Throughout the play there is a feud between the two houses, Montague and Capulet. At the start of the play there is a fight and it gives the impression that lots of people wish for the violence to stop, especially those who aren’t in the families.
In the period of time that Romeo and Juliet was written women were seen as the lower sex. They were able to do very few things that men could, and they were property of either their father or husband, never their own.
In this period Protestants were slightly more superior to Catholics, as the queen was protestant. The majority of women were married young in this era, with the age of consent for women being 12, and 14 for men. The average for women to marry was a lot younger than that of men, as most noble men married women a lot younger than themselves. At Juliet’s age a lot of women were married, it was expected of them.
In the Elizabethan era a woman’s life would be controlled by her father, she wouldn’t have a say in what happened. When she married her husband would then run life, she was his property in the same way as his house or pet, she was his property to do with, as he wanted.
The play begins with a confrontation between the House of Capulet, and house of Montague. In the opening scene Capulet first words are: “What noise is this? Give me my sword, ho!” This statement puts across the image that Capulet is a hotheaded, tempered man, who just wants to fight. Capulet also tells us that he holds a grudge towards Montague, which he isn’t going to forget easily, “My sword I say, old Montague is come, and flourishes his blade in spite of me.”
In act 1 scene 2 Capulet is a lot calmer. He is discussing with Paris the prospect of marriage. Paris wants to marry Juliet, but Capulet believes she is too young, “My child is yet a stranger in the world, She hath not yet seen the change of fourteen years, Let two more summers wither in their pride, Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride.”
In this scene Capulet agrees that there can be no more violent outbreaks on the street, “But Montague is bound as well as I, In penalty alike, and ‘tis not hard I think, For men so old as we to keep the peace.”
Capulet also shows us how much he loves his daughter and cares about her welfare. You feel sympathy towards Capulet as it suggests that Capulet has had other children that have died. “The earth hath swallowed all my hopes but she, she is the hopeful lady of my earth.” This creates a powerful image as it seems, as though Capulet is keeping a lot of things bottled up, he feels the loss, but doesn’t release it, only in outbursts of anger.
I believe that an Elizabethan audience would think that Capulet was smothering Juliet, and he needed to let her get married, allow her to leave his grasp. I think a modern day audience would think that Capulet was a sweet man, who only had his daughters best interests at heart.
Capulet is a man who likes to have fun and socialise, so he is holding a party and invites the citizens of Verona, “ This tonight I hold an accustomed feast, whereto I have invited many a guest…through fair Verona, find those persons out, whose names are written there, and to them say, my house and welcome, on their pleasure stay.”
The audience at the moment sympathise with Capulet, the angry side revealed at the beginning is forgotten; now they only see Capulet as a kind, caring, considerate character.
In act 3 scene 5 Capulet’s attitude towards the marriage of Juliet and Paris has changed, he has now agreed to let Juliet marry. Capulet believes that Juliet will be delighted with the news.
When Capulet enters the room you can see that he believes that Juliet is still upset about the death of her cousin Tybalt, so he tries to comfort her, when in actual fact she is grieving over the news that Romeo is banished for slaying Tybalt.
“When the sun sets, the earth doth drizzle dew,
But for the sunset of my brother’s son, it rains downright.
How now a conduit girl, what still in tears.”
Capulet attempts to feel how Juliet does, describing her using a metaphor,
“Evermore showering in one little body?
Thou counterfeit’st a bark, a sea, a wind:
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, thy winds thy sighs,
Who raging with thy tears and they with them,
Without a sudden calm overset
Thy tempest-tossed body.”
Shakespeare uses metaphors as a powerful way to explain the depth of meaning in few words through comparison. In this particular speech Capulet is trying to feel how Juliet is feeling. He knows that she is very troubled and wants to be able to comfort her.
When Capulet hears that Juliet will not marry he is instantly filled with rage.
“How, will she none? Doth she not give us thanks?
Is she not proud? Doth she not count her blest?
Unworthy as she is, that we have wrought
So worthy a gentleman to be her bridegroom?”
