Question

Which lines in this excerpt from act III of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet best show Lord Capulet’s oppressive and authoritarian nature?

CAPULET: Things have fall'n out, sir, so unluckily,
That we have had no time to move our daughter:
Look you, she loved her kinsman Tybalt dearly,
And so did I: Well, we were born to die.
'Tis very late, she'll not come down to-night:
I promise you, but for your company,
I would have been a-bed an hour ago.

PARIS: These times of woe afford no time to woo.
Madam, good night: commend me to your daughter.

LADY CAPULET: I will, and know her mind early to-morrow;
To-night she is mew'd up to her heaviness.

CAPULET: Sir Paris, I will make a desperate tender
Of my child's love: I think she will be ruled
In all respects by me; nay, more, I doubt it not.
Wife, go you to her ere you go to bed;
Acquaint her here of my son Paris' love;
And bid her, mark you me, on Wednesday next—
But, soft! what day is this?

Answer 1

The lines that best show Lord Capulet's oppressive and authoritarian nature are:

"Sir Paris, I will make a desperate tender
Of my child's love: I think she will be ruled
In all respects by me; nay, more, I doubt it not."

These lines suggest that Lord Capulet sees his daughter as a possession, and that he believes he has the power to control her life and decisions. He is willing to force her into a marriage with Paris, regardless of her own wishes or desires. This highlights his oppressive and authoritarian nature.