husbands.
April 8, 2009 at 6:24 pm
I think today Juliet would be clasified as a normal teen girl shes impatient for one thing. But back then women were difrent than today, so back then she was expectet to be patent but now we’er all a little impatiant. I also think shaspher portrayed Juliet as weak. I recently read a book where the girl said that all her happines ini her future life depended on who she married, so this portrays that a woman had to depend on a man completly for happyness. Which i think is unfair to say that juliet was weak.
April 8, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Shakespeare’s portrayal of Juliet carries many conflicting qualities. While Shakespeare does show Juliet’s intelligence via her quick wit in conversation with Romeo, but he then downplays this with her immaturity around finding out Romeo’s identity and her indecisiveness around him. She also hints at their marriage very hastily, after only knowing Romeo for a few hours, and is thus just as subject to the same superficiality surrounding their love as Romeo is. Her character is also less than perfect in her impatience with the nurse, who is trying to help her. I don’t believe that Juliet is a good figure to look up to, but I think Shakespeare was justified in giving his characters weaknesses.
April 8, 2009 at 7:08 pm
I also agree with what people have said, and I think she is just like a typical teenage girl who shakespear potrays very well. I also think she calls for Romeo and then she doesn’t know why she called for him, but I think she just wants to be will him and be loved and cared for.
April 8, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Unfortunately, she is exactly like every other teen girl. In everything she does, I can think of at least one girl I know who has done the same thing. Shakespeare makes her actions a little more dramatic, but they are quite accurate. As I am reading this book, I start to feel a little bad for guys because sometimes they have to deal with girls like Juliet.
April 8, 2009 at 7:49 pm
I believe that Juliet is a perfect woman for Romeo. She loves to mince words with him, she is equally as emotional when it comes to loss, and she has a desperate sort of quality. These two were made for each other. I also think that they themselves understand this and are so quick to marry. I disagree with Sasha. I think isn’t the average teenage girl, just like Romeo isn’t the average teenage boy, and I think this was intentional on the part of Shakespeare. I think that if I were to meet Juliet, it would be a interesting, yet delightful, experience to say the least. I, in no way, think that Shakespeare downplayed the woman persona in the slightest. Rather, I think he, at least with Juliet, portrayed the ideal woman for Romeo, or any man for that matter. Finally, I think that girls may think that they manipulate boys, but it is the girls that fall into our trap in the end.
April 8, 2009 at 7:54 pm
I think that Juliet is normal teenage girl. She falls for Romeo first because he’s hot. Then because she enjoys talking to him and even though she does things really fast, I agree with Sasha in that I know people who do the exact same things. I think that she is really dramatic because it’s a play, and while Juliet is a normal teen, she doesn’t represent all of us. I for one wouldn’t marry a guy who I met three hours ago. Her asking Romeo to come back to exchange vows and forgetting stuff is pretty typical to all teen girls. Her reaction to Romeo is also pretty much what most of us would do ie. indessiciveness, confusion, worry, infatuation ect.
April 8, 2009 at 8:00 pm
Hi, this is Illianna. As many people have pointed out, Juliet is just the average girl. We, meaning girls in general, would like to deny the fact that we are inconsistant. We constantly change our minds, which also reflects every aspect of our, again meaning girls in general, daily lives. Some girls will change their minds several times over something as simple as what they wear from day to day; although, in some girls this is more pronounced than in others. This will always be the same no matter what time you live in, as there will always be choices to make. Juliet is very sure of her love for Romeo, but she is not sure about what to do about it. Many times, some women that go far in society, we can make decisions; even though it may be after a lot of consideration, we will most always make a good choice in the end. See? I just contradicted myself, I guess that just proves the point of this whole lesson. Juliet is the type that thinks on her feet, and she tests Romeo in that way. I think that Romeo and Juliet go well together, not just their names sounding good together, but they have almost the same personality, and both act similarly (yes, I am insulting Romeo). I appologize if I don’t answer all of the questions, and this has been another long entry.
~Illianna
April 9, 2009 at 5:41 am
I agree with many people above, I think she is like the average teenage girl. She thinks and acts like a normal girl. I agree with Madison maybe Romeo isn’t the one for Juilet because he is very lovesick over her and is kind of inconsistent with who he loves.
April 9, 2009 at 6:21 am
She is an accurate representation of women from my opinion. She is very impatient and decides on things very quickly which makes it easier for her to get hurt. I think she is worthy of Romeo’s attention and that she feels the same commitment passion as Romeo. I think she knows that the relationship is unsafe, but she still wants to work around the differences of her family. In some ways I think Juliet is more than worthy of Romeo because at first he’s in love with someone else, but when he sees Juliet he decides he is in love again.
April 9, 2009 at 6:24 am
The thing I dislike about Juliet is she thinks she can manipulate people.
April 9, 2009 at 6:26 am
i think Juliet has been too quick grab Romeo and not get to know him very well. she has been blinded by her love for the man she only really knows on the outside weather that love is real or just a mirage she has still married him after a day and a half.
I have also noticed that many people have been saying that she is a normal teenage girl, but I have to disagree how many people have married at our age after only a couple of days?
April 9, 2009 at 6:28 am
I think Shakespear has women dead on. She is a very impatient, and knows how to spin words so that Romeo will give her the answer that she wamts to hear. All women do that. She is also very dramatic
April 9, 2009 at 6:36 am
I think that she makes too many misstakes that could have cost them their secrecy.
April 9, 2009 at 9:04 am
I think that she is just like other women she dreams and talks about guys just like most women do. She likes that romeo is very romantic and im shore that most girls like romantic guys.
April 9, 2009 at 12:52 pm
I think that Juliet is like most teenagers in the fact that she obsesses about something for the longest time, and she changes his words so that he will say what she wants him to. However, I do not think that most people these days get married on the spot before getting to know the person. I think that Shakespeare does not accurately represent women. He makes them seem to over dramatic.
April 9, 2009 at 1:03 pm
I think that Juliet is a very get to the point type of person also she always asks who people are and never asks the person directly, so she is insecure. Juliet also loves Romeo, A LOT. The way as Mrs.Gu says the come back- leave, come back leave.
April 9, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Juliet has shown that she is very intelligent and quick witted during the scene in which she first meets Romeo. In Juliet’s case Shakespeare seems to have been entirely fair towards women. However, some of his prejudice is revealed in other character’s lines.