Analysis of Language Between Juliet and Lord Capulet

This male domination is shown in the play through Lord Capulet's relationships between his wife, daughter and other members of his family. This patriarchal domination makes him very powerful and makes other characters in the play weaker by comparison. This power is very important in determining the outcome of the play. The portrayal of Lord Capulet's character, shows him as one who has the power to tell others what to do as well as having complete power over his household and what happens in his household. He expects his wife (Lady Capulet), daughter (Juliet) and his servants to do exactly as he tells them.

Shakespeare wrote in the Elizabethan age, so naturally he based most of his plays on the morals and social standards of the time. During the Elizabethan period noble women were expected to be married off to rich, socially acceptable men. Fathers choose the men they considered “suitable” for their daughters, aiming to marry them off to higher social circles to levitate their own. Men were considered the bread winners of the family and women inferior to them. It was thought unconventional for women to make important decisions for themselves, they were incapable and therefore men where to make their decisions for them, not just regarding their marriage.

Women could refuse to marry but would be disowned by their families; it was a silent threat that was hidden underneath every happy Elizabethan family. Just as Capulet’s behaviour so drastically contrasts from when Juliet was obeying him to when she spoke out. Women had either little or no work opportunities outside their family and without a male supporter they became penniless street vagrants. Elizabethan society wasn’t fair; if it was then women wouldn’t be working in high power jobs equally with men. The modern society we live in has changed so because of the prejudice against how women where controlled mercilessly by men. In my opinion that is unjust and wrong, I am very appreciative that I wasn’t