At this point in the play, Lady Capulet enters, appearing to be in a cheery and caring mood. She asks,
‘Why, how now, Juliet?’
Juliet replies, ‘Madam I am not well’
When she says that she is not well, it is because she longs to be with her husband, and also she fears for his life.
Lady Capulet misinterprets this and thinks that Juliet is weeping for Tybalt, her cousin, who was murdered the night before by Romeo. Juliet’s mother is very unaffectionate here, as she says to Juliet who is obviously deeply upset,
‘ What, wilt thou wash him from his grave with tears?
An if thou coulds’t thou coulds’t not make him live;
Therefore have done; some grief shows much love, but much of grief shows still some want of wit.’
I think that Lady Capulet is already quite cold and distant from her daughter and her feelings. Also I think she is being impatient with Juliet so that she can overcome Juliet’s mournfulness so that she is prepared for her marriage, which she is yet to find out a bout. She then says to Juliet,
‘Well girl, thou weeps’t not so much for his death,
As for that the villain lives which slaughter’d him.’
The “villain” is Juliet’s new husband, I think that Juliet will be quite upset about what her mother had just said, even though she knows that she is partially right.
Juliet replies to her mother, ‘Villain and he be many miles asunder. God pardon him! I do, with all my heart,
And yet no man like he doth grieve my heart.’
Lady Capulet misunderstands what Juliet says throughout this scene, I think she doesn’t listen to her daughter as she is more concerned for herself. Another way in which she misunderstands what Juliet really says is when Lady Capulet says that she would have Romeo killed in revenge for Tybalts death, Juliet then says,
‘Indeed I never shall be satisfied,
With Romeo till I behold him - dead –
Is my poor hear so for a kinsman vex’d,
Madam if you could find out but a man, To bear a poison,
I would temper it, That Romeo should upon receipt thereof,
Soon sleep in quiet. Oh how my heart abhors,
To hear him – To wreak the love I bore my cousin Tybalt, Upon his body that hath slaughter’d him!’
Juliet is very clever in her use of language that she fools her mother into believing that she doesn’t love or even like Romeo. The way which she tells it to her mother sounds like she is saying, “ Indeed I never shall be satisfied with Romeo till I behold him dead.” Yet what she really feels is hidden and she really says, “ Indeed I never shall be satisfied, with Romeo till I behold him,
Dead is my poor heart.”
As Juliet is still upset, Lady Capulet thinks that she can help cheer her up as Juliet’s father has prepared for her to be married within one week. Juliet is even more upset and angered by the news. She tells her mother, ‘I will not marry yet; and when I do I swear, It shall be Romeo whom you know I hate, Rather than Paris!’
Lady Capulet will be very shocked and somewhat disgusted at her daughters spoilt behaviour. In Elizabethan times, children were expected to obey the orders of their parents and respect them fully. In those times, marriage was not for love, but for money and social status.
Even though Juliet is even more distressed at this news, her mother gives her no comfort whatsoever. All she says to Juliet is,
‘Here comes your father, tell him so yourself,
And see how he will take it at your hands.’
When Capulet enters, he alike his wife, think its strange for her to be mourning still over the death of her cousin.
‘How now. What a conduit girl? What, still in tears? Evermore showering.’
Capulet cannot understand why she should still be crying if she had heard the “good news” and so he asks his wife,
‘How now wife! Have you deliver’d to her our decree?’
Lady Capulet once again shows an uncaring nature and replies,
‘Ay Sir, she will none but she gives you thanks.
I would the fool were married to her grave!’
This seems extremely cold especially for a mother to say about her child. It also shows some irony, as she cannot really want her daughter to die, but really, because of the marriage plans, Juliet dies at the end of the play.
Capulet cannot believe what his wife has just said, he thinks that Juliet is ungrateful and unthankful and not proud.
The audience, watching from the Elizabethan period would understand Capulet’s feelings, as respect was expected, as was following orders from parents.
Capulet says, ‘Doth she not count her bless’d,
Unworthy as she is, that we have wrought, so worthy a gentleman to be her bridegroom?’
Here he talks about his daughter infront of her, not as if she was there, as if she was not important. We can see this as Capulet constantly labels Juliet as “she”, which is very uncaring and impersonal.
From what he is saying it is most likely that he will be shouting and beginning to get violent as he does in Baz Luhrmann’s version of Romeo and Juliet.
Juliet answers to her father, but not in an impolite manner,
‘Not proud you have; but thankful that you have,
Proud can I never be of what I hate, But thankful even for hate is meant love.’
From this point onwards, alike both Luhrmann’s and Zeferelli’s versions of the play, Capulet is extremely angry and begins to get violent.
In both films Capulet throws Juliet around as he shouts,
‘Whats this? Proud, and , I thank you, and I thankyou not, And yet not proud!’
He also calls Juliet such names as ‘chop logic’, ‘green-sickness carrion’, ‘baggage’ and ‘tallowface’.
