Discuss the importance of Act 3, Scene 5 with particular reference to the characters of Juliet and lord Capulet.
G.C.S.E. English Literature Assignment
Assignment: Discuss the importance of Act 3, Scene 5 with particular reference to the characters of Juliet and lord Capulet.
Romeo and Juliet is a romance/tragedy by William Shakespeare set in the Italian post medieval city of Verona based on two lovers named Romeo (from the house of Montague) and Juliet (from the house of Capulet) who are hampered by their families hate for each other and are forced to death because of their families' conflict. This play brings up key themes hate and love throughout the play.
This essay will discuss the importance of Act 3, Scene 5 to the story of 'Romeo and Juliet', it will give historical views at the time 'Romeo and Juliet' was made and will also discuss the creation of characters that appear in the scene.
Act 3, Scene 5 starts with Romeo and Juliet together after they've spent the night together after their wedding. Romeo wants to leave because he knows the grave danger he is in while he stays with Juliet, because of certain events in previous scenes. Juliet is defiant to Romeo leaving and doesn't want him to leave even though he is in danger while he stays with her. Romeo eventually leaves and Juliet is dismayed because she knows this will be the last time she sees Romeo because he has been banished because of events in previous scenes.
After this Juliet's mother enters and she is told that her father, Lord Capulet, has arranged a marriage for her with Paris. Juliet rebels against this because she is already in love with and married Romeo but she can't tell her family this because of the hatred between the two families. Lady Capulet is enraged and Lord Capulet enters who expects Juliet will jump at the chance to marry Paris. When he finds out she has rejected his proposals he is also enraged and doesn't believe that she has rejected him, he tells her that she will marry Paris. When she thanks him for the opportunity but still rejects him Capulet throws insults at Juliet and he tells her that he wished he'd never had Juliet.
'Wife, we scare thought us blest That God had lent us but this only child, But now I see this one is too much,' Lines 164-166.
Further on in the scene Capulet tells Juliet that if she does not marry Paris then he will not let her back into the family.
'And you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets, For my soul, I'll ne'er acknowledge thee,' Lines 192-193.
Juliet begs to her mother one last time to delay the marriage but is ignored and Lady Capulet washes her hands of Juliet
'Talk to me not, for I'll not speak a word Do as thou wilt, for I have done with thee' Lines 202-203.
After this Juliet turns to the one person she has left the Nurse but she is advised by the Nurse to marry Paris. Juliet is not comforted and she shows her negative feelings towards the Nurse
'Ancient damnation! O most wicked fiend!' Line 234.
As the scene closes Juliet ...
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Juliet begs to her mother one last time to delay the marriage but is ignored and Lady Capulet washes her hands of Juliet
'Talk to me not, for I'll not speak a word Do as thou wilt, for I have done with thee' Lines 202-203.
After this Juliet turns to the one person she has left the Nurse but she is advised by the Nurse to marry Paris. Juliet is not comforted and she shows her negative feelings towards the Nurse
'Ancient damnation! O most wicked fiend!' Line 234.
As the scene closes Juliet says she will met with the Friar, who helped her marry Romeo, and if he can't help her, she will kill herself.
'I'll to the Friar to know his remedy; if all else fail, myself have power to die.' Lines 241-242.
The scene closes.
In order to understand this scene you have to know the historical values and views of the time in the 16th Century;
The society of that time was a very patriarchal meaning that the society was ruled by men and that women had very little say in what went on in the society. This view is expressed in Lord Capulet when he expects and demands Juliet to marry Paris. Marriages were also seen in the 16th Century to be a means of gaining money and stature, and not marrying for love. Parents would also decide in many cases who you would marry and they would arrange marriages for their children, like with Juliet and her parents, where they arrange a marriage with Paris. Shakespeare uses these beliefs and values in his story to show the type of culture Romeo and Juliet are living in and to show how difficult it is for their love to succeed.
At the start of Act 3, Scene 5 the tension is already quite high because of previous accuracies. Romeo and Juliet have been married even though they are members of opposing families and Romeo has been banished from the city because he has killed a member of the Capulet family, Tybalt in vengeance for the death of his cousin Mercutio who was killed by Tybalt. So in this scene tensions are already quite high and they are raised when Romeo is with Juliet when he is meant to be banished from Verona. Tension is built up even higher with the argument between Romeo and Juliet over Romeo staying with Juliet. This will be the last time both of them speak to each other and for both of them to be arguing shows the beginning of the end for Romeo and Juliet, this shows also how pivotal this scene is in it's importance because from now onwards in the story Romeo and Juliet are destined to hardship and doom and this is climaxed in their deaths at the end of the story.
The language in this part of the play as well is referring to death which also foreshadows the fate of Romeo and Juliet. The first reference of this is in;
Line 17 'Let me be tane, let me put to death, I am content, so thou wilt have it so.'
The images of death are repeated at various points in the scene. These images of death that Shakespeare creates are to foreshadow the fate of Juliet and Romeo later in the play.
The argument between Romeo and Juliet is also foreshadowing the argument Juliet is going to have with her parents later in the scene. Shakespeare is giving the audience clues to what is going to happen in the story through this.
