Theme 4: Family (Loyalty) Flashcards
- Tybalt sees Romeo at Capulet ball (A1S5)
“To strike him dead I hold it not a sin.”
• What: Tybalt believes killing Romeo is justified by loyalty to family
• How:
• **Religious lexis “sin” = elevates feud to sacred duty
• Declarative tone = unshakable allegiance
• **Alliteration “strike…sin” = sharp aggression
• **Juxtaposition of violence with piety = moral contradiction
• Why: Loyalty to name overrides law or morality → family honour = violence
• Character: Tybalt
• Themes: family loyalty, honour, conflict, fate
- Capulet insists Tybalt stand down (A1S5)
“Am I the master here, or you?”
• What: Asserts his authority as family patriarch
• How:
• **Rhetorical question = reasserts hierarchy
• **Juxtaposition: “master” vs “you” = generational power struggle
• **Tone = condescending, performative
• **Structural role: order imposed temporarily over chaos
• Why: Loyalty isn’t uniform → fractures within family power structures
• Character: Lord Capulet
• Themes: family loyalty, generational divide, honour
- Montague worried about Romeo’s withdrawal (A1S1)
“Could we but learn from whence his sorrows grow…”
• What: Shows concern for Romeo’s inner turmoil
• How:
• **Subjunctive “could we but learn” = helplessness
• **Organic metaphor “grow” = emotions as rootless burden
• **Soft tone contrasts Capulet’s aggression
• **Lexical field of confusion = emotional distance
• Why: Family loyalty expressed through emotional detachment → well-meaning but passive
• Character: Lord Montague
• Themes: family loyalty, youth, generational divide
- Romeo refusing Tybalt’s challenge (A3S1)
“I do protest I never injur’d thee, / But love thee better than thou canst devise.”
• What: Romeo rejects family loyalty for love of Juliet
• How:
• **Dramatic irony → audience knows they are now kin
• **“Protest” = formal peace declaration → defuses tension
• **Antithesis “injured” / “love” = personal loyalty vs inherited feud
• **Polite tone → foreshadows misinterpretation
• Why: Personal love overrules inherited hate → reshapes idea of family
• Character: Romeo
• Themes: family loyalty, love vs hate, honour
- Juliet hears Romeo killed Tybalt (A3S2)
“Shall I speak ill of him that is my husband?”
• What: Torn between cousin and husband
• How:
• **Rhetorical question = internal war of loyalties
• **Juxtaposition “ill” / “husband” = morality vs love
• **Tone = confused, distressed
• **Caesura in delivery = broken thoughts
• Why: Loyalty to bloodline clashes with romantic commitment
• Character: Juliet
• Themes: family loyalty, love/relationships, conflict
- Lady Capulet calls for Romeo’s execution (A3S1)
“Romeo slew Tybalt; Romeo must not live.”
• What: Demands justice through family revenge
• How:
• **Repetition of “Romeo” = fixation on offender
• **Simple declarative = moral absolutism
• **Lack of nuance = dehumanises the situation
• **Tonal flatness = emotion suppressed by honour
• Why: Family loyalty blinds logic → reinforces cycle of vengeance
• Character: Lady Capulet
• Themes: family loyalty, conflict, fate
- Capulet on Juliet’s ‘death’ (A4S5)
“O child! My soul, and not my child!”
• What: Mourns loss of Juliet
• How:
• **Paradox “soul…not my child” = grief disorients identity
• **Religious imagery = elevates Juliet to spiritual level
• **Repetition “O child!” = emotional breakdown
• **Exclamative tone = genuine paternal love finally visible
• Why: Love revealed too late → loyalty replaced by regret
• Character: Lord Capulet
• Themes: family loyalty, death, generational divide
- Montague reveals Lady Montague’s death (A5S3)
“Grief of my son’s exile hath stopp’d her breath.”
• What: Lady Montague dies from heartbreak over Romeo
• How:
• **Euphemism “stopp’d her breath” = gentle portrayal of death
• **Lexical focus on “grief” = emotional, not violent cost
• **Passive construction = helplessness against fate
• **Contrast with public chaos → private loss
• Why: Family bonds have real cost → loyalty is both strength and weakness
• Character: Montague
• Themes: family loyalty, death, fate
- Capulet and Montague reconcile (A5S3)
“O brother Montague, give me thy hand.”
• What: Offers peace through shared grief
• How:
• **Symbolic gesture “give me thy hand” = breaking feud
• **Vocative “brother” = redefinition of family beyond blood
• **Short sentence = solemn sincerity
• **Irony → only death can restore peace
• Why: Tragic cost of blind loyalty to name → true family forged in loss
• Character: Capulet
• Themes: family loyalty, love vs hate, honour
