“Let two summers wither in their pride”
He means let two summers pass and then we will talk about marriage but until then he quotes
“But woo her, gentle Paris, get her heart”
Saying until then make her love you and if you can’t accomplish that and someone else gets her heart she will marry him. Then Capulet says
“Ripes”
Meaning when she is at the perfect age to get married she will marry. Then he says
“This night I hold and old an old accustomed feast”
Meaning to night he olds a feast and has invited him and he should come and pick a girl and have some fin and think about marriage some other time. At this moment in the play Shakespeare has given Capulet a role which is a loving father and who thinks the world for his child. At the moment Capulet has refused to Paris that Juliet will not marry him yet this shows the audience he has feelings for his daughter and is not as a typical Italian father at that time.
This is the second scene when Paris and Capulet get together and have talk about the marriage. But at the same time Romeo at Capulet ball gazes upon Juliet, who charms Romeo, Romeo proclaims
“Did my heart love till now? For ne’er saw beauty till this night”
Since Romeo declares his love for Juliet, she feels the attraction also. They believe that they are in love and must marry. However, it is a genuine coincidence that Romeo and Juliet were at the same place, at the same time. Romeo married Juliet and is at the Capulet residence and at the same a tragic event happened which Romeo and Tybalt have a duel and Tybalt gets murdered. At this moment when Capulet is talking with Paris he has seen Juliet crying and feeling that Romeo will be banished but Capulet thinks she is crying because of Tybalts murder. Capulet at this moment is in a different mood then Scene 1 he sounds that Tybalt death was destiny as he says
“We were born to die”
At this moment he starts to act as a typical Italian father and has decided Juliet will marry Paris. Capulet says to Paris
“I will make a desperate tender of my child love: I think she will be ruled in all aspects by me nay more, I doubt not”
What he means he will ask Juliet and will desperate tender and plied with her to consider marrying you. Capulet starts to make tragic mistakes by believing the wedding would cheer Juliet up and will get his pride back by showing his power and forcing her to marry Juliet. Capulet thinks that after Tybalts murder people think it has left him soft so he thinks by forcing Juliet to marry Paris it will gain his pride, at this moment of the play the audience starts to find the side of a typical father attitude of Capulet. Capulet try’s to show his power front of Paris by ordering his wife by saying to her
“Wife go you to her ere you go to bed acquaint her here of my son Paris love and Bi her mark you me on Wednesday next”
What he says goes and tells Juliet about Paris and tells her she will marry him on Wednesday. What you can see at this moment is a change of language used by Capulet he has start to order his wife around as a typical Italian husband and started to call Paris as a son which shows he has agreed he will marry Juliet with no argument. At the same time Capulet is talking he is feeling confused and scattered brained as he asks
“What day is this”?
He feels as he is losing his brain but still at the same moment he is making big decisions, which he will regret.3
In Act 3 scene 5 were tragic events starting happening and Juliet is in an awkward position. Lady Capulet tells Juliet that on Thursday she will get married to Paris. Juliet reaction is she will not marry him and refuses to his bride and is defiant. Juliet speaks ironically to lady Capulet when she says
“I will not marry yet and when I do I swear it shall be Romeo whom you know I hate rather than Paris”
She compares Romeo to Paris being ironic but she really thinks the world of Romeo but lady Capulet does not any that, what Lady Capulet thinks she is saying is she will marry an enemy than Paris. At this instant Lady Capulet was in such a mood she betrays Juliet and says go and tell Lord Capulet you’re self. When Capulet enters the room he seems insensitive, as he does not realize Juliet is crying about the marriage proposal. Capulet starts to tease Juliet by saying
“A conduct girl”
Meaning she is crying girl and goes on to says
“Evermore showering”
Meaning she cry’s as a sea calling but when Lady Capulet sends the news of Juliet reply of the marriage a change of mood happens to Lord Capulet who starts to act like he has obtained a mad mans mind. He replies to Lady Capulet by saying
“Soft take me with you”
Meaning he does not understand. When Capulet reacts with Juliet he starts to ask questions like
“How? Will she none? Doth she not give us thanks? Is she not proud?”
