Who are the families in Romeo and Juliet?

In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare presents two families to the audience: the Montagues and the Capulets. These two families, despite their similarities, despise each other and continually battle. The conflict between the two families is almost presented to be natural until Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet fall in love. It is here that everything changes. When Romeo and Juliet die, both families apologise for their behaviour and vow to honour each other, thus remembering their children's unjust deaths.

Within the families, there are relationships which contribute to Romeo and Juliet's tragic deaths.

How is the theme of family presented in Romeo and Juliet?

In Romeo and Juliet the Capulet and Montague families are presented as:

• similar to each other
• warring against each other
• apologetic and repenting for their past behaviour

Analysing the evidence

Thou wast the prettiest babe that e'er I nursed.

An I might live to see thee married once,

How does Shakespeare present the Nurse's feelings towards Juliet in this quotation?

NURSE: "Thou wast the prettiest babe that e'er I nursed. An I might live to see thee married once, I have my wish."

• "prettiest" - the Nurse is declaring Juliet as the "prettiest" of all the babes she has ever nursed. This shows how the Nurse favourites Juliet and her beauty.
• "I nursed" - this indicates that Juliet and the Nurse have a special connection, as it was the Nurse who nursed Juliet - she breast-fed her and made sure she was healthy through her early years.
• "I have my wish" - this shows that the Nurse wishes for Juliet's happiness, putting Juliet's happiness before her own.