Lord Capulet Flashcards
“O brother Montague, give me thy hand.” Act 5 Scene 3”
At the dramatic climax of the play where both the Montagues and Capulets become to know of Romeo and Juliet’s death, the feud between both families seems to be settled which was first foreshadowed in the prologue.
“My child is yet a stranger in the world.”
Act 2 Scene 1
The personal pronoun “my” emphasises Lord Capulet’s possessiveness over Juliet. Furthermore, the fact that he doesn’t mention Juliet’s name but rather calls him his “child” further reinforces the impression of possessiveness; one could argue that Lord Capulet merely views his daughter as his own property and possession as this is what was expected of him living in a patriarchal society.
On the other hand, his possessive language could be employed by Shakespeare as an expression of Capulet’s love and concern for his child. Thus, this quote may not be just an expression of his possessiveness and authority, but rather it could alternatively show the audience how Capulet actually cares for his child and is willing to protect him from the dangers of the “world”.
“Disobedient wretch!”
Act 3 Scene 1
This epithet created through the adjective “Disobedient” used to describe Juliet illuminates how cruelly Juliet is treated by her father and further reinforces the impression that he views Juliet as mere property.
“Hang, beg, starve, die in the streets, for by my soul I’ll ne’er acknowledge thee”
Act 3 Scene 5
The asyndetic listing here emphasises the idea that Capulet is becoming increasingly erratic and distraught as Juliet continues to disobey him.
The harsh terms “hang” “beg”, “starve”, and “die” agglomerate to create a semantic field of death which further reinforces the impression that Capulet is a bad father and is concerned more by reputation and honour than he is concerned for his own daughter’s life. Particularly, the term “hang” would have perhaps shocked the Elizabethan audience because a hanging only usually occurred in the case where a crime had been committed. In this way, it is as if Lord Capulet views Juliet as a criminal for going against his orders, which again reinforces the impression that Juliet is trapped by the patriarchal, abusive views of her father.
“Flower as she was, deflowered by him.”
Act 5 Scene 3
The symbol of the flower could connote ideas of purity, fragility and gentleness. In this way, by viewing Juliet as a flower that had then been “deflowered” Shakespeare implicitly employs sexual imagery as when Capulet says that Juliet had been “deflowered” by Romeo he could be referring to the act of him taking her virginity. Therefore, Lord Capulet can no longer view his daughter as pure and fragile as she once was.
“Tybalt you saucy boy-“
Dash shows fragmented speech as Capulet attempt so maintain his well behaved façade while also trying to chide Tybalt
His dismissal of Romeo’s attendance to the ball represents his attempt to maintain a good image with Paris- something that Tybalt doesn’t understand.