In this speech Capulet refers to Juliet in the third person, this shows that he is furious at her, he can’t believe what she has done, and doesn’t want to relate it directly to his beloved daughter.
In his fury Capulet mocks Juliet, “thank me no thankings, nor proud me no prouds.” He is saying that she hasn’t made him proud, or been grateful in any way; in marrying he is saying that she would be doing this.
After mocking Juliet he orders her to go church, says that she has no say in it, she will go or he will make her,
“But fettle your fine joints gainst Thursday next,
To go with Paris to Saint Peter’s Church:
Or I will drag thee on a hurdle thither.”
If a daughter so strongly disagrees to something the father should reconsider his actions, think through how it could affect his relationship, and is it really that necessary. In the Elizabethan era I would expect that this sort of occurrence wasn’t that irregular, as most marriages were arranged. As fathers were the superior being I think most daughters went along with it without retaliating, as they knew they wouldn’t get anywhere, their father’s owned them as they did a piece of land.
Capulet also threatens Juliet with violence in his rage, “Speak not, reply not, do not answer me. My fingers itch.” In this he is saying that he doesn’t want to hear her voice, he is getting agitated and feels as though he needs to lash out in anger.
Capulet again threatens violence, this time towards his wife and his daughter’s nurse.
Capulet says unforgivable things to Juliet, “We scarce thought us blest, that God had lent us but this only child, But now I see this one is one too much, And that we have a curse in having her.” Capulet is saying that he finds Juliet as nice as a curse, and wishes he had never had her. Juliet must have found this hard to take, as her father has just told her that he wished she never existed.
“And you be mine, I’ll give you to my friend, And you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets.” Here he is saying that she is his to do as she pleases, and if she doesn’t wed Paris then he couldn’t care if she died of starvation in the streets. I think that Capulet, because of his anger, said more than he wanted to, and exaggerated his point out of proportion, and all that he meant to do was tell Juliet that it was his wish for her to marry Juliet and he would be annoyed if she did otherwise. An Elizabethan audience would probably be in shock at what Capulet was saying, but think he had a just cause as Juliet was disobeying his command.
Capulet is behaving like this as he feels as though his daughter has betrayed him. I think that his emotions towards Juliet haven’t changed, he still loves her, but his feeling towards her have changed as he doesn’t like how she is treating him, the fact that she isn’t going along with his plan. It is sad that he feels this way as the audience know that he thinks the world of Juliet, but he feels he has to resort to threats of violence and disowning.
Throughout the play Capulet uses a contrast of languages when referring, or talking to, Juliet. At the start of the play he can’t say a bad word about her, and when making decisions he considers her opinion a lot when coming up with an answer. Later on in the play, act 3 scene 5, Capulet’s attitude towards his daughter changes, and he becomes short and snappy in his anger. He also uses alliteration as it adds emphasise on his point, “the earth doth drizzle dew.” Is an example of alliteration when he is happy. When he is angry he uses lots of harsh words such as, disobedient, curse, hang, beg, starve, die etc. These are used as they are short, but give a very poignant point.
In Act 4 scene 5 Capulet is grief stricken when he hears the news of his daughter’s “death”, he even says he will kill himself, as there has been too much death to cope with. “Death is my son-in-law, death is my heir, My daughter he hath wedded. I will die.” The audience sympathises with Capulet, but he is oblivious to the fact that he was partly to blame for her death, though I don’t think this affects the way that the audience feel.
Though later in the play, when both Romeo and Juliet are dead Capulet realises that the family feud was to blame for their deaths, “This dagger hath mistaken, for lo his house is empty on the back of Montague.”
Capulet changed throughout the course of the play. The audience at times have found it hard to sympathise with Capulet, as he has done things that we would find unthinkable. Though at the end you feel sorry for him, as he has paid a huge price for his actions, in wanting to keep his pride and superiority he has lost the life of his only daughter and heir. I think that Shakespeare has deliberately made Capulet the way he is as he is the bad person, without realising he is. Tybalt is the villain, as Tybalt himself knows he is bad, Capulet doesn’t realise what he is doing, and I think Shakespeare did this deliberately.
