Romeo and Juliet are secretly married, between Acts 2 and
3, and the Nurse and Friar Laurence, who performs the rite, are the only ones who know
about it.
Friar Laurence's ultimate goal, in marrying Romeo
and Juliet, is to end the feud between the Montagues and the
Capulets:
In
one respect I'll thy assistant be;For this alliance may so
happy proveTo turn your households' rancor to pure
love.
He recognizes Romeo's
sudden change of heart (he was miserable because of his unrequited love for Rosaline,
then forgot about her as soon as he saw Juliet), and cautions him to "love moderately,"
advising, "Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast." In a haunting example of
foreshadowing, just before the marriage ceremony, Friar Laurence
says,
These
violent delights have violent endsAnd in their triumph
die, like fire and powderwhich as they kiss
consume.
Juliet's Nurse, who
is the only other character aware of the relationship between Romeo and Juliet (she was
a messenger between Romeo and Juliet, and essentially arranged for Juliet to go to
church to be married), loses Juliet's confidence once Capulet announces that Juliet will
marry Paris:
readability="10">
I think it bese you married with the
County.
O, he's a lovely
gentleman!
Romeo's a dishclout to
him.
Though the Nurse has
good intentions in counseling Juliet (especially since Romeo has been banished for
killing Tybalt, and presumably Juliet won't be able to see him anymore), Juliet sees her
stance as a betrayal. From this point, Juliet does not include her nurse in any plans
that concern Romeo (specifically, her plan to take a sleeping potion that will make her
appear dead).
The result of this "conspiracy" is obviously
the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. At the same time, though, the Capulets and Montague
have vowed to end the ancient feud they've been engaged in for so many
years.
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