The next scene is at the Capulet party where Lord Capulet is acting in a jolly and happy manner and is entertaining guests by teasing them about dancing
CAPULET Welcome Gentlemen! Ladies that have their toes
Un plagued with corns will have a bout with you.
Ah ha, my mistresses! Which of you all
Will now deny to dance?
This quote shows Lord Capulet to have a sense of humour, but his high spirits could also be the result of having imbibed wine at his party
In the following lines Tybalt discovers that Romeo is at the party and recognizes him as a Montague. Tybalt’s immediate reaction is to want to fight Romeo, he then proceeds to Lord Capulet and makes the point to him that Romeo is an enemy as he is a Montague. However Lord Capulet has a very different reaction to that in the first scene where his intention is to fight the Montagues. In fact his actions in this scene of the play are curious as he says
CAPULET And, to say truth, Verona brags of him (Romeo)
To be a virtuous and well governed youth.
This shows a different side to Lord Capulet than seen before as he acts more wisely and sensibility as he does not want another fight to break out at his party especially after what the prince has said, and it would not look good in front of Count Paris especially as he is a relative of Prince Escalus. This is quite understandable but the fact he says some praiseworthy things about Romeo is not what the audience expects. He says that Romeo is a well respected person and therefore to leave him alone and not to cause problems at the party. Lord Capulet’s authority is shown here by Tybalt’s reaction despite his mild attempts he quickly gives up and does not try to persuade Lord Capulet to let him fight Romeo.
In Act 3 Scene 4 Lord Capulet and Count Paris are discussing the possibility of Juliet marrying Paris again
CAPULET Of my child's love: I think she will be ruled
In all respects by me; nay, more, I doubt it not
I think that the assumption Lord Capulet makes is a reasonable one due to the period of time the story is set, as at that time it was considered reasonable to marry off a daughter without her consent. In the above speech Lord Capulet is promising Juliet to Count Paris, on the grounds that he is probably the best offer that he will get and that if he puts the decision off any longer then Paris may look elsewhere as he with all his advantages could probably marry anyone. Lord Capulet’s decision may surprise the audience as it contrasts strongly to the last time he spoke with Paris about marrying Juliet and his sudden change of mind on the subject may alarm the audience, especially as they know she has married Romeo
In act 3 Scene 5 Lord Capulet uses imagery to describe the way he believes Juliet feels. He seems at least slightly concerned for her as he is under the impression that she is very upset about losing her cousin which, to some extent is true
CAPULET The wind, thy sighs
Who raging with thy tears, the bark thy body
Here Lord Capulet compares Juliet’s sighs to the winds which blow as she weeps and unless there is a sudden calm they will capsize the boat (her body) which is being thrown about by the storm. When Lord Capulet finds out that Juliet has refused to marry Paris. His attitude changes. He questions Juliet about why she is not thankful that he has found her a husband that is handsome and rich. He then loses his temper and starts shouting at her thinking that she is trying to rebel against him.
CAPULET How! Will she none? Doth she not give us thanks?
Is she not proud?
Lord Capulet appears genuinely angry at Juliet, which is a sharp contrast after he has been sympathetic to her sorrow. Perhaps he feels hurt that he has done all he can to find her the best husband “A gentleman of noble parentage, of fair demesnes, youthful… proportioned as ones thought would wish a man” that she for no apparent reason rejects.
This makes him so angry he is on the point of hitting Juliet as he exclaims “My fingers itch.” He then goes as far as to say that if she does not marry Paris on Thursday he will disown her or throw her out of the family. He then goes on to say “… hang, beg, starve, die in the streets” as he threatens to disown her and throw her out.
These words seem harsh, even coming from the head of an all powerful family, as they are to his only daughter. This will probably alienate the audience against him. However you can see why he would get so angry as he does not know the real reason for Juliet’s disobedience. However overall I think that the audience’s opinion of him at this point in the story drops quite dramatically. As he insults the nurse calling her a “mumbling fool” and even his wife tells him to calm down saying “you are too hot”
CAPULET I will not be forsworn
Here Lord Capulet is saying that as a matter of honour he will not go back on his promise to Paris but at this point he is in a difficult situation as he has promised Paris Juliet’s hand in marriage but she is refusing to marry him meaning that he would have to lose face and go back on his word to Paris. Because of this I think the audience have a little bit more sympathy than they did previously for him as they can at least see why he might be so frustrated with Juliet. He is saying this to make his point clear to Juliet that he will not go back on his word.
When Lord Capulet finally discovers the death of Juliet he seems greatly affected.
CAPULET Dead art thou, alack my child is dead
And with my child my joys are buried.
It is clear that his daughter’s death has hit him very hard as he feels that he has nothing left as his joys have been buried with Juliet and therefore he gains the sympathy of the audience. At this point he also realises that as Juliet was his only daughter and as he has no sons this would be the end of the Capulet line and that his house would not continue.
In the final lines of the play, Lord Capulet agrees with Lord Montague that there should be an end to the hostility and fighting between the two families. He is very respectful and takes some of the responsibility for the death of Romeo and Juliet. Finally he agrees to build a large golden statue of Romeo to go alongside that of Juliet. He has obviously been affected by all of what has happened so much that he hates violence, he has learnt from his mistakes and I think that he leaves a positive image of himself on the Audience at the end.
