Summary GCSE,Romeo and Juliet grade 9 analysis of montagues and lady capulet
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I have handwritten these original and unique notes that helped me to get 156/160 in gcse English literature. This is a grade 9 English literature analysis of the Montagues and Lady Capulet
Lady Capulet
Arguably, she can be viewed as the strongest character in the play as the prince warns that
the next person to stir up trouble will be killed and after Romeo kills Tybalt, she demands
Romeo to be killed. She is the only character who is strong enough to suggest this,
surpassing Lord Capulet in the process. Furthermore, she is presented as highly strong
willed and emotionally strong as she married young and actively acknowledges the ‘mouse
‘hunt Lord Capulet has been on which is Elizabethan slang for his numerous affairs (with her
knowing). Lastly in the very last scene of the play Lady Capulet is the only women standing
in the room aNd is surrounded by all the other men – the other women are either uncounted
for (e.g. Nurse which is peculiar due to how close she was with Juliet) or dead(Juliet and
Lady Montague who dies offstage) Shakespeare may have done this to convey how Lady
Capulets duality and fine balance in both conforming to and subverting female stereotypes
means she alone can survive.
‘Verona summer hath not such a flower’
The Elizabethan's believed that by putting flowers into their pockets, they would the plague
relating to Mercutio’s dialogue ‘a plague o both your houses ‘in which tragedy quickly
follows. This implies that if Juliet took up Paris and wed him, she never would have wed
Romeo and so perhaps the tragedy would have never occurred.
‘To beautify him, only lacks a cover'
Shakespeare uses an extended metaphor in order to reveal that Paris is a ‘book’ which need
a ‘cover’- Juliet is what he needs to be completed and is what is judged. Men were judged
by their wives (how beautiful they were) and so Juliet is a trophy/accessory.
The countable noun ‘cover’ is exposed and usually the first to be damaged- protects Paris as
he would become married but also is directly exposed to society’s judgement. Also, it is quite
simplistic and gives a rough outline to the inside of a book- lack depth and portraying the
Elizabethan idea that women fill in the gaps within society as they exist to make men look
better rather than being identified as their own character which is showed through how they
don’t play primal roles- women were not allowed to enter the professions i.e., law, medicine,
politics, but they could work in domestic service as cooks, maids ect.
The common noun ‘book’ implies that Paris is deep and interesting, what people read and
get to know yet Juliet is only the surface with no personality. Furthermore, Juliet lacks words
and so depth and so is insignificant- women were viewed as emotionally and physically
inferior. Furthermore, she lacks words and hence liberty if she marries (forced to comply into
a subordinate and domestic role) which in the context was viewed as a necessary sacrifice
yet covers also often have drawings and different fonts – Juliet is meant to captivate others
and only the best covers are chosen
, Rhyme- used to give her a sing-song tone making it sound like a song or prophecy-destiny
and fate.
‘What, wilt thou wash him from his grave with tears'
Lady Capulet is portrayed as manipulative as now she mocks Juliet for weeping for who she
thinks is Tybalt (it is Romeo) when just previously she stated that ‘Romeo must not live-in
return for killing Tybalt in which she fabricated a version of events to victimize Tybalt yet now
she is making fun out of Juliet.
The adverb ‘evermore' is significant as it demonstrates how Lady Capulet is mocking her
own daughter’s sadness, conveying her as unsympathetic and callous. Furthermore, Lady
Capulet extrapolates Juliet’s sadness to a ridiculous extreme through hyperbole as she
mocks her own daughter. Therefore, this suggests that her distress about Tybalt’s death was
all an act and therefore intensifying her manipulative nature further
The language within ‘grave’ and ‘tears' mimics a funeral to imply that Lady Capulet is beyond
such humanly and futile actions and instead focuses on what needs to be done in the
situation rather than attending to Juliet’s state of emotional turmoil. The verb ‘wash' is
significant as it implies that Tybalt’s death was unclean and disgusting. By doing this we can
imply that Lady Capulet is fixated on the stain on her sacred family’s pride and honour that
has been brought by the Montagues. This as a result delineates as Lady Capulets extreme
disappointment towards Tybalt but also her embarrassment at the situation having been
bested by the Montagues. In turn this may suggest that Lady Capulet is dumbfounded at
Juliet wasting tears when clearly it wouldn’t help clear the situation so is quite futile, hence
encouraging Lady Capulets urgency to have Juliet married and add honour to their family
name.
Alternatively, the verb ‘wash’ evokes a paternal element to set up a foil between Juliets
nurturing personality to Lady Capulets calculated, society-oriented personality. By doing this
Shakespeare is making a comment on how Lady Capulet only ever forms business
relationships- even with her own family- hence her attention to honour as that would dictate
how she would be perceived in society. This links with the context as quite literally Lady
Capulet would have never had taken up parental roles like having to ‘wash’ Juliet but rather
it was Juliets wet nurse- presenting how emotionally distant and cold Lady Capulet is.
By mocking Juliet for attempting to ‘washing Tybalt’s ‘grave, Lady Capulet infantilises her,
making it clear how childish and futile her actions are- she is clearly not ready to implement
the same business-like outlook on the world as everybody else. This is business like not just
because of pride but how fast Lady Capulets emotions changed from previously and her
mocking at Juliet for think that she is crying for Tybalt.
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