Romeo & Juliet

Romeo seems to change greatly within this scene. It is at this point of the play in which he shows his true emotions and his loyalty and matures greatly. He shows a more masculine side and feels his relationship with Juliet does damage to his pride and reputation;

"O sweet Juliet, thy beauty hath made me effeminate,

And in temper soften'd valour's steel!"

This scene makes the audience feel sympathetic towards Romeo; here is a man who must keep the peace in a heated argument between his best friend and his rival, who is also his cousin in law, for the sake of his family. The audience of the time thrived on this sort of entertainment, where the outcome is almost completely unpredictable.

In Act 3, Scene 1 many other characters personalities are more thoroughly developed. These developments happen mostly all at the same time. As the argument brews at the beginning of the scene Mercutio is seen as a peace-keeper, trying to avoid trouble at any cost.

He condemns Benvolio's fondness for fighting in jest whilst at the same time being deadly serious;

"Thou! why, thou wilt quarrel with a man that hath a hair more or a hair less in his beard than thou hast: thou wilt quarrel with a man for cracking nuts."

Benvolio is always in the middle of any trouble that occurs, even if he is not directly to blame. He makes a meal out of the smallest comments or actions and is always preparing himself for a quarrel when the Capulets are around;

"By my head, here come the Capulets."

Tybalt is a similar character to Benvolio in the fact that he is a trouble-maker. He is looking to kill Romeo, making this the scene that holds the rest of the play together, but in an exciting and enthralling way. Anyone viewing the play would be gripped, as one of these cousins is destined to die; with Tybalt unaware he is picking a fight with a new family member, whilst Romeo cannot avoid the death of one of them.

Romeo transforms from a melodramatic daydreamer to a confused yet more mature man who is facing up to his worries in the matter of a few days. Earlier in the play he is dreaming of Rosaline, thinking he was in love;

"Tut, I have lost myself; I am not here;

This is not Romeo, he's some other where."

In Act 3, Scene 1 he is in a proper relationship, with his marriage to Juliet, and is willing to fight for his honour as a friend to the now deceased Mercutio. Romeo is left with no choice but to fight Tybalt; he cannot reveal they are actually cousins yet would lose dignity and would be seen as a coward if he did not avenge the death of Mercutio;

"Now, Tybalt, take the 'villain' back again

That late thou gavest me; for Mercutio's soul

Is but a little way above our heads,

Staying for thine to keep him company:

Either thou or I, or both, must go with him."

Religion, superstition and nobility all play a major part in this scene. In Elizabethan times these were taken extremely seriously so this scene would have more of an effect in the 16th and 17th centuries, rather than a modern day audience. The play's intensity develops greatly and Romeo's nobility is put to the test when he goes after Tybalt. Also the feud between the two families is strengthened significantly as members of the two households come head-to-head. Each is trying to get the better of the other, setting up the rivalry at a new height for the rest of the play. Would any of these problems arise had the families not being at variance with each other? Probably not. An example of superstition being rife in Shakespeare's times is when Mercutio is stabbed;

"A plague o' both your houses!"

It is at this point that the audience would realise that Romeo and Juliet are doomed, as they have no hope now that their houses have been cursed. From this moment onwards the play shapes into a tragedy from a light-hearted love story.

Finally Romeo is portrayed as having the whole world against him; he has just had his best friend killed before his own eyes, he has killed his wife's cousin and for this will surely face banishment or death at the hands of the Prince. This is a very important part of the play as Romeo's luck goes from bad to worse at this very point. It is summed up at the end of the scene perfectly by Romeo himself;

"O, I am fortune's fool!"