Question

What ideas and feelings does lord capulet convey in the simile in lines 28–29?

Answer 1

In this line, Capulet says:

"Death lies on her like an untimely frost Upon the sweetest flower of all the field."

He is literally describing the sight of Juliet in death. He is comparing her to the sweetest flower caught in an early frost. Like the flower, Juliet has died too soon.

With these words, Capulet is conveying both the depth of his love and of his grief. He clearly loves his daughter and is completely devastated by her untimely death.

Answer 2

In these lines, Capulet uses a simile in which he compares Juliet to the "sweetest flower of all the field." This phrase conveys the beauty and the delicate nature of Juliet. It also conveys Capulet's deep love for his daughter. However, he also tells us that "death lies on her like an untimely frost." The fact that the death is "untimely" shows that Capulet thinks Juliet was too young to have died. The idea of a frost contributes to the tone of the excerpt by contrasting something sweet and beautiful as the flower (Juliet) with the destructive harshness of the frost (death).