Capulet Flashcards
Act 1, Scene 1
“What noise is this? […] long sword”
Lord Capulet asking “what noise” the brawl outlines his unawareness of the origins of the violence, yet he still instantly requests a weapon to take part in the battle. A “long sword” is an outdated weapon used in older generations. Not only does this accurately depict his zeal for violence, but it implicitly reveals his old age, creating a generational divide between the old Capulets and Montagues and the new Capulets and Montagues and reminding the audience that the feud between the families is “ancient”.
First lines of Act 1, Scene 2:
“bound […] in penalty alike”
Both Lord Capulet and Lord Montague are “bound […] in penalty alike”, meaning that they will both face the same punishment if another brawl occurs, irrespective of the instigator. This was put in place by Prince Escalus to restore peace in Verona. The irony is not lost on the audience – Capulet was given many prior opportunities.
Act 1, Scene 2
“Earth hath swallow’d all my hopes but she;”
“My will to her consent is but a part […] within her scope of choice”
Lord Capulet sheds a light on infant mortality rates in the late sixteenth century by mentioning that “Eart hath swallow’d” all of his “hopes”, or his children, except for Juliet. His allusion to his late children evokes a poignant tone to his words when talking about marrying Juliet off – he does not want to lose her too soon as he will have nobody else left.
For reasons likely linked to this, treating her as his special daughter, his wish for her desirable suitor is “but a part” of the choice that she makes, overtly revealing that he respects her opinion “within [his] scope of choice” and giving her partial freedom to pick her future husband. Due to this, Lord Capulet is presented as a progressive, thoughtful father who cares about his only daughter’s wants and needs.
(He changes his stance later in the play when he feels as if he is being disobeyed.)
Act 1, Scene 5 (1)
“Content thee, gentle coz, let him alone”
“Verona brags of him to be a virtuous and well-govern’d youth”
At the beginning of the interaction between Lord Capulet and Tybalt, when the topic of Romeo comes up, Capulet asks Tybalt to “content”, or calm himself, and to “let him alone”. Due to the obvious irony to the audience of Lord Capulet having joined the brawl in Act 1, Scene 1, the prevention of a fight outbreaking at the party is to maintain the Capulet family reputation – the party cannot be ruined by violence.
His potentially surprising claim that the town “brags” of Romeo to be “virtuous and well-govern’d” serves to shock the audience, making them question his intentions of the draw of blood between the Montague and Capulet households when he recognises that the Montagues are respectable people, who should be treated as well as the Capulets.
(This makes Lord Capulet’s reaction to Juliet rejecting Paris more shocking.)
Act 1, Scene 5 (2)
“He shall be endured”
“saucy boy”
“I’ll make you quiet, what!”
Lord Capulet interprets Tybalt’s defiant response as a challenge to his authority, which he is not used to being questioned about – this is partially due to the patriarchal Shakespearean society that existed, with rigid social norms and the “man of the house” managing the entire family. A negative response is not accepted – his nephew must listen to his instructions because Romeo “shall be endured”.
With this disrespect, Capulet condemns his nephew as a “saucy boy”, who is impudent and does not respect others. Between their tense dialogue, Capulet finalises his lecture with a threat: “I’ll make you quiet, what!”. Ostensibly, the quotation may reference his ability to silence Tybalt and disregard his opinion, though the likely second impression is to permanently make him “quiet”, which is equivalent to killing his own nephew.
