Shakespeare sets the scene in the streets of Verona so the young men in the play are seen out in the world. All the scenes involving Juliet are in closed surroundings. Benvolio starts the scene by saying:
“I pray thee, good Mercutio, let’s retire:
The day is hot, the Capels are abroad,
And if we meet we shall not scape a brawl,
For now these hot days, is the mad blood stirring”
He is saying these words to Mercutio because he is feeling uneasy and is aware of the trouble brewing in the streets of Verona. Mercutio teases Benvolio by saying:
“Consort? What, dost thou make us minstrels?
And thou make minstrels of us; look to here nothing but discords.
Here’s my fiddlestick, here’s that shall make you dance. Zounds, consort!”
Benvolio replies by saying:
“We talk here in the public haunt of men.
Either withdraw unto some private place,
or reason coldly of your grievances,
or else depart; here all eyes gaze on us.”
Benvolio wants them to stop arguing because he can remember the Prince’s warning that anyone caught fighting in public would be sentenced to death. Mercutio behaves aggressively because he is looking for a fight. Tybalt is not interested in fighting Mercutio. He would rather fight Mercutio’s friend Romeo because he has heard Romeo has fallen in love with Juliet, a Capulet like himself. The Capulet's and the Montague’s are great rivals and sworn enemies, so this love should be unheard of.
When Romeo arrives Tybalt insults him and challenges him to a fight, saying “I am for you”. Romeo is not interested in fighting Tybalt because of his love for Juliet and refuses to become upset by his insults. Mercutio who is still keen to fight and sees Romeo’s refusal as a cowardly act, draws his sword on Tybalt, who decides to fight him. Romeo steps between the two of them to stop the fight but in the ensuing tussle Mercutio is accidentally but fatally wounded by Tybalt, who then flees.
Romeo on realising that Mercutio has been fatally wounded says to Benvolio, “draw Benvolio beat down their weapons gentlemen for shame forbear this outrage”. Mercutio whilst dying says to the gathered crowd, “a plague on both your houses” three times. This creates a powerful dramatic atmosphere of anger and tension. Romeo, a fellow Montague, pursues Tybalt, a Capulet, and kills him as revenge for the death of his friend Mercutio.
Given his love of Juliet, Romeo recognizes the trap that fate has caught him in, by calling himself “Fortune’s fool”. He realises that it is the fault in his own character and the mistakes he has made are to blame for the situation that he finds himself in. He realises he will be banished or at worst executed for his deeds. Given his recent marriage to Juliet and he is distraught saying to Friar Lawrence that he would rather die than be banished. Friar Lawrence tells that this would be stupid, as the banishment might eventually be withdrawn.
At the end of the scene both Lord and Lady Montague and Lord and Lady Capulet meet with the Prince to seek justice for their respective families, symbolising the importance of the situation as they have never been seen in each others company before. On discovering what has gone on before the Prince decides that the best punishment in the situation is to banish Romeo from Verona.
In conclusion I feel that Shakespeare has created the dramatic tension in this scene very well, this makes it very controlled and powerful part of the play. I think this is because he keeps the audience focused and involved through out the scene especially during the fighting. In Act Three, Scene One the key themes are the contrast and the conflict of the society that Romeo and Juliet lived in. Romeo shows the emotional side of his young love for Juliet by thinking of Juliet before himself and not wanting to fight Tybalt. I feel sympathy for Romeo at the end of the scene when he is banished by the prince.