Sunday, November 9, 2008

How does Shakespeare present Lord Capulet in the play as a whole and in Act I, Scene 2?

Lord Capulet is Juliet's father and a well-respected man of Verona. He does nothing to seek peace with the Montagues, but he is also not one to ruin his own party because a few of his enemy's youth crash it. He seems like a reasonable man, but one who also takes his status in the community and role as husband and father seriously. He believes in what the law allows, which is marrying off his daughter to whomever he chooses. He also expects his wife, daughter, and employees (such as the nurse) to do their duties to support him and to do what he says. When he doesn't get what he wants, though, he can be very mean. For example, when Juliet tells him that she doesn't want to marry Paris, he threatens to cast her off into the streets. He can have a very heated temper when disobeyed. And when he believes that Juliet is dead, he is still selfish because he says the following:



"Death is my son-in-law, Death is my heir;


My daughter he hath wedded. I will die


And leave him all; life, living all is Death's: (IV.v.41-43).



Basically, Lord Capulet is sad for her death, but he's still selfish because he also mentions having no heirs and not getting what he wanted.


As far as the first act is concerned, we see Lord Capulet not wanting to marry his daughter off because of her youth. He tells Paris the following:



"My child is yet a stranger in the world;


She hath not seen the change of fourteen years.


Let two more summers wither in their pride,


Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride" (I.ii.8-11).



Then Capulet tells Paris to go to the party that night and meet some other girls. Paris can play until Juliet matures and then Capulet will marry her off to him. So what changes his mind? Tybalt's death. Lord Capulet sees Juliet crying over Tybalt and wants to make her happy again. He thinks that by marrying her off she will be distracted by a joyful wedding and his family will have cause to be happy, too. It seems as if rash decision-making runs in the family. If Tybalt had not died, Lord Capulet would not have had cause to push his daughter into marriage; but again, he wanted to distract everyone with something happy rather than see Juliet and the family crying over Tybalt's death.

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