This scene relates back to other scene in the play, this happens as, in this the two families are fighting once again and there is someone else that gets involved and faces the consequences, the scene that this also happens is the first scene when the Capulets start a fight with the Montague’s and there is a very bad outcome. This is telling the audience that something ad is abut to happen, it shows this because prince said if your families keep on fighting and disturbing Vienna, they will be killed, who ever is caught. Even though this warning is in place, they are ignoring it.
In Act 3 scene 1, Shakespeare builds up a lot of tension between Mercutio and Tybalt; he does this by bringing Tybalt into the scene who seemed to be calm at this moment when he’s talking to Mercutio. When Tybalt is talking to Mercutio about that he wants to see Romeo, Mercutio is spitting it back in his face, which could set Tybalt off. This shows the audience that there is probably going to be a fight between Mercutio and Tybalt, in the play Tybalt says,” Mercutio thou consort’st with Romeo”. He is saying that you are usually with Romeo so where is he now. Mercutio uses the word consort and changes it into a word meaning a music player, so he is like, what are you talking about Tybalt. Later in the scene, Tybalt say’s,” Well, peace be with you sir: here comes my man”. Tybalt is saying, have a good day because here is the man I really want to talk to (Romeo). Mercutio replies with,” But I’ll be hanged, sir, if he were your livery: Marry, go before to field, he’ll be your follower, your worship in that sense you may call him man”. Mercutio is changing the sense of the word man to be a slave, so he is saying, I’ll be dead before he’s your slave, when you marry him he will be your slave so until you are, don’t call him man.
Tybalt wants to fight with Romeo because Romeo went to the Capulets house party and wasn’t invited; Tybalt took great offence to this. Romeo doesn’t want to fight with Tybalt because he has just got married to Tybalt's cousin although Tybalt doesn’t know this. Romeo is thinking that he should make peace with Tybalt as they are now family. Tybalt is thinking that he really wants and has to hurt Romeo to gain his pride back because he has disrespected him in the way that he did when Romeo trespassed onto the Capulets family party. This shows the audience that Romeo is more of a nicer character because he wants to love Tybalt even though he knows that Tybalt is a horrible man.
When Romeo doesn’t rise to Tybalt’s challenge of a fight, the other characters would be thinking, “What’s going on, Romeo should be fighting with Tybalt”. The thing that is wrong with Romeo’s behaviour is that he has become more lady like and not as manly as he once was, this has happened because he is in love with Juliet. When Romeo realises that his behaviour has changed he goes on to kill Tybalt who has just killed Romeo’s best friend Mercutio. After doing this he believes that his behaviour was wrong, he believes this because he has just killed Juliet’s favourite cousin and he will be thinking of what she will do when she finds out of this.
Before Mercutio’s death he curses both of the families, “A plague o’ both your houses!” This is so significant because it shows the audience that bad things are going to happen, like the end result of the scene when Tybalt gets killed, and then Romeo gets banished from the city of Vienna. This is bad because as Romeo is banished from the city he misses the letter Friar Lawrence sends him, which leads onto Romeo killing himself because he believed that Juliet was dead, Juliet then wakes up and finds Romeo dead so she then kills herself.
In conclusion I believe that this scene is the most important scene in the play, I believe this because thing where going fine before Mercutio and Tybalt died, also Romeo being Banished made everything a lot harder for Romeo and Juliet, like when he missed the letter which led to even more death which is the dreadful ending to the play.
This scene overall show’s the audience that some people are different and that they had changed, also it would have been frustrating for the audience because they already know what is going to happen.
I think this Act 3 scene 1 is so important to the play as a whole because this scene is like a bridge of where one side is good and happy; this is the beginning of the play to this scene. On the other side of the bridge it is dark, dreadful and very unhappy with many deaths including the death of Romeo and Juliet. I believe it is the most important scene and without it you couldn’t have the play of “Romeo and Juliet”.