“The day is hot, the Capels are abroad,
And if we meet we shall not scape a brawl,
For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring”
This quote shows us Benvolio telling Mercutio to go home, because the day is hot and if the Capulets come, they will start a fight, and the prince has strictly forbidden fights in the streets of Verona, especially between the Montague’s and Capulet’s.
In the previous scene Romeo & Juliet’s promise of marriage shows a vow of peace and contrasts with the scene after, which is completely different. The atmosphere in the previous scene in joyful as Romeo and Juliet meet each other, and fall in love at first sight, soon after they meet both their souls unite and become one, but in the scene after the atmosphere changes suddenly, there is a mood of tension created due to Mercutio’s death.
In Act 3 Scene 1 we start of by seeing Mercutio proving Tybalt, when Tybalt arrives, Mercutio say’s
“By my heel I care not”
This shows us he is not bothered about their arrival and isn’t scared either. He also says
“And but one word with one of us? Couple it with something,
Make it a word and a blow”.
In this quote the tension start to build, Mercutio succeeds in provoking Tybalt, which then makes Tybalt want to fight Romeo, however Romeo refuses to fight as now he is related to Tybalt, at this point everything falls into chaos, control is lost and Mercutio takes Romeo’s place and fight Tybalt.
Mercutio’s death is the pivotal point of the play, because when he dies all the problems start which leads to Romeo and Juliet’s death. In the streets of Verona, this scene takes place where Romeo and Benvolio try to stop Mercutio and Tybalt fighting, Romeo grabs Tybalt under his arm and then Tybalt stabs Mercutio, eventually he dies in Romeo’s arms.
Before Mercutio dies he curses both Montague’s and Capulet’s. He say’s
“A plague a’ both your houses”
Mercutio repeats this curse three times for emphasis; even though Romeo was his close friend he still cursed him and his family because he backed out from fighting Tybalt. At the end this curse does be upon then as both families lose a precious member of their family, their son and daughter.
In conclusion Mercutio’s death is dramatically effective because his death causes all the problems after, it leads to Romeo and Juliet’s death as well.From Mercutio’s death come many mixed emotions. Lady Capulet who is generally proud, feels publically and personally hurt, and is insistent on revenge
‘I beg for justice which thou prince must give
Romeo slew Tybalt. Romeo must not live’
This quote shows us Lady Capulet is in deep shock and needs revenge for the one who killed her nephew.
Romeo feels his marriage to Juliet has softened him and he failed to see the danger quickly enough when Tybalt and Mercutio were fighting. He feels guilty and responsible for Mercutio’s death and even though he must revenge it
‘My very friend, hath got this mortal hurt,
in my behalf, - my reputation stained…
…O sweet Juliet
Thy beauty hath made me effeminate
He feels the need to revenge this wrong doing, and should be feeling different, more manly, aggressive, and angry. Seeing Tybalt returning triumphant gives him all these feelings. He knows though, that there will be serious long lasting effects and feelings of grief in the future, but also he feels out of control.
‘This day’s black fate on more days doth depend.
This but begins the woe others must end’.
All these mixed emotions create extreme tension and passion in this scene.
Mercutio’s death is significant because it leads to Tybalt’s death which in turn leads to many of the characters such as Lady Capulet, Lord Capulet, Romeo and Juliet feeling their grief in isolated different ways, their feelings are magnified because they feel them without discussing them with the other characters and it leads to Romeo and Juliet’s tragic end. It is also dramatically effective because of the way the scene is set and what he says in his last dying words as he curses the families.