After Romeo leaves the tension builds as the scene progresses, with the entrance of Lord and Lady Capulet. When Juliet denies her mother and fathers wishes' by not marrying Paris tension is at it's peak in this scene. The language in this part of the play is also very aggressive this shows again that from this point onwards that Juliet's fate is sealed to doom.
An example of this aggression is shown in;
Lines 160-163 'Hang thee, young baggage, disobedient wretch! I tell the what: get thee to a church a'Thursday, Or never after look me in the face.'
This shows the amount of aggression shown by Lord Capulet towards Juliet. This is at a very tense time in the play. Earlier in the play Lord Capulet is portrayed as a caring father, but this has now been shown to be untrue, as he insults his only child Juliet, and is very cruel on her telling her that he wished he'd never had her and telling her that if she does not do what he tells her then she will not be allowed back into the family.
Juliet's mood also helps to build the tension that Shakespeare is trying to create with her desperate pleas to her parents to stop the wedding. She recognises that her father is trying to do what a father should do and get his daughter a husband, but she adds to the drama by denying him and is helpless to the insults that come her way from her parents. She can't explain her situation to her parents about Romeo because they wouldn't understand and would be enraged, this adds to the tension of the scene because the audience feel for Juliet and know her situation from previous scenes they have a better knowledge of Juliet's situation her parents.
The audience are also given an insight of the type of parents that Juliet has. They are shown to be very intolerant when Lady Capulet tells Juliet that they can have Romeo killed if that is her wishes.
Line 88 'Then weep no more. I'll send to one in Mantua,'
Line 91 'Then he shall soon keep Tybalt company;'
The audience are also shown what little knowledge that Lord and lady Capulet have of Juliet.
'Evermore weeping for your cousin's death? What, wilt thou wash him from his graves with tears?' Lines 69-70.
This shows that Lady Capulet doesn't know her daughter as well as should being her mother, that she doesn't realise who she is crying over and thinks Juliet is crying over Tybalt rather than Romeo. The fact that Lord and Lady Capulet are clueless over the marriage of Romeo and Juliet shows the audience what type of relationship Juliet has with her parents, that they have no relationship only through flesh and blood but other than that Juliet's parents do not know they're daughter.
In this part of the scene Juliet is shown to be a completely independent character, and has changed completely from the ideal of what a daughter should be, that she was described as, at the beginning of the story. Juliet has now become a character who thinks for herself and is breaking the conventions of society. Because of the way her parents treat her she is seen as a 'tragic heroine'. Her heroism is ultimately her downfall in this scene as she is rejected by all around her because she will not marry Paris, and it is because of this she is forced to her tragic death.
She is show to be manipulative with her parents, in a part of the scene where she talks about Romeo.
'O how my heart abhors To hear him named and cannot come to him, To wreak the love I bore my cousin' Lines 99-101.
This shows Juliet using double meanings in her language without her parents knowing. Lady Capulet thinks Juliet is talking negatively about Romeo when actually she is talking of missing Romeo. This shows the confidence Juliet now has, it shows the development in character from the start of the story, that she can now play with her parents without them knowing and know what she is doing.
Lord Capulet is shown in this part of the play to be an uncaring father and is seen as patriarchal father. He is shown in the beginning as a caring father doing what he thought was right for his daughter, but this is shown as one of his downfalls in this scene. By arranging the marriage between Juliet and Paris, he is doing what he thinks is right for Juliet, but when Juliet rejects his proposal, his controlling side comes across and is shown to be unwilling towards Juliet. This is a sign of the patriarchal culture of the time. This is evident in;
Lines 155-157 'I will drag thee on a hurdle thither. Out, you green-sickness carrion! Out, you baggage! You tallow face!'
He is shown in this part of the play to be doing what is right for him and not Juliet, he is once again shown for something he thinks he is not.
Lord Capulet has a big effect on the plot in this scene, and is one of the main reasons for Romeo's and Juliet's deaths. He pushes Juliet out of the family to the point she is willing to kill herself at the end of the scene. He builds the dark atmosphere that is now emerging in the story as he trades insults at Juliet and uses aggressive language not thought to be used by a caring father. He shows no remorse towards Juliet and causes the Nurse and Lady Capulet to turn away from her through his element of control. Juliet's mother washes her hands of Juliet, because of her unwillingness to please her father.
'Talk to me not, for I'll not speak a word. Do as thou wilt, for I have done with thee' Lines 202-203.
The Nurse also takes Capulet's side when she tells Juliet;
'I think it best you married with the County.' Line 217.
This shows the patriarchal society that they are living in that men have an influence on what other women think. This is also why Juliet is seen as breaking the conventions of society as she goes against the will of her father.
Act 3, Scene 5 is a pivotal scene in the story of 'Romeo and Juliet' because of it's insight into characters and insight into the society of the time of Shakespeare, and it's patriarchal values and beliefs. It shows the development of Juliet's character from the start of the play to the independent women she now is who is breaking the conventions of her society. It also shows an atmosphere change as Romeo and Juliet are destined to hardship and adversity from this point onwards in the story.
Daniel Walsh 11DRK