Its at this point where he tells Juliet that if she does not turn up to church he will drag her there. He again calls her, ‘young baggage’ and ‘disobedient wretch’.
He says, ‘ Get thee to church o’ Thursday, Or never look me in the face,
Speak not, reply not, do not answer me, my fingers itch.’
Capulet, when saying that his fingers itch, means that he wants to hit someone, and in the film by Luhrmann he hits Juliet who falls to the floor, and then hits his wife, Lady Capulet. Also he speaks of Juliet as a possession that he can quickly rid of when he says that he will give Juliet to his friend on the streets.
Her father exits after lots of threats and name-calling. Juliet is upset again and asks her mother not to cast her away and says that if the wedding is not delayed, that she will commit suicide. She pleads with her mother as she is desperate. The language she uses is more personal, ‘Oh sweet mother’.
Her mother then answers to Juliet, ‘ Talk not to me, for I’ll not speak a word, Do as thou wilt for I have done with thee.’
She then exits, leaving Juliet in tears. In the film by Luhrmann, Juliet’s neglect is emphasised as when her mother exits, Juliet is left on the floor, alone.
By now Juliet is exceedingly distraught and, on top of all the issues which have just been raised, she fears for her husband’s life. She cannot turn to anyone to talk of her husband, such as her mother who is very cold and distant with Juliet. Her father has just warned Juliet that she will be left to starve on the streets if she does not marry Paris. She has experienced great loss, of her husband, and neglect from both her parents in one morning. Juliet is completely helpless as she cannot marry Paris, to please her parents, as she has very strong religion and to marry Paris will be committing bigamy, which is against the Catholic religion. The only other person left in the world to comfort Juliet is her Nurse, one of the only people to know of Juliet’s marriage to Romeo. Juliet turns to the Nurse for help, ‘O God! O nurse how shall this be prevented? What says’t thou? Has’t thou not a word of joy? Some comfort, Nurse!’
The nurse is most likely to be the best friend of Juliet. We know that the two are bonded as Nurse brought Juliet up, and breast fed Juliet as a baby.
To Juliet’s great surprise, the nurse gives Juliet the advice at which Juliet is quite upset. The nurse says,
‘Faith, here tis,
Romeo is banished and all the world to nothing,
That he dares ne’er to come back to challenge you, or if he do it needs must be by stealth.
Then since the case so stands as now it doth, I think it best you married with the county.
O, he’s a lovely gentleman, Romeo’s a dishclout to him, an eagle madam, Hath not so green, so quick, so fair an eye,
As Paris hath. Beshrew my very heart, I think you are happy in this second match, for it excels your first: Or ‘twere as good as he were, As living here, and you no use of him.’
What Juliet hears must really upset her, one of the few people who she is really close to is telling her that her new husband is as good as dead, that he is nothing compared to Paris.
I think one of the main reasons which the nurse gives Juliet this advice is from selfishness, that she doesn’t want to lose her job at the Capulet mansion. She knows that if Capulet and his wife knew that she helped Romeo and Juliet to be married, that she would lose her job. Also I think she says this, because she does care for Juliet, and is fearful for the punishment Juliet will receive from her father. She doesn’t want Juliet to live on the streets, which would again cause the nurse to lose her job. Nurse tells Juliet that her parents are displeased with her as they think Juliet is being immature and ungrateful about their marriage.
Juliet must be distressed by the nurse’s advice. She replies,
‘Well thou has comforted me marvellous much.’
The nurse thinks that Juliet is serious when she says this, yet Juliet says it in a very sarcastic manner so to say that the nurse has not comforted her at all.
Juliet then says, ‘ Tell my lady I am gone,
Having displeased my father, to Friar Lawrence’s cell,
To make confession and to be adsolv’d.’
Juliet is really going to see Friar Lawrence for help. He is the last person to whom she can turn as one by one the people who she are close to, are neglecting her.
Whilst watching Romeo and Juliet by Zeferelli, I noticed that the music played in the background of this scene is all in minor key, which is a tone that is sad. Also the affection between Romeo and Juliet is very great, as when Romeo is about to leave, the couple are constantly kissing and hugging, showing their great love for one another. Capulet does not look at Juliet whilst he talks of her, he is more uncaring and less violent than Capulet in the version by Luhrmann, even though Zeferelli shows Juliet being thrown across the room by her father.
Luhrmann’s version of Romeo and Juliet, also plays music of a minor key to emphasise Juliet’s feeling of loss and hurt. Luhrmann expresses Capulet more violently, as he throws Juliet onto the bed. As the family try to hold him back, he hits his wife and once again pushes Juliet over into the stairs. Juliet’s feeling of being isolated is shown, as Juliet is left sat alone after her parents have both deserted her. Also Juliet is shown to be abandoned from the nurse also, when the nurse is running Juliet a bath, she sits alone with the camera on focus of Juliet and the nurse sat in the distance in the background. I thought Luhrmann expressed the feeling of neglect more than Zeferelli, I also liked the way he used Capulet to be aggressive and violent.