Here, Mercutio is joking about Benvolio being moody and quarrelsome, which is on the contrary and Mercutio knows this. This atmosphere of light heartedness is evident through the play up to this point. This is the same as in Act 1 Scene 1.
When Tybalt enters the scene he is very polite towards the Montagues-
Tybalt – “…Gentlemen, good den, a word with one of you” (Line 33)
In response to this politeness, Mercutio uses his humour to attack Tybalt. This helps to build up the tension in this scene because it is the first time we have seen Mercutio using his humour in an aggressive manor. This where we lose the playful humour of Mercutio, this helps to darken the play by removing the friendliness of him.
When Romeo enters the scene there is emphasis put on the theme love Vs hate,
Romeo – “…But love thee better than thou canst devise, till thou shalt know the reason of my love…” (Lines 62-63)
The dramatic irony at this stage helps to heighten the atmosphere. We know that Romeo and Juliet are married although nobody else does. Romeo is subtly hinting about their relationship but Tybalt does not pick up on this. Romeo is forced to be civil with Tybalt so he can carry on his relationship with Juliet in secret.
Love Vs Hate is portrayed through Romeo. He tries to love the Capulets because of Juliet whilst still having to hate them because of their ancient family feuds. It is shown in this scene that love and hate cannot co-exist in peace.
Mercutio ends up slain because of Romeo’s peacekeeping act. Mercutio knows this is why he is going to die. He holds this against Romeo and quotes the following in his anger.
Mercutio – “A plague a’both houses!” (Line 82)
This quote from Mercutio is the point that I feel really turns the play to one of tragedy and sadness. It is a very serious and direct speech, which doesn’t usually happen when Mercutio speaks. His usual playing with words is not evident here either.
This is the beginning of the disruptive force in the scene. The liminal period has begun and we know that once the equilibrium in the play is restored it will never be the same because of the death of Mercutio and any more deaths that occur in the scene.
With Mercutio dead, Romeo’s feelings are in turmoil. In his rage he attacks Tybalt for what he has done to his best friend.
Romeo – “…either thou or I, or both, must go with him” (Line 120)
Romeo is prepared to risk his own life to kill Tybalt because of his actions towards Mercutio. As the audience we know that if Romeo does kill Tybalt then he will be sentenced to death although if he walked away from the situation, then the Prince would sentence Tybalt to death. We know this from a quote in Act 1 Scene 1.
Prince – “…if ever you disturb our streets again, your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace…” (Lines 87-88 Act 1 Scene 1)
This really involves the audience because we know what will happen if he carries out the actions that he intends to. We know that this will end in Romeo and Juliet losing everything they had.
Romeo forgets this in his rage and kills Tybalt. At this point we know that the rest of the play is going to be very dark and is going to be tragic because whatever punishment Romeo gets will mean that Romeo and Juliet cannot be together.
When we find out what punishment Romeo will serve it is obvious that the play will have to end in some sadness or tragedy,
Prince – “… immediately do we exile him hence…” (Line 178)
If Romeo is banished from Verona then this means that he cannot be with Juliet, therefore for them to be together something major would have to happen in their lives for them to be able to see each other.
This makes the scene significant by showing the separation that is growing in the play. Everything is moving apart, making a dark and tense atmosphere throughout the rest of the play.
From all the violence and deaths that occur in the scene it shows the natural order being disrupted. This play was written in Elizabethan times. At this time order was a very important aspect in their society and was very structured.
The natural order in Elizabethan society was a very structured and ordered model for their society. Within each society there is a structure:
Monarch
Royal Family
Nobles
Courtiers
Citizens
The following quote is from “Certain Sermons” and was written at this time.
“Where there is no right order … there must needs follow all mischief and utter destruction” (Certain Sermons 1547)
The prince in the play is a monarch. He is at the top of the ladder in the society. The Montagues and Capulets are nobles. They should follow his orders and rules. We can see that the quote has reflected what happened in the play. The disorder in the society has caused chaos; there have been two deaths and also the banishment of Romeo.
After the banishment of Romeo the equilibrium in the scene is restored but is very different to the normal we knew before this scene. There have been 2 deaths and Romeo is now banished.
The scene is the most active one in the play and is therefore the one that most people will remember in the play. This helps to make the scene significant because we can reflect on that scene after the conclusion to the play. We can then realise that this was the point that the themes of the play totally shifted.
