How the Character of Capulet Changes During the Play in Romeo and Juliet

How the Character of Capulet Changes During the Play in Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is set in Verona and it is based on two families, the

Capulets and

the Montagues. The families are enemies and they have a longstanding

rivalry. Capulet is the head of the ‘Capulet’ household. His daughter

Juliet falls in love with Romeo, a member of the Montagues, and he

feels the same way about her. Capulet has both his good points and his

bad points and I am interested in how his character changes throughout

the play.

We first see Capulet in Act 1 scene 1 when he walks in on a fight that

a member of his family is taking part in. Our first impression of

Capulet is that he is ready to fight, he says ‘What noise is this?

Give me my long sword, ho!’ (I.i.73) He decides to take part in the

brawl, which is between the Capulets and the Montagues. He is trying

to be loyal and protect his family but I think an audience may be

shocked, as they may not expect a man of his age to be acting like he

is. Capulet seems to jump in before finding out what is going on and

he is a bit hasty. When he asks for his sword Lady Capulet says ‘ A

crutch, a crutch! Why call you for sword?’(I.i.74) This gives the

impression that Capulet is perhaps too old for this kind of brawl and

it is mocking him. However, his behaviour shows the strong emotions he

feels towards to the Montagues and how important his family is to him.

We next see Capulet at the masquerade ball, which he is hosting. He is

welcoming his guests and talking like a gentleman, but is also making

jokes, ‘welcome gentleman, ladies that have their toes / Unplagu’d

with corns’. He is trying to behave...

... middle of paper ...

...is an interesting character to the audience for many reasons.

Capulet is interesting because of the way he develops, he is

complicated and hard to understand but goes from being selfish to

being compassionate. Audiences may react to Capulet differently at

different times. The people in the time of Capulet may go along with

his way of thinking and they may be horrified at Juliet’s refusal to

marry Paris. At the time Shakespeare was writing, the father was the

head of the household. A modern audience may find Capulet’s attitude

old-fashioned and they may be surprised at the lack of respect he has

for his daughter. We may see where he is coming from, but it is just

the way he is acting which is hard to agree with. Capulet has good

qualities and bad qualities and it is this, which makes him an

interesting character.