Capulet shows a rise in temper and unable to understand why Juliet will react in such way after he has treated her as a princes, looked after her as best as he could. At this moment Juliet has released Capulet is changing in a bad mood she try’s to talk him out the marriage Capulet becomes angry and ridicules he starts to insult her carling her a slave orders her and says
“But fettle you fine joints, against Thursday next to no with Paris to Saint Peters church or I will drag thee on hurdle thither”
He threatens her and starts seeing her as a traitor and says he will carry her on a hurdle as a traitor was. Juliet at this moment has felt Capulet reaction and get’s on her knee to beg but Capulet refuses her and threatens and insults her as he says
“Green –sickness carrion”
Capulet at this moment comes very close to physical force and says to Juliet
“My finger itch”
Meaning he consider using physical violence for her to get married with Paris. Then Capulet goes on to say
“Wife we scarce thought us bless’d that god had lent us but this only child”
What he means he wishes for a child and when he got one now he does not want her. Then ironically who steps forward to back her is the nurse saying
"God in heaven bless her you are to blame my lord to rate her so”
What she means is she is spilt of his faults not anyone else’s then Juliet says
“Whining moment in her fortune tender to answer I no wed, I cannot love I am too young”.
This intends to be ironic because these were the words Capulet said to Paris before as Capulet talks he says
“Graze where you will, you shall not house with me”
What he means if Juliet does not marry she will get thrown out the house.
After this scene occurring I think we have seen lots of changes in Capulet as we see at the begging of the seen he is man of pride and when his pride was lowered after the murder of Tybalt he forces Juliet to marry Paris so this will get his pride up and during the scene he starts to commend his wife which show another act of pride which he put on in front of Paris. Then another change in Capulet we see is when some does not to do when Capulet gives the order he reacts to physical violence as we see when Juliet is not listening to Capulet about the marriage he was going to react to violence.
In act 4 scenes 2 is when Juliet comes to ask forgiveness from Capulet. What Juliet has done is she has gone to meet Friar Lawrence and he has come up with a plan, which will get Romeo and Juliet together. The scene starts with Capulet being exciting mood he thinks at the end the marriage will take place. Juliet walks in to the room and Capulet being in a happy mood he forgets about the tragic events that have took place and says to Juliet
“How now my stronghead”
Teasing her and speaking to her efficiently. This shows a contrast to the privies scene language and mood. He is now polite. Juliet gets down on her knees on the floor to key her forgiveness. She says what Capulet wants to hear Juliet say
“Hence forward I am ever ruled by you”
Meaning she is willing to obey him and wants to be ruled by him. She echoes Capulet words from privies scene. Capulet being fooled thinking Juliet has changed her heart without question thinks he has won her and has gained her respect and will rule her. At this moment you can Capulet being in a good mood not thinking about how she changed her mind him rushes her to go and get ready. Capulet being delighted about Juliet changing her mind about the wedding he starts to think that they want have enough time for the wedding so he says to his wife
“I play the housewife”
Meaning he will take on the role of Lady Capulet and get everything prepared.
In act 5 scenes 3 a tragic event has occurred. Juliet following a desperate plan to avoid marrying Paris does not go accordingly to what was planned and an out come has been the death of Romeo and Juliet. At this moment of the play Capulet is in such a state and mood, which has not been shown before in the play. Firstly he thinks Juliet has died before but after the incident happening at the Capulet’s tomb he can’t accept Juliet has killed herself Capulet believes the knife was a living thing which killed her as he says
“This dagger hath mistaken for his house”
After this scene Capulet meets the Friar and asks him what tragic event has occurred and asks him to explain what has happened. After listening to Friar Story Capulet intends to meet Montague and says to him
“O brother Montague gives me thy hand this is my daughter jointure for no more I can demand”.
What he means he puts his hand forward for friendship and says friendship is his is his to Montague. I feel at the end of the play Capulet is left at a bad state he has lost his daughter Juliet because of the bad decisions he has mad, which would have only brought him pride but not a daughter. So in way you can say Capulet is differ to an Italian father of 15th century.
In my overall conclusion after reading the play and looking at the events that have happened because of Capulet’s decisions. I think Capulet is a man who acts without thinking things through. In my opinion I think Capulet is foolish man who is very is to convince and fool. In the play Capulet changes his mood lots of time in the play but the most common mood Shakespeare has given Lord Capulet is as an arrogant man. Overall I feel all the tragic events that have occurred are because of all the decisions he makes. I prefer to think that the death of Romeo and Juliet, the reason were Capulet forcing Juliet to get married with Paris because Capulet wants his pride and to show he is still a powerful man after Tybalt death. After all the tragic events that have occurred I do think Capulet changes but why couldn’t he change before these events occurring.
He realizes after he has lost the only child and his pride. He decided to change the way he is before loses more than he can bare.
I think Shakespeare put Capulet’s role in Romeo and Juliet because he is
“One of a kind”
Man who stirs such events to happen which other men could act and change the way Capulet does. He has such a mind we are never able to predict this what makes Romeo and Juliet a interesting story and if Capulet role was not in Romeo and Juliet play want be as good as it is.
Romeo & Juliet
From Mohammed Ismail Ayub
