In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare presents Juliet as a crucial role in the text. Throughout the play, Shakespeare allows the audience to watch the character develop from a wide-eyed girl to a confident young woman in a short amount of time. The nurse mentions in both the film and the book that Juliet is "not fourteen". How long until Lammastide now?” insinuating that Juliet is thirteen years old. The fact that the nurse is aware of Juliet's young age and her mother is not infers that the nurse is more responsible for Juliet's growth than the mother. This idea is supported in the film directed by Franco Zeffirelli, in the third scene of the first act, where the nurse holds Juliet in a warm embrace as if she were her daughter. The concept of a child from a rich, aristocratic family being raised by staff would be understandable and quite common. However, to a modern audience, even though we live in an age with caregivers and babysitters, it would be seen as absurd for a mother to not know her child's birth date and elicit sympathy for said child. A child of about twenty years old, Giulietta has an age that lies on the border between immaturity and maturity. This is evident from her first appearance in scene three of the first act, where she is portrayed as an obedient and protected girl. Zeffirelli enhances this youthful aspect by casting an actress with a youthful glow. In her first entrance, Juliet runs to answer her mother's call with light and friendly music playing in the background, which enhances the scene, allowing the audience to initially see Juliet as sweet and cheerful. While one might concede that music would have been used in the play as well, it would not have been used as effectively... middle of paper... as the film. This can be identified as a tactic by Zeffirelli, used in an attempt to strengthen the feeling of love between the main characters, as it allows the audience to see Juliet as nothing but certain that she loves Romeo. This is one of the most negative aspects of the film, as when asked to list Juliet's most important qualities, her determination, maturity and tactful attitude are all key aspects. However, the character's vulnerability and immaturity are also key attributes and could be perceived as the characteristics responsible for allowing Juliet to gain the strength needed to end her life. As a result, eliminating these traits from the film prevents the audience from gaining a clear understanding of why a confident young woman like Juliet would end her life for another, diminishing the impact and dramatic effect that suicide creates.