9LC by Miss Cook

Juliet, from the house of Capulet, is unlike any other upper class family members. She doesn’t marry for just money, status or for just having children. Her views on marriage are very different to her parents’. They believe in wealth and status while Juliet believes in true love.

In Shakespearean times, her views would be considered abnormal and unacceptable. So when Lord and Lady Capulet discover her views on marriage, their reactions are extremely vicious.

With Lady Capulet being the first person Juliet told about marriage, she knew that a wave of anger and disgust was going to befall her when Lady Capulet said “Here comes your father, tell him so yourself; And see how he will take it at your hands.”

This could also link to how mothers would react to their children acting inappropriately today. They would say, “Just wait until your father hears about this.”. Even with the difference in today’s time and the Shakespearean times, the father is still a force not to be reckoned with; they are still considered to have the higher authority due to their strength and past in history to be the superior sex compared to women.

This is more evident when Lord Capulet asks Lady Capulet about wether or not she had asked Juliet. He asks, “Have you delivered her our decree?”, this even shows that he believed that his orders are law and that they must be obeyed. He is clearly shown to be a demanding man and, in a way, spoilt. This could also make the reader believe that he was a very demanding child, and so, became a very demanding and impatient man.

When Juliet says to her father, she gets a very harsh reply which escalated to threats and hateful comments. The audience today would be shocked by how he had shown this but back in Shakespearean times, they would have been understanding and, perhaps, been able to relate to him. Juliet would have been said to have been shameful, spoilt and ungrateful but in recent times, she would have been considered brave or even admirable for speaking her mind against her father, meaning that this entire scene has a mixed audience and causes discussion.

Lord Capulet didn’t try to hide his disgust in Juliet during Act Two, Scene Five. Compared to Act One Scene Two, Lord Capulet is a completely different person and made a vast majority of the audience dislike him.

He is obviously a violent man who is demanding and is very hypocritical.

He asks Lady Capulet, “Have you delivered our decree?”, showing that he believes that his word is law and must be obeyed by everybody under his roof. When he is told by Juliet that she declines Paris’ hand in marriage, he is struck with a wave of confusion which could stem from the fact that he is used to everybody obeying him and following his orders. This is shown when he bursts out with “How how, how how, chopp’d logic!”, he (at first) thinks that she is speaking in riddles or that he had misheard her.

He had previously told Paris that, “She hath not seen the change of fourteen years, let two more summers wither in her pride. Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride.”, so when he is mocking Juliet with “Proud” and “I thank you” and “I thank you not” is very hypocritical of him. He, at first, believe that she is too young to marry and then he calls her a “mistress minion” for declining Paris. (Mistress minion = Spoilt child/brat).

After visibly mocking her he begins to threat her and hurt her emotionally.

He threatens to “drag thee on a hurdle thither.”, meaning he with forcibly drag her to the church if it means she will marry Paris. Then he calls Juliet “baggage”. He could be calling her baggage because she is like a bag. To people, a bag is a burden, unfortunately necessary and a burden, so he is calling her a burden to him. Not needed. Unwanted.

Even his outburst was surprising to Lady Capulet, “Fie, fie, what, are you mad?”, she is agreeing with what he is saying about Juliet being a burden and a spoilt madam but even she was shocked when he said he would forcibly drag her to the church like a criminal or an object.

He begins to get extremely violent and angry when he yells, “My fingers itch, Wife,”, he is saying that he is tempted to strike Juliet for being a “Disobedient wretch” and a “mistress minion” and that he is outraged that she has disagreed with him. He doesn’t believe that women should be disobedient to men; they believe that because they have more physical strength they can order anybody around as if dogs/slaves/objects.

A truly hurtful statement said to Juliet was “we have a curse in having her.”, this is even more hurting when her mother doesn’t say anything against his notion. This would make any child, these days or then, feel unwanted and a burden on society.

The audience then would have mixed signals because men could agree with his statement and completely justified yet quite a number would have found it disgusting and horrible to say that to a child (bearing in mind that she is 13 years of age). But the audience today would find it completely vile. Fathers and mothers today are much more considerate and neutering towards their family, no matter the gender, and would find it perplexing as to why anybody would say that to a child.

Still infuriated, he continues to attack Juliet with insults and threats. He curses using the term “God’s bread,” and then says “I do not used to jest.”. He is dead serious and his decisions will not be swayed or foiled by a 13 year old. He does not joke about the matter and will not stop until he gets what he wants, Juliet to marry Paris.

To make this point crystal clear, to Juliet and anybody else listening, he yells “hang, beg, starve, die in the streets. For, by my soul, I’ll never acknowledge thee, nor what is mine do thee good. Trust to’t, bethink you. I’ll not be forsworn.” He outright threatens Juliet by saying that he will not care if she was hung, starved or died in the streets and the he will not acknowledge her (by disowning her) and that he trusts the she will rethink what she had told him (by trusting her to rethink what she had told him, he means You will rethink it and you will marry Paris). He “Shall not be forsworn”, he will not be told lies or false promises. He will be obeyed.

This is how I believe Lord Capulet was portrayed in the play Romeo and Juliet.

An excellent response, Arwen! Well done!

Try not to use so many simple sentences in your response; make it sophisticated.

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