In Act 3, Scene 5, when Lady Capulet enters, the audience perceives her more as a distant figurehead then as Juliet’s loving mother. So far in the play, that is the manner how Shakespeare has conveyed Lady Capulet but now things begin to change. There is contrast in Lady Capulet’s manner and this gives drama to the play. It seems that Tybalt’s death has brought mother and daughter closer; the caring language used by Lady Capulet towards Juliet conveys this:
(*) Evermore weeping for your cousin’s death?
What, wilt thou wash him from his grave with tears?
The audience discover that certain amount of love and consoling is coming from Lady Capulet, this shows the traits of a loving parent. However, Shakespeare’s language shows that things are still tense; he conveys through Juliet that her Romeo isn’t a villain even after Lady Capulet labels him one:
LADY CAPULET- As that villain lives which slaughtered him (Tybalt).
JULIET (aside)- Villain and he be many miles asunder.
The conversation above shows direct contradiction between mother and daughter and through this Shakespeare promotes that the pair are having a battle of wits. This verbal battle seems to be another drama conjuring device that has been planted by Shakespeare; it prepares the audience for more extreme arguments that are still to come in the play. Shakespeare uses irony, quite heavily throughout the conversation, the quotation at the bottom of the first page (*) conveys this. Lady Capulet believes that Juliet is crying over the death of her cousin, Tybalt. However, the audience knows that it is the separation from Romeo that’s upsetting her. This shows a serious lack of communication, something that has accumulated over the years in this highly formal relationship. More examples of the misunderstandings are exploited, further on in the same conversation:
Indeed I never shall be satisfied
With Romeo, till I behold him – dead –
Is my poor heart so for a kinsman vexed.
If we look closely at Juliet’s comment, Lady Capulet perceives that Juliet wants Romeo dead because instinctively she places the full stop after the second dash. This makes it sound as; Juliet will never be satisfied until Romeo is dead. However, the audience will understand that the full stop at the first dash: now the comment means Juliet will not be satisfied until she holds Romeo and that her heart is dying because she cannot. The irony of the matter is that Lady Capulet actually believes that her daughter is agreeing with her, but the audience can see otherwise. Again Shakespeare brings out the irony and adds prolepsis because the next time Juliet sees Romeo, he indeed is dead.
Further on in the conversation, Lady Capulet divulges the real reason for her visit. She tells Juliet to marry Paris. As expected by the audience Juliet doesn’t agree and is very angry at her mother’s suggestion. Shakespeare wants the audience to see and feel the relationship between mother and daughter crumble, Juliet’s next response certainly causes more tension:
I will not marry yet, and when I do, I swear
It shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate,
Rather than Paris.
This comment gives yet another dose of dramatic irony to the audience. The audience perceive that Juliet would rather marry Romeo (she already has), instead of Paris because she loves Romeo. However, Lady Capulet thinks that Juliet hates Romeo so, to her Juliet’s comments represent an insult when she declines to agree to marry Paris. This makes the relationship falter even further, and the conversation reaches its lowest point when Lady Capulet insults Juliet with a scathing metaphor:
I would the fool were married to her grave.
In other words, Lady Capulet is wishing for the death of her child; this certainly is the worst thing any parent could wish for their child. The relationship is now at its lowest point, Shakespeare has set the foundations on which Lady Capulet later officially rejects Juliet. However, another point to keep in mind is the relationship between the actors and the audience in this scene. The audience would have certainly been behind Juliet throughout the scene because she is the one upset through losing Romeo. The audience would have supported Lady Capulet at the start when she comes across as a loving mother but the support would have deteriorated as Lady Capulet became more selfish and rude towards Juliet. Thus, through entwining the actress’ emotions with the audience, Shakespeare makes the play very more dramatic and enjoyable.
Lord Capulet carries on the parental theme when he enters the scene; his poetic language and images are very rich and emotional. He behaves like a man who has indeed suffered a loss, in the shape of his nephew Tybalt:
For still thy eyes, which I may call the sea,
Do ebb and flow with tears; the bark thy body is
Sailing in this salt flood.
