Grade 9 English Literature Essay
Explore how Shakespeare presents the relationship between Lord Capulet and Juliet in
Romeo and Juliet starting from Act 3 Scene 5.
Shakespeare depicts Lord Capulet and Juliet’s relationship as being based partially on
Capulet’s wilful pride and stubbornness. In the phrase “how will she none? Doth she not give
us thanks? Is she not proud?’ this is evident. The use of the repetitive rhetorical questions,
paired with the short sentences not only increases the pace and tension of the play, but also
displays Capulet’s shock and disbelief of his daughter’s defiance. This is due to the
Elizabethan era as women were inferior to men as it was a patriarchal society and therefore,
they were expected to obey their fathers until they were married, in which case, they had to
obey their husband’s wishes. The repetition reinforces Capulet’s dismay as he is unable to
comprehend the fact that Juliet has refused to marry Paris. This could suggest that normally
Juliet would have been compliant with her father’s demands, and it is, in fact, the first time
she has opposed her father, therefore Capulet did not expect her reaction but instead expected
her to follow his “decree”. The audience may completely agree with Capulet’s reaction as
they would have also been astonished by Juliet’s defiance to her father, which was extremely
unconventional and actually frowned upon at the time.
Shakespeare also illustrates Capulet as being boastful about his ‘favours’ for Juliet and this is
shown in the phrase “day, night, hour… have her matches’. Capulet emphasis how hard he
has been working in order to find Juliet a husband, implying how he feels Juliet is almost
obliged and indebted to him as she is automatically expected to be grateful for something
which was forced upon her. The fact that he signifies his action of finding his daughter a
suitor, which was already conventionally done by fathers, emphasises how self-centred he is
as the marriage itself would almost play as a business deal. The fact that he wants his
daughter to be ‘indebted’ to him also suggests that he is power-hungry and wants to be the
only dominant figure in the house. Juliet’s ‘obligation’ is also shown in the adjective “proud”
and the noun “thanks”, where Capulet, once again, feels he is actually doing a favour upon
Juliet and so it dramatizes the fact that he expects Juliet to be grateful to him. Capulet is
unable to understand why Juliet disagrees to the marriage and simply labels her as defiant
instead of questioning why she is refusing to marry Paris, which not only hints at the distant
relationship between the two, but also could imply that Capulet believes that all women are
inferior to men and so don’t deserve his attention or even his time and care, so it is simply
easier for him to label her as defiant rather than take the time to figure out why his daughter
is refusing to get married to a stranger. Additionally, Capulet disregards the fact that is is
actually Juliet’s first time being “disobedient”, making all of her previous efforts futile,
emphasising how their relationship may actually be unrequited as Juliet has been honouring
her father’s decisions until now, whereas Capulet was heartless and completely ignored her
previous efforts.
Capulet is also portrayed as heartless when he tells Juliet to “hang thee young baggage”. He
shows disregard for Juliet’s already emotional state and is portrayed to be more concerned
with his own social standing and appearance. The fact that Capulet would rather see his
daughter “hang” herself instead of tolerating her insubordination and acknowledging the idea
of a young girl defying him, illustrates his heartless character as he has no hesitation in telling
his child to die, despite seeing her condition. In addition, Shakespeare uses the adjective
“disobedient” to describe Juliet from Capulet’s perspective, suggesting how he believes Juliet
is ungrateful for marrying Count Paris, who he espouses was a gentleman, however, this is
Explore how Shakespeare presents the relationship between Lord Capulet and Juliet in
Romeo and Juliet starting from Act 3 Scene 5.
Shakespeare depicts Lord Capulet and Juliet’s relationship as being based partially on
Capulet’s wilful pride and stubbornness. In the phrase “how will she none? Doth she not give
us thanks? Is she not proud?’ this is evident. The use of the repetitive rhetorical questions,
paired with the short sentences not only increases the pace and tension of the play, but also
displays Capulet’s shock and disbelief of his daughter’s defiance. This is due to the
Elizabethan era as women were inferior to men as it was a patriarchal society and therefore,
they were expected to obey their fathers until they were married, in which case, they had to
obey their husband’s wishes. The repetition reinforces Capulet’s dismay as he is unable to
comprehend the fact that Juliet has refused to marry Paris. This could suggest that normally
Juliet would have been compliant with her father’s demands, and it is, in fact, the first time
she has opposed her father, therefore Capulet did not expect her reaction but instead expected
her to follow his “decree”. The audience may completely agree with Capulet’s reaction as
they would have also been astonished by Juliet’s defiance to her father, which was extremely
unconventional and actually frowned upon at the time.
Shakespeare also illustrates Capulet as being boastful about his ‘favours’ for Juliet and this is
shown in the phrase “day, night, hour… have her matches’. Capulet emphasis how hard he
has been working in order to find Juliet a husband, implying how he feels Juliet is almost
obliged and indebted to him as she is automatically expected to be grateful for something
which was forced upon her. The fact that he signifies his action of finding his daughter a
suitor, which was already conventionally done by fathers, emphasises how self-centred he is
as the marriage itself would almost play as a business deal. The fact that he wants his
daughter to be ‘indebted’ to him also suggests that he is power-hungry and wants to be the
only dominant figure in the house. Juliet’s ‘obligation’ is also shown in the adjective “proud”
and the noun “thanks”, where Capulet, once again, feels he is actually doing a favour upon
Juliet and so it dramatizes the fact that he expects Juliet to be grateful to him. Capulet is
unable to understand why Juliet disagrees to the marriage and simply labels her as defiant
instead of questioning why she is refusing to marry Paris, which not only hints at the distant
relationship between the two, but also could imply that Capulet believes that all women are
inferior to men and so don’t deserve his attention or even his time and care, so it is simply
easier for him to label her as defiant rather than take the time to figure out why his daughter
is refusing to get married to a stranger. Additionally, Capulet disregards the fact that is is
actually Juliet’s first time being “disobedient”, making all of her previous efforts futile,
emphasising how their relationship may actually be unrequited as Juliet has been honouring
her father’s decisions until now, whereas Capulet was heartless and completely ignored her
previous efforts.
Capulet is also portrayed as heartless when he tells Juliet to “hang thee young baggage”. He
shows disregard for Juliet’s already emotional state and is portrayed to be more concerned
with his own social standing and appearance. The fact that Capulet would rather see his
daughter “hang” herself instead of tolerating her insubordination and acknowledging the idea
of a young girl defying him, illustrates his heartless character as he has no hesitation in telling
his child to die, despite seeing her condition. In addition, Shakespeare uses the adjective
“disobedient” to describe Juliet from Capulet’s perspective, suggesting how he believes Juliet
is ungrateful for marrying Count Paris, who he espouses was a gentleman, however, this is
