That is a tough question. It's not that Lord Montague is tough to analyze, because he's a very deep character. On the contrary, he is a tough read because he is barely in the play at all. He speaks a total of ten times throughout the entire play. There simply isn't much textual evidence to go on in order to get a good read on Lord Montague.
What is clear from Act 1, Scene...
That is a tough question. It's not that Lord Montague is tough to analyze, because he's a very deep character. On the contrary, he is a tough read because he is barely in the play at all. He speaks a total of ten times throughout the entire play. There simply isn't much textual evidence to go on in order to get a good read on Lord Montague.
What is clear from Act 1, Scene 1 is that Lord Montague is genuinely concerned about Romeo's overall depressed demeanor. He wants to know what is bothering his son, and he wants to figure out a way to help Romeo recover from his depression.
Could we but learn from whence his sorrows grow.
We would as willingly give cure as know.
So from that attitude, I gather that he is a caring and loving father. I just don't buy into that from the rest of the play. He speaks one time in Act 3, and then again in Act 5 (after Romeo is dead). Romeo never once goes to his father to seek advice. He goes to the friar. That tells me something about the relationship between Romeo and his father. They are not close. I think that Lord Montague sees Romeo and his mood less as a person with problems and more as a problem to be solved and fixed.
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