And too soon marr’d are those so early made.
The earth hath swallow’d all my hopes but she,
She is the hopeful lady of my earth.
– William Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet, Act 1, Scene 2. Juliet occupies a special place in Capulet’s heart and initially he refuses to marry her to Paris because she is too young. She is his last remaining hope of future generations of descendants, since his other children have died. His affection for Juliet is clear in this passage. Earth is personified because it has the human ability to swallow – it has "swallow’d" all Capulet’s children except Juliet.