Skip to main content

How does Lord Capulet's anger build up when Juliet refuses to marry Paris?

At first, Lord Capulet simply seems to be confused by his wife's news that Juliet does not want to marry Count Paris.  He says, "Soft, take me with you, take me with you, wife" (3.5.146).  He is sort of confused and seems to require further explanation of this response, and he asks questions that build in intensity: "How, will she none?  Doth she not give us thanks? / Is she not proud?" and, finally, "Doth she not count her blessed, / Unworthy as she is, that we have wrought / So worthy a gentleman to be her bride?" (3.5.147-148, 3.5.148-150).  He begins, simply asking for information, but eventually his anger grows so that he describes his daughter as "unworthy" and implies that she lacks gratitude and value. 


Once Juliet responds, her father's anger only increases.  He mocks her, calling her "Mistress minion," "baggage," and "tallow face," and he threatens her, saying that if she doesn't get herself to the church on Thursday to marry Paris, he "will drag [her] on a hurdle thither" (3.5.156, 161, 162; 3.5.160).  She begs him to hear her, and his wife calls him mad for his terrible words, but it only makes his rage worse.  His "fingers itch" because he wants to strike his daughter, and he ends by saying that if Juliet doesn't obey him, he will let her "hang, beg, starve, die in the streets, / For, by [his] soul, [he'll] ne'er acknowledge [her]" (3.5.170, 3.5.204-205).  His anger builds throughout the conversation, and any involvement on his wife or Juliet's nurse's part seems only to incense him further.  He evidently frightens the nurse so much that she advises Juliet to do as he says.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

etymology - Origin of the greeting "Sweet dreams".

Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What are the similarities between the relationships of the characters in The Outsiders and Romeo and Juliet?

At first glance, it might appear as if the characters in  The Outsiders  by S. E. Hinton and  Romeo and Juliet  by William Shakespeare do not have much in common; however, when one isolates the core of the conflicts, it becomes clear that the relationships in both stories are rooted in rivalry and secrecy.  In both  The Outsiders  and  Romeo and Juliet , an overarching theme is rivalry. While   socioeconomic status separates the greasers from the Socs in The Outsiders , last names separates the Montagues from the Capulets, who appear to be relatively equal in terms of socioeconomic status. Due to these rivalries, there are instances of deadly interactions in both stories. In  The Outsiders , Johnny kills Bob (whether his actions were justified or not is debatable). In  Romeo and Juliet , Romeo kills Tybalt and Paris, and Tybalt kills Mercutio. These deaths have profound effects on the main characters. In Ponyboy's case, the Johnny's death and other events in the novel inspire h...
Post a Comment
Read more