Rough Draft #2

Abigail M. Zuckert

IB Literature and Performance

Mrs. Guarino

December 4, 2016

Rough Draft 1

Throughout the course of Romeo and Juliet  by William Shakespeare, a main reoccurring theme in the play is the development of identity and the deterioration of relationships. Despite being a supporting character, Lord Capulet's change in character and his eventual collapse in relationship with his daughter, is perhaps one of the most evident. By using strict blocking, vocal tonality, and a wide range of emotion in my performance in scene VI, I was able to show Lord Capulet's chapter development and true intentions, while at the same time, highlighting Shakespeare's many literary devices, such as motifs and very dramatic moods.

Throughout the course of scene VI, Lord Capulet, Juliet’s father, becomes very upset with Juliet. As she tells him that she will not marry Paris, he becomes frustrated, and ultimately tries to force her to marry him. Lord Capulet’s language and emotion develops from simple to very complex, which indicates his mood during the scene. As Lord Capulet’s language intensifies, his anger and frustration with Juliet amplifies. Shakespeare establishes this the moment Lord Capulet enters into the scene by having his attention be primarily directed to finding out how Juliet is feeling. Further, Shakespeare shows this by having Lord Capulet confronting her on her sadness: “How now! A conduit, girl? What, still in tears? Evermore showering?” (Act III; Scene VI; Line 128-129) By having Lord Capulet acknowledge that Juliet is upset, Shakespeare reinforces the idea that Lord Capulet was initially concerned about her happiness to the reader. However, once he learns that she is refusing to marry Paris, he has a sudden, and dramatic, change in character. This is what makes this scene vital to the entirety of Romeo and Juliet. In the beginning of the play, Shakespeare portrayed Lord Capulet as a devoted father, one who respected and considered his daughter's wishes when making decisions on her behalf. However, in this very scene, Shakespeare manages to change that dynamic.

After Lord Capulet quickly realizes that Juliet is refusing to obey him and will not marry Paris, he begins to direct harsh language at her, calling her names such as “baggage” (Act III; Scene VI; Line 155) and “disobedient wretch” (Act III; Scene VI; Line 159). In return, his character begins to change as his anger and frustration is clearly highlighted. In addition to his jarring vocabulary, Lord Capulet gives Juliet an ultimatum in order to show how detrimental he is willing to be in order to get his way:  “I tell thee what: get thee to church o' Thursday, Or never after look me in the face.” (Act III; Scene VI; Line 160-161) By giving her an ultimatum, Shakespeare establishes how desperate Lord Capulet is to make peace within his family after Tybalt’s death. By manipulating his own power as head of the Capulet family, Lord Capulet acts as a catalyst for Juliet’s own character change, which is another reason why this scene is crucial to the play. Once Lord Capulet informs Juliet of the possible repercussions she will face if she doesn't marry Paris, she changes from her once happy-in-love stage, to a more desperate character, which in return, changes her motives completely. Prior to this scene, Juliet only had to worry about Romeo’s safety, but now, she must face the very real possibility of having her hand forced to marry someone she doesn’t love. This scene is the turning point for both Lord Capulet and Juliet, one in which their characters change and are faced with newly formed conflict. Because Lord Capulet is willing to put aside Juliet’s wishes, the reader is able to learn more about his character, and how he has changed up until this scene so far in the play; once a loving father, he is now transformed into someone who disregards the happiness of his own family.  

For our scene, I wanted to have blocking that would add emphasis to the many literary devices that Shakespeare included in his writing. When my character, Lord Capulet enters the scene, he is worried about Juliet being upset and wants her to be happy. In order to show that I was concerned about her feelings, I kept my voice low, placed my hand on her arm, and tried to make eye contact with her during my first lines. It was apparent to me that the lines “How now! A conduit, girl? What, still in tears? Evermore showering?” (Act III; Scene VI; Line 128-129) clearly showed his concern for her well being, so I thought that these three acting choices would show my characters compassion for his daughter. However, what stands out to me most from this scene is his shift from compassion, to frustration. That being said, when Juliet informed me that she was refusing to marry Paris, I had to change the way I stood, my body and facial expression, and my volume. The more Juliet would tell my character that she would not marry Paris, I became stiff. The reason for doing this was so that when Lord Capulet would eventually yell at her, I could explode volume and blocking-wise, by using strong movements and hand gestures to emphasize my speech. Additionally, when calling Juliet names, I stressed the harsh sounds in each word to make them stand out, and as a way to shock the audience, my scene partners, and to prove how fuel with anger my character truly was.   

One of the most important aspects I wanted to establish in our scene was the difference in social levels between my character, Lord Capulet, and Juliet, played by Betty. I knew that a prime opportunity to do this was when I confronted Juliet with my ultimatum. To show his dominance over his daughter and his higher social status, I asked my scene partner to fall to her knees on her line, “I beseech you on my knees” ( Act III; Scene VI; Line 158). When she did this, I made sure to have very straight posture and to stand as tall as I could. I refrained from moving, as now I was able to symbolize how Lord Capulet is socially above Juliet, simply by standing over her and by looking down upon her. By looking down at Juliet as she was on the floor, I was also able to allude to the fact that Lord Capulet begins to think less of Juliet once she refuses to do as he pleases. By manipulating  my posture and positioning, I was able to show the lack of  communication between the two characters and how my character felt superior compared to Juliet.

Further, I believe that a main, turning point in the scene is when Lord Capulet threatens Juliet with the possibility that he may never acknowledge her if she refuses to marry Paris. Because of the major impact this has on Juliet, I chose to bend down onto her level and deliver my lines as slowly, and as steadily as I could, in hopes the audience would be able to catch every word I said. In addition, I altered my once hysterical voice to match that of a calm speaking tone. This, in addition to changing to a downtempo, allowed me to create a more dramatic sense of tension between myself and Juliet. I was able to show how serious Lord Capulet became by keeping eye contact and no longer yelling, but calmly speaking to Juliet about a matter that would in fact, cause Juliet to be anything but calm. By giving Juliet the ultimatum, Lord Capulet proved that he was willing to push aside her feelings in order to get what he wanted.  

Looking back at my group’s performance, I am very pleased with our end result. As I watch my own execution of scene, what I like most was my blocking and range of emotion. However, I do see room for potential improvement. One area where my performance fell flat was in my own confidence on stage. I believe this got in the way of my acting, which as a result, negatively impacted my ability to portray Lord Capulet as a ruthless figure when angry.