How does Juliet characterize the night and its importance to lovers in her soliloquy

Act 3, scene 2 Juliet delivers a soliloquy expressing her anticipation for nighttime and the consummation of her marriage. The nurse enters bemoaning the death of an unnamed man, and Juliet, in the belief that Romeo has been killed, imagines she will die herself. The nurse reveals that Romeo has killed Tybalt and has been banished, and Juliet alternately curses and defends Romeo. The nurse promises to find Romeo and bring him to comfort Juliet.

• How does Juliet characterize the night and its importance to lovers in her soliloquy?

• Why does Shakespeare delay Juliet’s learning who has been killed? What is the dramatic effect?

• How does Juliet compare Tybalt’s death and Romeo’s banishment? How does this development affect her identity in relation to these men?

romeo_and_juliet_reading_guide