Rosemary Clark

Professor Attie
English 428
October 1, 2014
Caterina Benini
Borgata Ponte, 29
Murialdo (SV)
17013
Italy
Interruptions
Throughout the greater part of the play, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare,
lovers are broken up while they speak privately. These interruptions are used to stand for the
divisions that exist between the intimate world of romance, and the social world of family ties
and community obligations. In the case of Romeo and Juliet, the interruptions serve as a
reminder that the lovers are letting go of the responsibility that they have in their families and
communities. Since the Capulet family and the Montague family are enemies, any sort of
romantic contact between Romeo and Juliet is forbidden. When they first meet each other at the
party, the nurse stops their conversation, and makes Juliet leave. The second time they meet on
the balcony, the nurse unintentionally intrudes upon the lovers secret conversation. And lastly,
after Romeo and Juliet spend the night together, the nurse dispenses with their high spirits by
announcing that Juliets mother approaches. Each interruption that occurs during the private,
romantic moments involving Romeo and Juliet is an attempt to remind them of the obligations
they have toward their family.
When Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time, Romeo is intruding upon a Capulet family
party; even though he knows that as a Montague he is not wanted. There, he meets Juliet, and
falls in love with her immediately. Juliet and Romeo flirt with one another, and exchange kisses.

After the second kiss, Juliets nurse breaks in and says, Madam, your mother craves a word with
you (1.5 109). Then, after Juliet departs, her nurse tells Romeo that he is in love with a Capulet.
By interrupting Romeo and Juliet, the nurse brings the lovers back to reality. By informing
Romeo that Juliet is a Capulet, the nurse breaks into the romantic atmosphere, reminding him of
his family name and responsibilities. Afterwards, Romeo states that, My life is my foes debt
(1.5 115). By loving Juliet, he puts himself at the mercy of the Capulet family. Romeo realizes
that because Juliet is a Capulet, the love they share is dangerous and not befitting them socially.
Juliet elaborates, saying that her only love is sprung from her only hate (1.5 135).
Instead of heeding his own warning, Romeo decides to visit Juliet at her house later that
night. They are in the middle of exchanging their vows of undying and unchanging love, when
the nurse breaks in, calling for Juliet. The nurse breaks the two out of their reverie, and Juliet
goes inside for a moment. When the nurse cries out, Juliet is in the middle of a thought about her
love for Romeo, and she is so startled that she never finishes her thought. The nurse, who
represents the societal commitments that Romeo and Juliet have, reminds the lovers of their
place in the world. The nurse cries from within twice more, both times while Juliet is asking
Romeo to marry her. The increased frequency of the interruptions split Juliets lines in which she
proposes to Romeo. It is almost if subliminally, the nurse is trying to stop words from leaving
Juliets lips. Even though the nurse cries are breaking into Romeo and Juliets private romantic
sphere, the couples do not allow themselves to consider the other obligations they have to their
family and their community. As a young woman in this era, Juliet should have been more
concerned with who her father would want her to marry. Instead, she places the desire and love
she feels for Romeo above all other obligations.

Lastly, the third time that an interruption occurs is in Juliets bedroom, after the lovers
sleep together. Romeo, unwilling to part from Juliet, lingers for too long in her room. As the sun
begins to raise, the nurse rushes in once again, and announces that Lady and Lord Capulet will
be arriving shortly. Although it is the nurse that makes Romeo leave quickly, in truth, it is Lady
Capulet who completely shatters the romantic ideas of Juliet. Lady Capulet brings with her the
news that Juliet will be marrying Paris on the next Thursday. Juliet protests, but realizes how
serious her parents are when her father rebukes her saying, as you be mine, Ill give you to my
friend. / and you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets, / For, by my soul, Ill neer
acknowledge thee This, coupled with the banishment of Romeo, brings to Juliet the full
hopelessness of her situation. In putting her romantic interests above all else, Juliet effectively
ostracizes herself from her family. The interruption of her parents serves to remind Juliet of the
family obligations that she has decided to ignore.
In their death scene, there is no one to interrupt Romeo and Juliet, and to remind them of
the responsibilities they have toward their families and friends. Because of this, the lovers remain
in their passionate, romantic sphere, and end up killing themselves. In the tomb where they die,
they are fully encapsulated by their love. Almost immediately after Juliet stabs herself, someone
enters into the tomb. The page says that Juliet [is] bleeding, warm, and newly dead (5.3 174).
If there had been someone there to interrupt them, and tell them of the family they would be
leaving behind, it is possible that neither would have died.
When Romeo and Juliet have a tendency to become so involved in each other that they
forget all else. Throughout the play, it is the responsibility of the nurse, and a few select others, to
bring the lovers back to the present. When Juliet is first flirting with Romeo, it is the nurse who
shatters the conversation. The nurse is solely responsible for telling both Romeo and Juliet that

their families are mortal enemies. Later, when Romeo and Juliet meet on the balcony, it is again
the nurse who severs the bond between the two. Unknowingly, the nurse breaks the lovers
private intimate circle, and although she doesnt mention the families, she is a constant reminder.
And lastly, Lady Capulet interrupts Romeo and Juliets secret tryst together with the news that
Juliet will soon be marrying another man. As a young woman, she should obey her parents. Both
Romeo and Juliet place their personal desires higher on their list of priorities than anything else.
Although they both care for their families, love comes first for both. Each interruption that
occurs during the private, romantic moments involving Romeo and Juliet is an attempt to remind
them of the obligations they have toward their family.