Lord Capulet Flashcards
My child is yet a stranger in the world
The personal pronoun ‘my’ emphasises Lord Capulet’s possessiveness over Juliet. This is further reinforced by the fact that he does not mention her name instead referring to her as his ‘child’. It could be argued that he merely views Juliet as his own property and possession, which was what was expected in a patriarchal society. However, his possessive language could have also been employed as an expression of his love and concern for her, perhaps showing that he actually cares and is willing to protect her from the dangers of the world
Disobedient wretch
The epithet created through the adjective ‘disobedient’ illustrates how cruelly Juliet is treated by her father and further reinforces the impression that he views her as mere property
Hang, beg, starve, die in the streets, for by my soul I’ll ne’er acknowledge thee
The asyndetic listing emphasises the idea that Capulet is becoming increasingly erratic and distraught as Juliet continues to disobey him. The harsh verbs create a semantic field of death which further reinforces the impression that Capulet is a bad father, more concerned by his own reputation and honour than by his own daughter’s life. The word ‘hang’ in particular would have shocked Elizabethan audiences as it implies she has done something criminal by going against his orders
Flower, as she was, deflowered by him
The symbol of the ‘flower’ has connotations of purity, fragility and gentleness. In addition, Shakespeare employs sexual imagery by referring to her as being ‘deflowered by him’. Therefore, it is implied that Capulet can no longer view his daughter as the pure and fragile being she once was
O brother Montague give me thy hand
At the dramatic climax of the play, the feud between the 2 families seems to come to an end as first foreshadowed by the prologue
And too soon marr’d are those so early made. The earth hath swallow’d all my hopes but she,
Capulet argues that those married so young are ruined and disfigured by it, hence his hesitance to marry off Juliet. “Earth” refers to nature, and “my hopes” are his children. Capulet and Lady Capulet had children before Juliet, but all of them died. This is obviously the reason why he’s so protective of her–she’s all he’s got left. All of Capulet’s other children were literally swallow’d by Earth. (they are underground in a grave).
But woo her, gentle Paris, get her heart,
My will to her consent is but a part;
During this time period, it was customary for one’s parents to arrange a marriage, especially in the upper class and royalty like the Montague and Capulet families. However, Capulet is letting his daughter have a bigger part in making a life choice. Therefore, Capulet is shown as a very caring and quite progressive father
Have you deliver’d to her our decree?
The word ‘decree’ is significant because it makes it seem that Capulet’s words are the law and that Juliet can’t do anything about it. When the play was set, breaking the law could get you hanged which makes it seem like Lord Capulet is certain that Juliet won’t say no to his request out of pure fear. Lord Capulet uses the word ‘decree’ to make Juliet fearful of stepping out of line and to torment his daughter into submission.
‘Proud,’ and ‘I thank you,’ and ‘I thank you not;’
And yet ‘not proud,’
Lord Capulet is mimicking Juliet in a sarcastic way as he is in disbelief that Juliet would defy him. At this time, women were seen as their father or husbands property and therefore were never allowed to disobey their wishes, which is why Lord Capulet seems speechless.
Welcome, gentlemen!
Lord Capulet is shown to be quite welcoming and hostly but also very concerned with public appearances. He cares more about the impression he gives to other people rather than how he actually treats his own family
He shall be endured:
Capulet wants the night to be peaceful, so he’s willing to let Romeo stay, even if it does mean tolerating a Montague. The uses of imperatives and personal pronouns shows he is the the head of the family and has a strong sense of authority
