The play fits into the tragedy genre, or theme, because the hero falls due to a personal error or fault, while they believe it to be because of fate. It is also because the tragic hero is also admirable for courageous acts which they have performed. It also fits into this genre because the hero dies.
The general themes of Romeo and Juliet are love, hatred and revenge.
Shakespeare starts Act III Scene I in a calm and relaxed manner. Benvolio is trying to avoid conflict with the Capulets. This is shown when Benvolio says to Mercutio:
“I pray thee, good Mercutio, let’s retire:
The day is hot, the Capulets abroad,
And, if we meet, we shall not ‘scape a brawl;
For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring.”
(Romeo and Juliet, Act III, Scene I, Lines 1-4)
This shows that Benvolio wants to avoid the Capulets, because he knows that there will be conflict if they meet. It also shows that Benvolio is a calm character who tries to keep the peace between the two families. Benvolio is known for his peace keeping by other characters in the play. This is shown when Mercutio and Tybalt are dueling, and Romeo says to Benvolio:
Draw, Benvolio beat down their weapons.
(Romeo and Juliet, Act III, Scene I, Line 57)
This shows that Benvolio is a known peace maker.
Shakespeare contrasts the mood and atmosphere of this scene with the romantic atmosphere of the previous scene in numerous ways, and I will attempt to illustrate them. The mood in the previous scene is romantic and positive. This contrasts to the ‘fight scene’, as it holds something completely unexpected. There is a brawl. Also, there is chaos, fury, revenge, death and murder. In addition, the marriage scene is relatively calm and is joyous, while the ‘fight scene’ is extremely violent, with hatred and destruction.
Shakespeare also links the ‘fight scene’ to other events in the play, in different ways. These links include the feud between the Montagues and Capulets, previous public brawls and the Prince’s warnings. It is linked to the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets, because the fights in this scene take place between the members of both families, and also, because the feud ultimately led to the fight. This is because of tensions between the families. The scene is linked to previous brawls because frustrations and anger from previous battles are revenged in this scene. The fights in this scene are linked to the Prince’s warnings because they are violating the Prince’s rules which he set in the first scene of the play by duelling in the streets of Verona. The fights which take place in this scene are a way of both families, Montagues and Capulets, unleashing all their anger on one another which has built up since the day the family feud has started. The reason for the fight taking place at this time is because the fight has already started, so they might as well just finish it because they were going to get punished anyway.
There is a lot of conflict between various characters throughout the play and this has a big impact on the audience. This impact goes up to the extent, that whenever any of these characters come onto the sage, the audience expect an exchange of verbal, or sometimes physical, abuse. This is because they saw in previous scenes that the characters abhor one another. The warning issued by the Prince could also be a reason, because the two families feuding has caused him to be completely frustrated at the foolish thought of willing to die just for the sake of family honour.
At times, entrances and exits play a major role in a play. Shakespeare has made use of this dramatic device by making the person you’d least expect to enter or exit the stage. Using this, it has created a huge impact on the audience, by interesting them to an extent that they are on the edges of their seats, eager to find out what is to happen next. This involves the audience, and they try to guess what is going to happen next. When they get surprised and something they don’t expect happens, the audience gets ‘addicted’ to the ‘show’ and they enjoy the play even more. All play writers try to achieve this, as it keeps the audience ‘fixed’ to the play, enjoying it as the play is in motion.
The use of Benvolio as the narrator plays a part in the play and balances everything which is happening between the two families, which shows that there is a character in the play that tries to stay away from the conflict of the families, and tries to make peace between everyone involved in the feud. Benvolio is also the only character who manages to keep calm throughout the play, so therefore he contrasts with the violence happening around him. He is also a peace maker, and tries to smooth things out. This is because Benvolio understands the consequences of a brawl, and the result of the feud, which is why he tries to straighten things out. Among the links between Act 1 Scene 1 and the fight scene, Benvolio is one of them, giving another reason for Benvolio to be the narrator. So therefore Benvolio is the perfect character to choose for the role of the narrator.
Overall, this scene affects the audience in a dramatic way because it is the turning point of the play. This is because two people lose their lives in this scene in a fight where the result could have been only death. The previous scene is a romantic scene where Romeo and Juliet get married it is a very joyful scene. However, from the fight scene everything just goes downhill and Romeo has become a murderer. The death of Mercutio and Tybalt makes the two families more serious and angry with each other which would make anyone think there will be more murders and killings in the future. This leaves the audience in a state of shock and surprise. The audience was hopeful that the families could have made peace after the marriage.
