In Romeo and Juliet, what is the importance of Juliet's ring?

's ring is
mentioned three times in . First, in act 3, scene 2, Juliet's nurse offers to find . He has been
banished from Verona for killing . Romeo and Juliet were married, but they have not had their
wedding night together. Juliet's statements hint that she will kill herself: "Death, not
Romeo, take my maidenhead." The nurse knows Romeo is hiding at 's, so she says she'll go
get him and bring him to "comfort" Juliet before he leaves town. Juliet gives the
nurse her ring to give to Romeo. This would serve as a guarantee to Romeo that the nurse is
acting on Juliet's behalf, not on behalf of Lord or , whom she works for. They, of course, would
have other reasons for summoning Romeonamely to take revenge on him. They believed he should
have been sentenced to death, not simply banishment.

In act 3, scene 3, the
nurse arrives at Friar Lawrence's and speaks with Romeo. She gives him Juliet's ring, and he is
cheered by it, saying, "How well my comfort is revived by this!"

In
the scene where Romeo and Juliet spend the night together before he leaves Verona, the ring is
not mentioned. It is very possible Romeo gives it back to her at that point because when he
returns to Verona, to the tomb where Juliet lies, he tellsthat the reason he is entering the
tomb is to have one last look at Juliet's face but also to remove the ring from her finger. It
is possible that this is just a ruse to hide his true intentionsuicidefrom Balthasar.

In these three instances, Juliet's ring has two purposes: first, to assure Romeo that
Juliet wants to see him before he leaves Verona, and second, to mislead Balthasar about Romeo's
true reason for entering Juliet's tomb.