Romeo and Juliet – What Are Your Early Impressions of the Situation and Characters up to Act 1 Scene 3 Line 50? What Can You Pick Up about the Future of the Play?

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Romeo and Juliet - What Are Your Early Impressions of the Situation and Characters up to Act 1 Scene 3 Line 50? What Can You Pick Up about the Future of the Play?

Knowing that the play is a tragedy, it can be told from the title alone that two people called Romeo and Juliet will die before the play is over. However the manner and reason for their death is unknown, and therefore the scenes leading up to their deaths will to their best to explain this. Scene 1 starts not with any of the major characters, but with two servants if the Capulets, Sampson and Gregory. These two have high impressions of themselves, and they crudely joke and mock each other. 'I will take the wall of any man or main of Montague's.' 'I am a pretty piece of flesh.' 'Tis well thou art not fish; if thou hadst, thou hadst been poor-John.' This gives the impression that they are young men, and therefore very self-important when talking to each other. They also boast of their 'manhood', their ability, and will to kill any male Montague and bed any female one. 'I will push Montague's men from the wall, and thrust his maids to the wall.' This does all seem to be typical bravado from two young working class men of the time, but it is important to note that they are working men, serving men in fact. By making such claims of skill and valour and boasting in such a manner, they try to raise themselves above their relatively lowly status. Incidentally, Sampson, who is seemingly the least modest and most arrogant of the two also seems to be the one who draws no barrier between Capulet and his servants, at least where the Montagues are concerned.

'The quarrel is between our masters, and us their men.'

'Tis all one!'

When these men see some 'Montague dogs' coming along they immediately decide to pick a fight. In fact probably little decision would be needed, and it would seem like a natural reaction to them, to fight Montague's men upon sight. They obviously have no real intention of severely wounding them; they have most probably never wounded a man in a sword fight before, and so are immature in their statements of what they would do to the Montagues in a fight.

After the servants causing a fight to develop, Tybalt arrives upon the scene, and instantly sensing an opportunity for violence and chaos, both of which his ego depend upon greatly, he invokes the Montagues further, and trashes Bevolio's attempt at peace. 'Talk of peace? I hate the word, as I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee. Have at thee, coward!' Tybalt has been a violent as disruptive person all his life, and so has probably grown up to hate the word 'peace', which would have ruined so many scraps and arguments he otherwise could have won. He also associates talk of peace with cowardice, hence his insult to Benvolio. Through this theory of peace being the talk of cowards, he sees himself as a brave, noble hero, who would not falter at the chance to defend the good Capulet name. He also claims to hate Benvolio, however this is simply because his is their and he talks of peace and is in his way. If it were someone else, Benvolio would not be mentioned, yet since he is there Tybalt hates him as he hates hell itself. This overly dramatic statement is the same as the way the servants threaten to kill and rape the Montagues, when they would obviously do nothing of the sort, even when given the opportunity. Tybalt is a lot like the servants in this respect, even thought Tybalt is a well-bred and skilled swordsman. Although he is as disorderly and confrontational as the servants are, he seems a more aggressive person, and it seems to be not only Montagues that he would gladly fight, and this will be further developed as the play goes on. It is clear, however that it is the servants of Capulet and Montague, and men such as Tybalt that keep the feud going, with their youth, unruliness and misguided 'valour', if it can be called this. Benvolio is clearly more peaceable, and he is the first such character introduced into the play. In fact with Romeo, he is one of the only peaceable young males in all Verona, it would seem. He sees the madness in the servant's brawl, and calls them to cease. 'Part, fools!' Being the pacifist in such situations, however does his honour no good.
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When the officers arrive to end the brawl they shout 'Beat them down! Down with the Capulets! Down with the Montagues!'

The people of Verona are generally unbiased with respect to the families, so it is not a feud involving the whole town, with everyman choosing a side. The town officers are clearly fed up with these immature brawls that keep causing such disturbance, and would gladly have an end to them. 'Three civil brawls, bred of an airy word.' After the Prince warns the families to cease their fighting, at least in public, Montague says: ...

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