Mercutio, on the other hand, is very laid back and does not seem to care about the scenarios Benvolio has presented him “by my heel, I care not”. Mercutio seems to get rather annoyed at, what seems to be, Benvolio’s cowardly requests to leave and also seems to upset Benvolio with his little speech about quarrelling and it’s meaning, “…Thou wilt quarrel with a man for cracking nuts, having no other reason but because thou hast hazel eyes.” During Tybalt’s entrance, introduction and being in Mercutio’s company, Mercutio insults him and seems to want this tense meeting to escalate into a fight, an example is his reply to when Tybalt asks for a word, “And but one word with one of us? Couple it with something, make it a word and blow.” Because of Mercutio’s personality, after being injured, we are not sure how badly he has been hurt at that time as he jokes about his oncoming departure, “ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man.” but is also serious in his dying state and places “A plague a’ both houses!” Mercutios feud with Tybalt is where the most drama and excitement is placed. Tybalt, known as the “fiery” Tybalt, might be expected to have lashed out earlier, but prolonging the time to which they will fight with a series of taunts really adds to what the scene is trying to create.
Tybalt intentions in this scene are to confront Romeo and challenge him to a duel, This is all in attempt to rid him of his anger and hatred for Romeo and to rid the Capulets of him. Tybalt is surprisingly un-moved when he first enters, he ignores Mercutios hints into having a duel and completely ignore any insults thrown at him. With the way his actions change, this moment could be considered as the calm before the storm. At Romeos entrance and his wish for forgiveness to Tybalt, Mercutio now begins a fight with the hateful Tybalt at the disgust of Romeos peacemaking attempt, “O calm, dishonourable, vile submission! ‘Alla stoccata’ carries it away. Tybalt, you rat catcher, will you walk.” Tybalt’s seemingly normal character now erupts from the calm man we’ve just witnessed before hand. Tybalt adds a degree of uncertainty to this scene as he does not act as enraged as usual or as described and the reader / viewer can not be sure whether his actions will flow. After killing Mercutio, Tybalt leaves the scene of the crime with his followers. This exit should make the return of Tybalt and his permanent departure less expected. Tybalts furious being brings him to continue to search for Romeo and exact his wanting for Romeos death. Between the time of Tybalts entrance after killing Mercutio, and the time of his death, the reader or viewer has a very small amount of time to contemplate if this is where “A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life” as this is the only indication so far that at least Romeo may die, as there is no reason for the lovers to die or commit suicide as yet.
Romeo tries to avoid any battles this scene and reasonably wants to make peace with Tybalt who is now his kinsman. By the end of the scene, Romeo has shed Tybalts blood and left him dead in the streets of Verona. Although Romeo wanted to escape any brawls, the death of Mercutio and the deep insults that Tybalt had said “thou art a villain”, “Boy, this shall not excuse the injuries that thou hast done me…” This pushed Romeo to a state of growing contempt for Tybalt on top of already large hate for him. Romeo’s objectives and actions change during the scene, this yet another point on which the reader or viewer may find surprising or unexpected.
Act3 scene 1 is believed to be where the tragedy really begins. Take into account the previous happenings, it has been more or less very good for Romeo and Juliet. This Scene brings a lot of changes to the storyline and the upcoming scene brings around a more sombre atmosphere where Juliet’s feelings and mood change with the news of Tybalt’s death and Romeos troubling situation. The language in this scene is very clever and is mostly used by Mercutio. Some very strong parts are spoken, such as “A plague a’ both houses!” This seems to be a heartfelt outburst contrary to the comical rambling used as Mercutio dies, shown previously. There are so many different things going on within the first scene. The use of suspicion, tension, action, the language used, uncertainty and surprise and there are several characters all with different goals and positions in the scene. With so many different things for the reader / viewer to focus on and take in it’s no surprise that Shakespeare has made this an incredibly dramatic turning point in the play.
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