And finally now that Romeo is married to Juliet consequently he is now the cousin to Tybalt and part of the Capulet family. This prepares the audience for what is to happen because they may know that Romeo will not fight Tybalt, that is if Tybalt challenges him.
This scene would appeal to the audience because of the variety of action it contains from line 84 when Mercutio and Tybalt fight in the streets. The action you would see would be high because you will see the two boys fighting with their swords, their feet moving around fast. The action will be fast and furious. The action will be the same when Romeo fights with Tybalt, but Romeo will be much more furious and Romeo will be extremely angry and revengeful.
The conversation between Mercutio and Benvolio at the beginning makes the audience anticipate whether the Capulet’s will meet them and they may fight. This is because as Benvolio says, “the day is hot, the Capels are abroad, and, if we meet, we shall not ‘scape a brawl”, this hints that they may meet the Capulet’s and maybe have a fight.
Another dramatic point in the scene is when Tybalt injures Mercutio and he tells of what he is annoyed at and how he is going to die, and so he does. He also hints to Romeo to get revenge on Tybalt, this is exceptionally dramatic as you see Mercutio dying on the stage.
Once more the action is different when Romeo is absolutely furious at Tybalt for killing his friend Mercutio. The audience can see the anger in Romeo face and Romeo shows great drama.
Before this scene begins, we have already learnt a great deal about the main characters. We already know that Mercutio is a very good friend of Romeo and Benvolio. We also know he has a way with words, he is full of energy and he also has a sense of fun. We know this because he is always teasing people like the nurse of Juliet and sometimes he makes the fun of his friends, including Benvolio and Romeo.
We also know that Tybalt is the nephew of Lady Capulet so he is Juliet’s cousin. Also we know he also is full of energy, but unlike Mercutio, Tybalt does not have a sense of fun. We know this because unlike Capulet, Tybalt does not forgive Romeo for going to the ball. He is also after revenge on Romeo for going to the ball, showing that he takes family honour seriously.
Benvolio also is well known to us because he is a good friend to Romeo and Mercutio. We also know that he is serious but sympathetic. We know this because he is always giving Romeo advice. If he did not tell Romeo to go to the ball than the action that goes on in this scene will not have occurred.
The way that Mercutio reacts to Benvolio, Tybalt and Romeo in this scene is exactly as we would expect. Earlier in the play we see Mercutio teasing Benvolio, Mercutio and Romeo. This indicates that Mercutio is not afraid of anyone and is willing to speak freely.
When Benvolio says, “I pray thee, good Mercutio, let’s retire”, because he wants to,”’scape a brawl”, Mercutio teases him that he is too scared and Mercutio tells Benvolio what kind of person he is, Benvolio is surprised at what Mercutio thinks of him.
Mercutio’s reaction to Tybalt is funny because Mercutio twists what Tybalt says. ”Mercutio, thou consort’st with Romeo –“, Tybalt asks whether Mercutio knows where he is. But Mercutio twists “consort’st” with “consort”, and deliberately tries to make fun of Tybalt.
Mercutio’s reaction to Benvolio is that, “Men’s eyes were made to look, and let them gaze”, this means that he is not afraid and quite arrogantly says so. In this he might be trying to anger Tybalt and try to start trouble. Morally this is wrong as starting trouble, a fight may occur and he is well informed that the Prince will not be happy.
His reaction to Romeo’s refusal to fight Tybalt is of anger because firstly he is shocked because he thinks that Romeo is being dishonourable, “O calm, dishonourable”. Secondly Mercutio says to Tybalt, ”go before to field, he’ll be your follower”, he said this because he thought Romeo would fight if Tybalt tries to fight him.
In this scene, I think the behaviour of Benvolio is most morally correct, because firstly he wants to “’scape a brawl”, this shows that he does not want anything bad to happen to Mercutio, even if he ignores him. Secondly Benvolio helps Mercutio again, by helping him off the stage when he is dying. Thirdly Benvolio advises Romeo to go. “Romeo, away, be gone !…the prince will doom thee death”, by this he is morally correct again because he does not want Romeo to die.
Mercutio is very clever with language. He uses clever words and phrases to agitate Tybalt, because he twists what Tybalt says. He deliberately mistakes “consort’st”, which means associated with “consort”, which means a group of musicians.
