Within the scene tension is built as most things are repeated from the first scene, in which there is fight, light hearted banter is used to start the scene. And when Benvolio states ‘It’s a hot day, mad blood is stirring’ this is quite alarming as the audience now know something is going to happen. Being exposed in a public place adds to the tension as the audience remember princes’ warning words, ‘your lives shall pay the forfeit’. The dramatic irony in the scene is most tense as only the audience are aware of Romeo and Juliet’s marriage which makes the audience anxious and no one knows how both the audience and characters are going to respond. The audience are also aware of the ‘prologue’ at the beginning of the play. ‘The words star crossed lovers’
Are used which enables us to expect something to happen as they are both at their highest point of happiness where everything can go wrong and they will fall.
Tybalt foils Benvolio throughout the scene. He does this as Benvolio is quite a trustworthy character. He is very aware of the consequences and is always trying to prevent fights, It shows this where he says ‘all eyes gaze on us’, where as Tybalt gives the impression of him having no fear of anything, as he is always up for a fight, ‘I am for you’, or ‘let’s fight’. Their characters are the very opposite of each other.
Likewise, Romeo and Mercutio act as foils against each other, as Romeo is very emotional, his emotions differ quickly which gives him his dramatic character. Romeo is very hot blooded and extreme. This is shown as he is heart broken first of all, he then falls in love with Juliet and gets married to her the next day. In act 2 scene 6, the friar gives a warning has no fear ‘violent delights have violent ends’, the audience remember these words which let’s them know something will happen. This either does not bother Romeo and he goes behind everyone’s back and marries Juliet, or it makes him keener as he has no fear of the consequences, which captivates the audience as they are now certain that something is going to happen. Where as Mercutio is very laid back, he is always up for a fight and doesn’t like to show his emotions. An example of this is where he says ‘ay, ay, a scratch, a scratch’, this suggests that he is strong, but also afraid as he is to scared to say to anyone other than Benvolio and Romeo that it is anything else.
During this scene the theme of love is conveyed in several places. The first is where Romeo won’t fight Tybalt because of his love for Juliet, an example of this is where Romeo says ‘ the reason I have to love thee, doth much excuse the appertaining rage’, This sentence emphasizes that he is at his happiest as his emotions have changed dramatically. Another example of love is Mercutio showing his love for Romeo as he steps in to fight for Romeo, e.g. ‘vile submission’. Mercutios words show us he is angry but looking forward to a fight. Romeos love for Juliet is also conveyed as their love for each other has caused the whole scene. Shakespeare dislays the theme of conflict throughout the scene where first of all there is an ancient grudge upon the two families, which causes Tybalt to fight Romeo. Tybalt then kills Mercutio, which leads to Romeo killing Tybalt, ‘either thou or I or both of us shall go with him’ (Mercutio), this evaluates Romeos extreme emotions as he has now become a hot blooded italien, ‘fire eyed fury’, in revenge of his best friends murder. The idea of fate runs through the play as the audience are always aware that the lovers are ‘star crossed’. In the same way Romeo thinks that he is ‘fortunes fool’.
I think that the scene is brilliantly written. I thought that it was believable as conflict, love and fate are everyday things in our world. Baz lurhrmans version of this is very similar but in a modern day world. I think that the reason Baz kept the language and dialect the same is to have the same ideas portrayed in the story, such as their laws and beliefs.
