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What happens in Act 1, Scene 3 of Romeo and Juliet?
The Nurse tells raunchy anecdotes to Juliet and Lady Capulet until Juliet tells her to stop. Lady Capulet asks Juliet to consider Paris as a potential husband.
Read our Summary & Analysis of Act 1, Scene 3. (4-minute read)
What important characters are introduced in Act 1, Scene 3?
Juliet, a title character and protagonist, and her Nurse are introduced in Scene 3. The other important character in the scene is Lady Capulet, who we saw briefly in Scene 1.
Read our in-depth Character Analysis of Juliet. (3-minute read)
Read our in-depth Character Analysis of the Nurse. (2-minute read)
Read our in-depth Character Analysis of Lady Capulet. (2-minute read)
Who are the key women characters in Romeo and Juliet?
There are three key women characters in the play—the same three characters who are the focus of this scene: Juliet, Lady Capulet (her biological mother), and her Nurse (and surrogate mother). In fact, as is discussed further in the Analysis part of our Summary & Analysis discussion of it, Scene 3 serves as a crucial introduction to the interpersonal relationships shared by the three women.
In this scene, Lady Capulet comes across a superficial and uncertain mother who has clearly delegated most of the work of raising her daughter to the Nurse. Our first encounter with the Nurse has her telling a wildly inappropriate sexual story to Juliet and her mother. But while the Nurse may be a coarse person, Juliet’s implicitly knowing and tender interactions with her suggest that it was the Nurse rather than Lady Capulet that nurtured young Juliet.
Read explanations of two revealing quotes by the Nurse in Act 1, Scene 3. (2-minute read)
How can I find the most important quotes in each scene of Romeo and Juliet?
Quotes are crucial in studying Shakespeare’s plays, and SparkNotes guides offer multiple resources to help you understand them. Some of these features track quotes by type—for instance, Quotes by Character (such as The Nurse) or Quotes by Theme (such as The Tragedy of Dying Young). Our Quotes by Scene feature, however, tracks all the important quotes in the play by scene for each of Romeo and Juliet’s 26 scenes. Explanations are offered for each quote, and if the quote also appears in any of our other quote resources, links to those are included.
Read explanations of four important quotes in Act 1, Scene 3. (4-mintue read)