Basically, Capulet tells his daughter to stop crying and cheer up before his sadness overwhelms her. There is emphasis by the use of alliteration (bark, body); (sailing, salt). Interestingly, the message Capulet portrays is attached with the theme of the sea. Shakespeare uses this theme to good effect because the colour blue could be associated with inducing calm. Thus, the audience is introduced to another caring parental figure in the shape of Capulet, a father who is trying to comfort his daughter even through his own sadness. However, the audience can start to contemplate whether this relationship is going to take a turn for the worse, like the one between mother and daughter. The audience’s fears are realised because as soon as Capulet realises that Juliet had rejected her marriage with Paris, he starts to become angry like Lady Capulet had done. Capulet’s anger is portrayed to the audience through his insults aimed at Juliet:
Out you green-sickness carrion, out you baggage,
You tallow-face!
The pattern of behaviour in both the parents is the same, from being loving to becoming selfish and uncaring. This awful predicament for Juliet means that she steadily gains more support from the audience. Once Capulet has become very angry, Juliet kneels (sign of respect) and asks her father to listen. This has a powerful effect on stage because now Juliet seems to be very small compared to the towering Capulet:
Good father, I beseech you on my knees,
Hear me with patience, but to speak a word.
From Capulet’s perspective all this stupidity from Juliet makes him even angrier, Capulet only looks at Juliet’s behaviour form one perspective and also, as with Lady Capulet, there is a lack of communication between father and daughter. Shakespeare allows the audience to feel Capulet’s anger through his comment towards Juliet- My fingers itch… shows that Capulet is having to restrain himself from hitting Juliet. All these things show the audience that Capulet has now become extremely angry; furthermore he now starts to use short words to rain down his anger on Juliet:
Day, night, hour, tide, time, work, play.
Shakespeare goes on to emphasise Capulet’s anger by the abandonment of iambic pentameter, which breaks down the line above. This gives the impression to the audience that Capulet is losing control. Finally, Capulet unleashes a tirade of his anger in form of insults and threats, then he rejects Juliet and leaves.
Once again, throughout Juliet’s argument with her father the audience’s support is thoroughly behind Juliet. All the actions taken by Juliet on stage, seem to make her less powerful and vulnerable to her parents. Shakespeare purposefully makes Juliet act in a way, which is respectful towards her parents; on the contrary Shakespeare also makes Lord and Lady Capulet to be unforgiving and selfish. Therefore, keeping in mind all the character’s actions, Juliet seems to deserve the audience’s sympathy. The audience have already understood that so far in the scene, both the parents have entered and tried to love Juliet, became angry with her and finally have rejected and disowned her. The only adult figure now left for Juliet to look up to is, the Nurse. At this point, the Nurse confides to Juliet that, maybe it is best if Juliet did marry Paris:
I think it best you married with the county (Paris).
This is the biggest shock to Juliet: she doesn’t understand that the Nurse is trying to be practical and prevent her from her parents’ wrath. Juliet feels that by suggesting bigamy her trusted companion is turning on her, as a result she casts even the Nurse away from her. This means that Juliet is now without any emotional support. Shakespeare makes her as vulnerable as possible because in due course it means that Juliet will get maximum audience sympathy.
By the end of the scene, Juliet feels abandoned, betrayed and alone; the audience will quickly understand this and support her. The three people that Juliet trusted and relied on for parental help the most, have either rejected her (Lord and Lady Capulet) or have been rejected by her (Nurse). She is also sad because of the death of Tybalt and the exile of her husband Romeo. At this point Shakespeare could be coming across to the audience with two messages. First being, Do those who go against their parent’s wishes become worse off than if they had complied? The second one being more philosophical, Is it right for parents to arrange their children’s marriages? From the way the play has been written the answer seems to be no. The play illuminates that arranged marriages, such as Juliet and Paris bring a lot of pain and misery.
Thus, throughout the scene Juliet’s relationship with her parents has changed dramatically. At the start, there was a sign of a loving relationship, which would be further united after Tybalt’s death. However, at the end of the scene it is very clear that bitterness and hate have replaced love. The audience would have also felt this because Shakespeare makes them heavily attached to the Juliet’s emotions. Thus, Shakespeare’s language shows how the various relationships change and how a happy family deteriorates into a family in turmoil.
WORD COUNT- 2, 090
