Capulet

• 'she is the hopeful lady of my earth' - Act 2

  • The word "earth" shows Juliet to be extremely valued by Capulet, showing that she means the world to him. This is also a reference to the fact that Juliet is his only child, making her death at the end that much more tragic
• "hang, beg, starve, die' - Act 3

  • addresses his daughter, whom we once assumed he cared so much for, with such cruel indifference that he seems tyrannous
  • Shakespeare demonstrates the conflict between him needing to assert his authority and yet loving and valuing her as well
• 'fettle your fine joints' - Act 3

  • employs an imperative to make him sound domineering - adjective "fine" seems mocking, as if he is ridiculing her entitled, spoiled nature, as he sees it
  • Capulets sudden switch in demeanour from the first act where he seemed genuinely concerned for his daughter's wellbeing is shocking
  • Shakespeare ensures we feel the same shock Juliet does by making his anger seem to appear from nowhere and thus we sympathise for her more
• 'look how our daughter bleeds' - Act 5

  • Capulet learns, after the death of his daughter, that fatherhood was always a more important responsibility than his duty to marry his daughter
  • We feel immense pity for Capulet, as he has realised his mistake, valuing his duties over his daughter's happiness, far too late
  • This adds to the genre of tragedy that the play falls into
• 'sacrifices for [his] enmity - Act 5

  • This line marks the moment of realisation for him but the irony is it has come too late
  • The death of his daughter, like it was for her mother, is a catalyst for his realisation of the childish nature of his feud and the audience can see the guilt he feels for prioritising his responsibilities over his daughter's wellbeing
  • Shakespeare uses this tragedy to communicate that love should always supersede hate and family, duty
• • Like Lady Capulet, lord Capulet seems conflicted between being a loving father but also doing what he societally expected to do, which is to marry off his daughter
  • Lord Capulet, in his harsh treatment of his daughter, acts a villain in the play and shows that he ultimately values status over his daughter, contrary to what we have been led to believe from previous scenes in the play