All through the play Mercutio is wild.He is very adventrous and slightly mad.Violence is potrayed all the way through the play and mercutio only adds to the ferocious,aggressive theme.Mercutio`s attitude towards the Capulets is comical.He says 'By my heel,I care not',when the Capels arrive.He obviously has no fear or regard for the Capulets.He mocks them and taunts them continuously.He taunts Tybalt and provokes him with his articulate laguage.This confuses Tybalt,as he is not as clever as Mercutio,and therefore takes the bait.By provoking Tybalt,Mercutio has started the fight that eventually leads to his death.At this piont the audience are worried for Mercutio,as he is liked by the audience,they dont want to see harm done to him.As they like him,they are eager to find out what will become of this confrontation,the audience dont want Mercutio injured.The other characters are worried for Mercutio too now andrun to his aid.Mercutio acts boldly,and still wants to be in the spotlight.As he slowly dies,he still seeks attention from the others around him,he wants to attract attention and be noticed,he lives...and dies for it.
When Tybalt does arrive,all the above banter and provocative behaviour from Mercutio takes place,As we know,tybalt is not very bright,Tybalt is always looking for a fight,but is trying to resist the taunts of Mercutio.The mood alters,and Benvolio tries to restore order.Tybalt is enraged by Mercutio`s disrespectful attitude.'A word with one of you?' asks Tybalt, 'make it a word and a blow' replys Mercutio (asking for a fight).The violence theme runs throughout this part,the mood is tense and the audience are preparing themselves for a fight scene.Tybalt only wants to talk to Romeo,to get an explanation, but Mercutio feels he must intervene (he likes the spot-light).He winds Tybalt up,'here`s my fiddlestick,here`s that shall make you dance',until Tybalt bites and all of a sudden Mercutio is involved in the argument.
Romeo arrives.We know that he has now married juliet,but the characters are unaware of this (Dramatic irony once again).When Tybalt confronts Romeo,Romeo backs away from the confrontation.We know that he wont hurt Tybalt because he is his family now,but Tybalt and also mercutio and Benvolio are taken aback by Romeos attitude.Tybalt is eager for an excuse for Romeos behaviour,or a fight.And Mercutio and Benvolio are worried that Romeo is being cowardly by Backing away.'O calm,dishonourable,vile submission'.
Once again,Mercutio joins the disscussion.'Tybalt,you rat-catcher,will you walk ?'.He feels he must stand up for Romeo,as Romeo has cowardly refused a fight.He is embarrased by Romeos cowardice.And so the fight Begins.Tybalts strikes first but Mercutio takes control of the fight and throws tybalt to the ground.Romeo urges Mercutio to take leave as does Benvolio,but As they discuss this Tybalt rises and attempts to stab Mercutio,Romeo tries to stop Tybalts but gets in the way and causes more damage to Mercutio by doing so.Mercutio laughs it off,claiming 'Ay,ay,a scratch' says Mercutio,being brave.'you shall find me a grave man' he jokes.Its a pun 'grave'as in sad,and also a place where the dead lay.He jokes,but he is putting on a brave front,he is mortally wounded really.The audience are worried,we feel sad for Mercutio,he is well liked,We dont want him to die.His final words 'A plague on both your houses' would upset Romeo more,meaning the angry,hurting mercutio blamed him for the wound and curses him too.When Mercutio finally passes,Romeo is furious,he is upset,torn apart by the death of his freind.The weather that is used to great effect in this scene,suddenly changes,turning all to dark,and calling rain,pathetic fallacy again,the skys are black and clouds come over in the film.Mercutios death results in Romeo killing Tybalt,causing his banishment and resulting in much more trouble.The letter not reaching Romeo,leading to juliets death etc. This is very important to the plot device.
When Romeo slays Tybalt,the audience aren`t bothered,as Tybalt wasn`t liked as Mercutio was.The weather,the camera angles and the sound all change making the scene more dramatic and thrilling in the film.The music pace increases making the moment faster and more exciting in the film.This has an immediate effect.This event causes chaos though.The only worry for the audience is that Romeo will be punished,no thoughts are spared for Tybalt at all.
Romeo departs,and leaves the crime scene.Prince Escalus is angry,he has given his speech about crime and punishment and is furious when these commandments are violated.Benvolio acts as the narrator once again and describes the events to the prince.He is obviously upset.He speaks from a fair view-piont.This is done just to keep everyone up to date with the events.The Prince reacts badly,and orders Romeos execution,but is talked out of it by Benvolio,'Tybalt hit the life of stout Mercutio',saying that Tybalts death was the price paid for Mercutio`s .The Prince still unhappy,decided to banish Romeo.The audience are worried now for Romeo.How will he see his love ?
This scene on a whole is greatly important.The tragic execution of Mercutio,the death of a capulet,and Romeos banishment turns the whole play upside down.This dramatic scene reallys draws the audience in and involves them.The techniques such as Pathetic fallacy and Dramatic irony really add to the effect of this scene.The weather changes and secrets untold,add excitement.It really gives the plot device a twist,and gets the audience hooked.It fits perfectly,as the mid-piont must be exciting and dramatic.I feel this scene makes the play worth watching,and determines the fate of 'Romeo and Juliet'
