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Lia Hudgins

Mr. King

English I Honors

23 May 2019

Capulet’s Demise with Bipolar Disorder

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy about two “star crossed lovers” drawn apart by their

familial grudges (Shakespeare 7). But one of the biggest tragedies in this play is not of the

teenagers themselves, but rather one of the strongest upholders of the grudge, Lord Capulet.

Capulet is Juliet’s father, which means he hated the Montagues. Juliet was supposed to as well,

but unfortunately for her, she falls in love with one right as she’s about to be married to someone

as arranged by Capulet himself. From there, we see some extreme reactions from the father in

question, those reflective of bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder can be classified as “a brain

disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out

day-to-day tasks.”(National). Lord Capulet displays this kind of emotional instability- he seems

to have worse fits than his 13-year-old daughter.

Act III is the first place in which we really begin to see how Capulet’s emotions work. In

Scene 4, his nephew Tybalt has just been killed in a duel, and he is meeting with Juliet’s suitor,

the County Paris. He speaks somberly about how he and his daughter are taking the current

events, saying “Look you, she loved her kinsman Tybalt dearly, and so did I. Well, we were born

to die.” (Shakespeare 153) then he thinks about the wedding that is to take place between Juliet

and Paris, and suddenly his mood changes dramatically. He even ups the stakes some by moving

the wedding time up, “Acquaint her here of my son Paris’ love, and bid her—mark you me?—on
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Wednesday next— but soft, what day is this?” (Shakespeare 155) That day is Monday, and then

he sets the wedding for Thursday, forgetting completely that family has just died. Death

should’ve kept him devastated for a while, but he skips right over it at the mention of something

else. This is an example of what is called a Manic Episode in the types of bipolar episodes, in

which “They talk more, are easily distracted, their thoughts race, and they don’t sleep enough. It

often leads to reckless behavior.” (WebMD) The rest of the play’s cast is much more conflicted

with this idea, as we would see in Scene 5.

Bipolar disorder comes in many forms that make it very hard to diagnose, but “People

with bipolar disorder often switch from feeling overly happy and energetic (or irritable) to

feeling very sad.” Which is a telltale sign, and doubles in the play as Capulet’s most dramatic

and well-known scene (WebMD). He strolls in, happy knowing his wife has talked to Juliet, and

is surprised to see her still in tears. “How now, a conduit, girl? What, still in tears? Evermore

show’ring?” (Shakespeare 165). It’s like he’s joking about the fact that his nephew had died the

day previous. When Juliet tells him she won’t marry Paris, and that she cannot be proud of what

she hates, Capulet switches from his happy mood immediately, even delving into abusive

tendencies to get his point across to her. In nearly every interpretation, he is seen slinging her

across the room and in the play itself, he says “An you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the

streets, for, by my soul, I’ll ne’er acknowledge thee, nor what is mine shall never do thee good.”

(Shakespeare 171) He is willing to immediately disown Juliet because of a marriage he arranged

the day before. There is no rational person that would do this. Capulet is seen here displaying

symptoms of Bipolar I, he is having severe reactions and immediately slips into a depressive

episode.
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Many people will argue that this doesn’t convince that Capulet has bipolar disorder

because Romeo often shows many of the same signs- the changing mood and reckless behavior

as a result. Even though there’s evidence against it, many argue that Romeo has bipolar disorder

as well or that neither character has it, but they fail to understand the diagnosis process, and how

it varies in diagnosing teenagers and adults. Teenagers are rarely diagnosed as bipolar because it

is somewhat normal for them to act in that way. Mood swings are frequent in all teenagers, and

to combat this idea that they are all bipolar, a new disorder has been named as “Disruptive Mood

Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD).” (WebMD). However, adults are not usually so severe in the

mood swings and changes, that’s why they are usually more frequently and accurately

diagnosed, it’s also what makes this argument the stronger one. It’s the exact reason we can

diagnose Capulet with bipolar disorder and not Romeo. Romeo is still a growing boy with

conflicting feelings all at once, and Capulet is a settled adult.

Capulet showed a level of emotional instability that can be mistaken with nothing else but

the bipolar disorder he possessed but had no clue of. It’s important to look at the the most

important climax of the play, where we see Capulet’s true emotions come into the words, and his

disorder get the best of him. It is sad that he was unable to receive treatment or even to be

diagnosed, and it obviously impacted his life in many negative ways. He tried to do what he

thought was best for his family, and instead drove his daughter to suicide. But was it Capulet

himself, or was it his gripping case of bipolar disorder that’s responsible for his demise?

Works Cited
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“Bipolar Disorder Diagnosis: Similar Symptoms to ADHD, Depression, and More.” WebMD,

WebMD, www.webmd.com/bipolar-disorder/guide/bipolar-easy-to-recognize.

“Bipolar Disorder: Symptoms, Causes, and More in Pictures.” WebMD, WebMD,

www.webmd.com/bipolar-disorder/ss/slideshow-bipolar-disorder-overview.

Grohol, John M. “Mental Disorders & Conditions - DSM5.” Psych Central, 18 May 2019,

psychcentral.com/disorders/.

“Bipolar Disorder.” National Institute of Mental Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human

Services, www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/bipolar-disorder/index.shtml.

Library, Folger Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet, www.folgerdigitaltexts.org/html/Rom.html#line-

3.4.0.