Even as he dies, he continues the language play, ”ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man”; by this he means that tomorrow he will be dead. “‘Tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church door; but ‘tis enough”, by this he means that the sword wound is not big or deep but it is enough to kill him.
Mercutio’s dying repetition of “A plague o’ both your houses!” is dramatic because he blames not just Tybalt but also he blames both the family’s for his death and the ancient grudge. It links to the wider themes of the play because firstly it links with the very first act and scene, where we first find out that the two families’ both loathe each other. Secondly it links to what happens at the end of the play because as Mercutio says, “a plague o’ both your houses”, can also mean that he wants people to die from both of the houses. This links with the death of Romeo and Juliet because they are both from different houses.
The reason why Mercutio becomes so frustrated with Romeo is because he appears to speak in riddles. Mercutio thinks Romeo is saying that he loves the Capulet’s and that he does not want any trouble because he has not done anything bad to them. This is shown between lines 67-71 when Romeo says, ”I do protest I never injur’d thee, but love thee better than thou canst devise…and so, good Capulet, which name I tender as dearly as my own, be satisfied.”
However, as the audience realise, Romeo really means that he is married to Tybalt’s cousin Juliet and so is a Capulet himself. The reasons behind Romeo saying and doing what he does are because he does not want to harm Juliet’s cousin and so not upsetting her. He also tries to hint to the characters that he is married to Juliet.
When Tybalt confronts Romeo the things that Romeo says and does also confuse him. For example when Romeo says, “Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee…I see thou know’st me not”, he means that he is reluctant to love Tybalt but he has to. Tybalt thinks he is scared and says, ”Boy, this shall not excuse the injuries that thou hast done me. Therefore turn and draw.”
Romeo takes the decision to kill Tybalt after the death of Mercutio because he wants revenge for one of his best friends and he believes that it is his fault for Merctio’s death because he stepped in and stopped them. Also Mercutio said, “I was hurt under your arm”, and Romeo believes it his fault for his death. When he speaks between lines109-115, Romeo speaks of why he needs revenge, and he feels supremely angry and disappointed about himself.
The words Shakespeare puts into Romeo’s mouth as he confronts Tybalt after Mercutio’s death, are interesting because it shows how angry Romeo is because is willing to die himself, and because he wants to fight to the death when he says, “Either thou, or I, or both, must go with him”(line129).
Romeo describes himself as “Fortune’s Fool” as he looks at the dead body of Tybalt. I agree with this idea because throughout the play the idea of fate plays a huge part in the play as it links all of the major scenes together. The fate part shows an excellent philosophical significance. When he says “Fortune Fool” he means that he is a toy which fate plays around with.
The prince does not carry out the death threat he promised in Act One because a non-biased fair person, and one person has died from both the families than all had been balanced out. But as he promised to the citizens that a person would die if they fight, he bends that to be banished from Verona. This is morally correct because he does not favour either house. But it can be seen as not morally correct because a killer is still running about Italy and if he has the courage to kill one person than what is to stop him from doing it again.
By the end of the scene, the course of the action for the main characters will never be the same. When Romeo says, ”This day’s black fate on mo days doth depend; this but begins the woe others must end”. He predicts what is to following the following ways. Firstly he thinks that this day was caused by fate, a “black fate”. By dark, he means black, which is the colour of death. Secondly he predicts that this day will consequently change the days ahead of it. Thirdly when he says ”begins”, it may hint that this will be a new path in the play. Finally he predicts that this day will have to be ended maybe by someone’s death, for example Romeo and Juliet’s.
To summarise, this scene is a turning pointing the play because nothing can go back the way it was because of the action that the scene displays. Examples of the action are the death of Mercutio and the death of Tybalt. Because of this nothing can go back the way it was because now the Capulet’s are furious at Romeo and there is no way they will accept his marriage to Juliet. Also now that Romeo has been banished from Verona there is no way of him seeing Juliet without his life in danger. From now on nothing will be the same.
The overall impact upon the audience is colossal because after seeing all this action on the screen they are screaming for more. Also if they try and understand the deep meanings of the words that Shakespeare has written, they can begin to understand that fate is playing a role. Maybe the clever few in the audience can depict what Mercutio says, “a plague o’both your houses” and understand its meaning that two people will die from both the houses. This can increase their anticipation what is going to happen next. They will also wonder whether Romeo will return to Verona, and what is going to happen to Juliet. Also in the scene they can view each characters characteristics and personality.
