Shakespeare uses timing to make the scene more exciting for the audience. The audience feel the tension between the two families when the Capulets enter; this makes them think that something bad could happen. When Romeo enters the scene it makes it dramatic as he come just at the time that Tybalt wanted him making the audience predict a fight. Mercutio’s death came right after Romeo and Juliet got married making Romeo feel horrible that his best friend has died when it should be a day for joy making the audience feel sad. Tybalt re-enters and the tension is really high, Romeo kills Tybalt and flies from the scene. The audience are stunned that Romeo has murdered and want to know if he will do it again.
There are many different emotions on stage and within the audience. In this scene Romeo changes his emotions a lot. When he first enters he is in a loving mood as he has just married Juliet and then tries to be civil with Tybalt ‘but love thee better than thou canst devise’. This entertains the audience, as Tybalt doesn’t care what Romeo wants he only wants revenge for turning up at their banquet. His emotions then change to sorrow as Tybalt has just slain Mercutio the audience feel sorry for him as his friend has just died. Romeo then gets angry ‘that late thou gavest me; for Mercutio’s soul/to keep him company: either thou, or I, or both must go with him’ and when Tybalt re-enters they begin a fight and Romeo kills Tybalt, in this scene Romeo changes from boy the man. The audience have never seen him angry or upset but they understand how he feels and are shocked that Romeo is a murderer and wonder if he will ever kill again.
Tybalt’s feelings don’t change much in this scene, he is always angry even when Mercutio died ‘here comes the furious Tybalt back again’. The audience think that he is heartless and doesn’t care about anyone but himself.
When Tybalt first appears on stage the contrast in the mans feelings are clearly shown when Benvolio says ‘by my head, here come the Capulets,’ Shakespeare has Mercutio say ‘by my heel, I care not.’ This suggests that Benvolio is thinking logically about a fight whereas Mercutio is thinking about the pleasure a fight might bring him.
Before Act 3 Scene 1 Romeo and Juliet get married but only Romeo, Juliet and Friar Lawrence know. The audience feel superior, as they know something the other characters don’t. They also feel sorry for Romeo, as Tybalt bullies him on the beach and wants revenge for turning up at the Capulets banquet however Romeo has done nothing but ‘tender the Capulet name’. When Romeo says ‘the reason I have to love thee’ the audience think that Romeo is going to tell Tybalt about his marriage to his cousin, Juliet. This keeps the audience thinking about what could happen next.
One way the audience are entertained is by the use of language. Shakespeare uses insults to entertain the audience an example of this is when Tybalt calls Romeo ‘Boy’ this makes Romeo seem insignificant, weak and defenceless. Tybalt also calls Romeo ‘villain’ this meaning peasant; this was a big insult if you were rich. Mercutio throws other insults at Tybalt such as ‘rat-catcher’ this amuses the audience because Tybalt calls himself ‘the king of cats’. The audience would find this dramatic and exciting as the insults lead to fighting. The effect of the insults shows historical culture of 15th century people.
Another way Shakespeare uses language is repetition. Mercutio repeats the word ‘quarrel’ 7 times; this would make the audience think that an argument could be about to happen making the audience excited. After Tybalt has stabbed Mercutio, Mercutio says ‘ay, ay, a scratch, a scratch’ this shows he is trying to make light of something serious. To add to the drama of this Shakespeare uses a pun ‘tomorrow you will find me a grave man’ this could mean a) find me tomorrow and I shall be in my grave, or b) find me tomorrow and I’ll be a happy man. The audience are left questioning, will he live or will he die? This keeps the audience in suspense making it dramatic and exciting. In Mercutio’s last moments he repeats ‘a plague on both your houses’ this suggests that he blames the Capulets and the Montagues for his death, it also sounds like a curse and Elizabethans believed in curses leaving the audience wanting to know if the curse will affect the two families.
The audience are aware that Benvolio is nervous about meeting the Capulets because he predicts a fight in the overwhelming heat, ‘And if we meet, we shall not ‘scape a brawl, / for now these hot days is the mad blood stirring’. Shakespeare has Benvolio comment on the weather to show the audience what it is like and to imply a fight could happen because the men are aggressive due to the heat also the weather doesn’t change throughout the play. The audience are already aware of Tybalt’s need to gain revenge on Romeo so they are likely to feel tension aswell as the characters on stage.
In this scene there is a lot of crime. There are fights and murders that lead to banishment. In Elizabethan times, theatres were seen as a place where a lot of crime took place. So the Elizabethan audience could relate to what was happening on stage also if nobles killed someone they would be hung, this makes the scene non-naturalistic, as Romeo would be hung for killing Tybalt. Once Romeo has killed Tybalt Prince Escalus has finally had enough of the rivalry between in two families and banishes Romeo ‘when he is found, that hour is his last’. The audience find this dramatic as he can’t see Juliet anymore and they wonder what he is going to do.
All of the events in this scene add up to Romeo and Juliet’s death. Because of the families rivalry they cant be together this makes the audience feel sorry for both of the characters. At the very start of the play Shakespeare uses a prologue to give the audience vital information about the play and introduces the two families, it also says ‘a pair of star-crossed lovers take their life’ this tells the audience that two people are going to die making them feel superior as they know something the characters don’t.
William Shakespeare uses many methods to shock the audience aswell as preparing them for an even bigger event. Without Act 3 Scene 1 lots of key events are lost; Mercutio’s death, Romeo’s change of character and the build up to Romeo and Juliet’s death. Shakespeare wanted us to see the mistakes in the play and learn from them things like leaving the past in the past and keeping secrets as they could kill.
The most exciting aspects of the play are the two fights that take place for no reason, much like today’s world, this is exciting as the audience did not know they were going to happen and look forward to seeing conflict. We should learn to tell the truth before mis-understood perception takes place, and we regret the events that have take place.
