One of the things I love about Shakespeare is that he gave us such unique and individual characters in his plays. Some of them are so fleshed out that they seem to be real people; with histories, favorite things, enemies, habits, and speech patterns that make them who they are. Shakespeare doesn't always spell everything out for us, the way we might see in a modern play's character list. Instead, we have to mine the text for clues as to who these characters really are, so that when we present them onstage, we are showing them as multi-faceted, relatable, human beings. Today, I want to take a look at a character that I feel is performed a lot (although not yet by me), that many people don't give a lot of attention to, but who I still find wildly fascinating: Lady Capulet from Romeo & Juliet.
I feel like Lady C is overlooked, and I want to shine a little light on her, because this chick is so interesting! First of all, she's in ten scenes in the play (a few she just kind of makes an appearance and isn't the focus), but only speaks 114 lines of verse, which is not a lot. The Nurse speaks about twice as much, and even Benvolio and Mercutio each speak more than Lady Capulet - and Mercutio dies halfway through the play! She's a major presence, but we don't hear all that much from her, so we need to follow the clues to understand her as much as we can as a character, then use our own imaginations as actors to fill in the blanks. Shakespeare gave us more info than you might expect, though, so let's play text detectives and see what we can learn about this Real Housewife of Verona!
Lady Capulet is YOUNG. I would say she's probably about 26.
How did I come up with that number? We hear from the Nurse in Act I, scene 3 that Juliet is 13, about two weeks away from turning 14. Then Lady Capulet chimes in:
I was your mother much upon these years
That you are now a maid.
Time for some basic math, right? If Juliet is 13, and Lady Capulet was around that same age when Juliet was born, that would make her right around 26. Her husband is significantly older, although we can't be sure of his age. In Act I, scene 1, when he wants to grab a sword and start fighting, Lady Capulet says:
A crutch! A crutch! Why call you for a sword?
And when Lord Capulet and his cousin, Old Capulet, are enjoying the party in Act I, scene 5, they're bickering over whether it was 25 or 30 years since they were in the "dancing days" of their youth. Bringing up Capulet's age so closely to when we discover Lady Capulet's age only highlights how young she is, and the age gap between them.
Lady Capulet might be barren because she had Juliet when she was so young. This exchange in Act I, scene 2 makes me wonder if Capulet is speaking of his wife's experience:
Paris
Younger than she are happy mothers made.
Capulet
And too soon marr'd are those so early made.
The earth hath swallowed all my hopes but she...
Whoa whoa whoa... Hold the phone! This looks like a MAJOR piece of information! It seems like Capulet doesn't want Juliet to suffer the same fate as her mom, which we can pretty clearly interpret here as having a baby very young, and not being able to have any more healthy kids. "The earth hath swallowed all my hopes" might be a metaphor, but he might be talking about miscarriages or children that died in infancy. That's absolutely tragic for the Capulets. Lord Capulet makes it extra clear that Juliet is their only child later, in Act III, scene 5, in a heated moment:
Wife, we scarce thought us blest
That God had lent us but this only child...
So Lord and Lady Capulet wanted more kids, but couldn't have any. Maybe that's why Lady Capulet really loved Tybalt (or she's putting on a big show for some reason). Lady Capulet is outspoken about her affection for her nephew, Tybalt. She immediately seeks revenge after his death in Act III, scene 1:
I beg for justice, which thou, Prince, must give:
Romeo slew Tybalt, Romeo must not live.
It's unclear if Tybalt was the son of Lord Capulet's brother or Lady Capulet's brother, as they both separately call him "my brother's son" after his passing (Lady Capulet in Act III, scene 1 and Lord Capulet in Act III, scene 5). It's common for Shakespeare's characters to leave out any "in law" clarification, so it's unlikely that Lord and Lady Capulet are brother and sister as well as husband and wife - but if someone stages that production, I want a ticket.
And in Act III, scene 2, the Nurse tells Juliet her parents are "Weeping and wailing over Tybalt's corse."
However, only hours later, in the early morning of the next day in Act III, scene 5, Lady Capulet tells Juliet not to cry for Tybalt any more:
Evermore weeping for your cousin's death?
What, wilt thou wash him from his grave with tears?
And if thou couldst, thou couldst not make him live;
Therefore have done. Some grief shows much of love,
But much of grief shows still some want of wit.
Well, she got over that quickly! Maybe she's putting on a brave face, knowing she's about to break the news of Juliet's arranged marriage to Paris, or maybe her wailing over Tybalt was an act, or perhaps she is just out of tears to cry.
Lady Capulet may seem passive in some scenes, letting her husband lead the charge when Juliet objects to marrying Paris in Act III, scene 5:
Here comes your father, tell him so yourself;
And see how he will take it at your hands.
But she seems to at least think of herself as a woman of action, devising a plan to poison Romeo in Mantua, where he is banished, earlier in the same scene. How serious she is about that is entirely dependent upon the production and the actor cast as Lady Capulet, but maybe she has ties to dangerous people in Mantua... Or maybe she's all talk.
When Lord Capulet starts hurling insults at Juliet and things are getting heated in Act III, scene 5, she tries to diffuse the situation:
Fie, fie, what, are you mad?
But ultimately sides with her husband on the matter in that scene, and shuts Juliet down like this:
Talk not to me, for I'll not speak a word.
Do as thou wilt, for I have done with thee.
So, my big question here is whose side is she on? Does she really think Juliet is being unreasonable, or that her husband is being abusive, or is it something more nuanced? Does she want to be the peacemaker, or does she just want to go back to crying over Tybalt's death?
When Juliet asks for forgiveness, Lady Capulet doesn't say anything, and lets her husband do the talking. Instead, her next five lines (over three scenes) are entirely about wedding planning. Granted, this already rushed event got moved up a few days, so Lady Capulet has a lot to do, but it makes me wonder if she was ever really angry at Juliet, or if she forgives quickly, or is covering up her feelings by keeping busy.
And then, in Act IV, scene 5, when Juliet's sleeping potion has convinced everyone that she is dead, Lady Capulet grieves in the way you might expect from a woman who has lost her only child:
But one, poor one, one poor and loving child,
But one thing to rejoice and solace in,
And cruel Death hath catch'd it from my sight!
You may have noticed that most of what I've dissected hasn't shown a "right" or "wrong" way to play Lady Capulet - I've just uncovered some of the options that are available when tackling such a rich and interesting character! Shakespeare gives us so much juicy material to work with, and it's our job as actors to find what works for our interpretation in each individual production to really bring these characters to life!
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