Romeo and Juliet Play/Story

Chapter four

——(LADY CAPULET and the NURSE are talking.)——

LADY CAPULET
Nurse, where's my daughter. Tel her to come to me.

NURSE (🤪—she's crazy...)
I swear to you by my virginity at age twelve, I already told her to come. Come on! Where is she? What is she doing? What, Juliet!!!

JULIET
Madam, I'm here. What do you want?

LADY CAPULET
I'll tel you what's the matter—Nurse, leave us alone for a little while we must talk in privately—Nurse, come back here. I just remembered, you can listen to our secrets, you know how young my daughter is.

NURSE
Yes, I know her age down to the hour.

LADY CAPULET
She's fourteen.

NURSE
I'd bet fourteen of my own teeth—but, I'm sorry to say, I only have four teeth—she's not fourteen. How long?

LADY CAPULET
Two weeks and a few odd days.

NURSE (cuckoo bitch)
Whether it's even or odd, of all the days in the year? I'm the ninth of Lammas Eve, she'll be fourteen. She and Susan—God rest her and all souls—were born on the same day.

Well Susan died and is with God. She was too good for me...but like I said, I'm the night of Lammas Eve, she will be fourteen. Yes, she will. Indeed, I remember it well. It's been eleven years since the earthquake. She stopped nursing from me on that very day. I'll never forget it. As I was sitting in the sun, under the wall of the dove house...you and your husband were in Mantua. Boy, do I have some memory!

But like I said, when she tasted the bitter wormwood, the pretty little babe got irritated. Then the dove house shook with the earthquake. There was no need to tell me to get out of there. That was eleven years ago. By then she could stand up all by herself. No, I swear, by that time she could run and waddle all around. I remember because she had cut her forehead just the day before.

My husband—God rest his soul, he was a happy man—picked up the child. "Oh," he said, "Did you fall on your face? You'll fall backwards when you grow smarter. Won't you, Jule." And I dear, the poor pretty thing stopped crying and said, "Yes." Oh, to watch a joke come true! I bet it I life a thousand years, I'll never forget it. "Won't you Jule," he said. And the pretty food stopped crying and said, "Yes."

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 big bump on her forehead as hug as a roosters 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 don't talking. May Hod choose you to receive his grace. You we're the prettiest baby I ever nursed, if I live to see you get married someday, all my wishes 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
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 the wisdom from whom fed you.

LADY CAPULET
Well, start thinking about marriage now. Here I'm Verona there are girls younger than you—girls from noble families—who have already become mothers. By my count, I was already your but 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 manic young lady. He's as great a man as any in the whole world. He's as perfect as if he was sculpted from wax.

LADY CAPULET
Summertime I'm 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' fave 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. Ride 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 making them pregnant.

LADY CAPULET
(to JULIET) Give us a quick answer. Can you accept Paris' love?

JULIET
(sighs) 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.

——(PETER walks in on the three having a discussion.)——

PETER
Madam, the guests are here, dinner is served, people are calling for you, people have asked for Juliet, and in the pantry, people are curing the Nurse. Everything's out of control. I must go and serve the guests. Please, follow straight after me.

LADY CAPULET
Well follow you.
Juliet, the count is writing for you.

NURSE
Go, girl, look for a man who'll give you happy nights at the end of happy days.

***
A/N: if anyone wants to know, Paris is 29. It's disgusting, but that's what happens in the play unfortunately. But at least she doesn't end up with him...I mean she doesn't end up with anyone bc she's six feet under...