Exploring Lady Capulet and the Nurse’s views on marriage in Act 1, Scene 3
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how Shakespeare presents the Nurse and Lady Capulet’s views on marriage in Act 1, Scene 3 of ‘Romeo and Juliet’.
Key learning points
- ‘Romeo and Juliet’ was written when society was patriarchal - men were in control.
- Women would have been expected to obey their parents’ wishes in terms of their marriage.
- Lady Capulet and the Nurse suggest that motherhood is an expected part of marriage.
- Lady Capulet’s metaphor of women as a “cover” suggests that women’s role in marriage is limited to outward appearance.
- Juliet appears to suggest that she will be obedient to her parents’ wishes in terms of her marriage.
Keywords
Patriarchal - relating to or denoting a system of society or government controlled by men
Bawdiness - the quality of involving funny remarks about sex
Obedient - doing, or willing to do, what you have been told to do by someone in authority
Conform - to behave according to the usual standards of behaviour that are expected by a group or society
Intertwined - closely connected so as to be difficult to separate
Common misconception
That women were slaves in patriarchal societies.
While women had less legal power in patriarchal societies, they could still be very influential and powerful.
Teacher tip
If you have time, it might be useful to consider the idea of Romeo and Juliet both having first lines that are questions - how does it feed into ideas of uncertainty and the idea of them coming together and becoming 'whole'?
Equipment
You may wish to have a copy of Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' for this lesson.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sexual content
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.In Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet', Juliet marries Romeo ...
Q2.Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' was written in which era?
Q3.'A figure of speech that involves comparing two things using the verb "to be"' is the definition of a .
Q4.'Doing, or willing to do, what you have been told to do by someone in authority' is the definition of which of the following?
Q5.'To behave according to the usual standards of behaviour that are expected by a group or society' is the definition of which of the following?
Q6.'Relating to or denoting a system of society or government controlled by men' is the definition of which of the following?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.In Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet', Lady Capulet's first line is “Nurse, where’s my daughter? Call her forth to me.” This implies which of the following?
Q2.In Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet', Juliet says she will "look to " Count Paris.
Q3.'Closely connected so as to be difficult to separate' is the definition of which of the following?
Q4.In Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet', when Juliet says “But no more deep will I endart mine eye / Than your consent gives strength to make it fly", she suggests that she will ...
Q5.'The quality of involving funny remarks about sex' is the definition of which word beginning with 'b'?
Q6.In Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet', Lady Capulet's comparison of women's role in marriage to a book "cover" implies which of the following?
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Exploring Lady Capulet and the Nurse’s views on marriage in Act 1, Scene 3, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Exploring Lady Capulet and the Nurse’s views on marriage in Act 1, Scene 3, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 English lessons from the Romeo and Juliet: exploring the role of love and fate unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.