Lord Capulet is a stinker

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a tragic love story with many colorful characters. People often mistake this tragedy to be a romantic fairy tale, which is not the case at all. Six people end up dead. One of the biggest arguments regarding Romeo and Juliet is who is the miscreant that caused the calamity in the first place. There are many suspects, but in regards to the deaths of Romeo, Juliet, and Paris there is one man who stands out. Lord Capulet is guilty of the crime. If it weren’t for his selfish, immature, and abusive attitude, Juliet would have never had to fake her death.

CAPULET: But saying o'er what I have said before: 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.

PARIS: Younger than she are happy mothers made.

CAPULET: And too soon marr'd are those so early made. (1.2.2)

What Capulet is saying is Juliet is far too young to be married, and that Paris could have her when she reaches a suitable age. Here, he is being a good dad, looking out for his daughters’ best interest. However, after the death of Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt, Capulet considers it might be good for Juliet to have a husband, that it might be a good healing technique. Keep in mind that this is after the night of the party when Romeo and Juliet fell in love. He is convinced and is excited for Juliet to get married, when she says no. She refuses, for obvious reasons, and he throws a huge temper tantrum. His harsh reaction leads readers to look at him as a bit of a tyrant and his entire “good daddy” persona is flushed down the toilet when he starts threatening Juliet. He states that he is willing to beat her or throw her out on the...

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...ts built up in Lord Capulet are good building blocks for someone who is going to cause the deaths of 3 people. So you could say other people were responsible for the deaths, and you may even be right, but of those suspects the one who could have very easily done something better is Capulet. He could have not thrown a temper tantrum and Juliet wouldn’t have felt the need to fake her own death and escape the inevitable matrimony of her and Paris. Capulet had several opportunities to turn this story around, and he just didn’t, and that’s what makes him responsible for the tragic deaths of Romeo, Juliet, and Paris. Although Capulet is irrational, and in my opinion just a dummy, he does offer a good moral of the story. Hatred is a wasted emotion, with no other intention than to ruin people’s lives. Patients is a virtue, and maturity is a choice.

Works Cited

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