Romeo and Juliet Act 1, Scene 3 Summary

At the Capulet house, Juliet's mother, Lady Capulet, comes in to tell her daughter about Paris's proposal.
But Juliet's nurse (whose name, conveniently enough, is "Nurse") first delivers a long, semi-bawdy speech about Juliet's infancy and toddler years. Her rambling, tangent of a speech reveals the following information: the Nurse had a baby named Susan who was about Juliet's age but, sadly, she died. The Nurse is not only Juliet's nanny but she was also her wet-nurse. When it was time to "wean" (stop breastfeeding) Juliet, the Nurse put "wormwood" on her breast. (Wormwood is a disgustingly bitter plant extract.) Also, Juliet once fell down and cut her forehead when she was little, which the Nurse's late husband thought was hilarious – so hilarious that he turned the accident into a dirty joke about how Juliet would eventually grow up and then fall down (on her back) and have sex with a guy.
Lady Capulet eventually cuts her off and tells her to "hold her peace." [Apparently, Lady Capulet doesn't think the Nurse is as fabulous as literary scholar Harold Bloom does. Bloom once wrote that this "exuberantly realized" character is one of the main reasons why "Romeo and Juliet matters, as a play" ("An Essay by Harold Bloom," in Romeo and Juliet, 2004).]
Lady Capulet unloads the news that Paris has been sniffing around for Juliet's hand in marriage.
Juliet is unimpressed.
Lady Capulet tells Juliet to check out Paris at the party that night. He'll be the oh-so-dreamy guy all the other girls are swooning over.
Peter, the servant, enters to announce that guests are beginning to arrive for the big bash.

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