“Men’s eyes were made to look, and let them gaze.
I will not budge for no man’s pleasure, I.”
This quotation effectively illuminates Mercutio’s stubborn, defiant attitude, which may have partially contributed to his own death. Although these words may seem brave, some could say that Mercutio is not thinking through what he is saying and causes an even more ‘hot tempered’ atmosphere. In the situation of Mercutio and Tybalt, where there are many people watching, neither person wants to back down, because this would show weakness. Honour is particularly important in Shakespearian times and to admit defeat would be seen as cowardice; this increases the dramatic tension, because the audience can see that the men are willing to fight until death to protect this honour.
Shakespeare can cleverly create dramatic tension using very simple, yet effective techniques:
“The day is hot, the Capels are abroad.”
This use of pathetic fallacy, which is when the writer uses the weather to describe the emotions in a scene, allows the audience to see that an anxious Benvolio can feel that all is not well. “The day is hot” suggests that there is a rising heat in people’s emotions, and that Benvolio is worried about a ‘hot tempered’ situation.
Through the language that the characters use, the audience can see that the level of
tension is about to reach a climax; however Romeo arrives to further delay this, and once again the tension is building:
“No better term than this: thou art a villain.”
Tybalt acts very coldly towards Romeo and insults him in order to get a reaction from him. However Romeo does not react as expected, instead he calmly tries to resolve the situation: “Therefore farewell, I see thou knowest me not.” At this point Tybalt does not know about the marriage and so cannot understand Romeo’s reluctance to fight. This is dramatic irony, and is an effective technique used by Shakespeare, which allows the audience to know more than a character on stage.
Act III scene I is a crucial scene within the play, as it has critical impact on the consequential scenes and is a major turning point in the play. The scene itself is made up of three separate sections; it first of all begins with the argument between Mercutio and Tybalt, which, in effect, leads to Mercutio's death. Then the audience see Romeo’s raging emotions lead to the death of Tybalt and finally the characters deal with the aftermath of the situation.
From the beginning of Romeo and Juliet's relationship, there have been subtle suggestions that they both know that their relationship will end in disaster:
“My only love sprung from my only hate.”
Juliet is still a young woman, and demonstrates her naivety here. Although she can sense that their relationship will not be successful, she still goes ahead with the inevitable relationship. Romeo also suggests that he can predict that their relationship will end in disaster and, although he knows that “My life is my foe’s debt.” he continues to have a relationship with Juliet.
Mercutio is the first character to die in Romeo and Juliet, and, because of his death, there is serious repercussions on the sequential scenes. His death acts as a turning point of the play, and if it had not occurred then the play would have a very different ending. His significant death is partially due to his own behaviour:
“Will you pluck your sword out of his pilcher by the ears?”
Although this quotation could suggest that Mercutio is being a good friend and is doing a valiant attempt of protecting Romeo’s honour, it also could be perceived as an unnecessary act that has fatal consequences. Mercutio’s language suggests that he is not intimidated by Tybalt and shows that he is willing to protect his friend, even if it means killing Tybalt.
Shakespeare chooses for Mercutio to die offstage to allow for some tension to build and also it allows the audience to see Romeo’s reaction to what has just happened. Romeo can immediately see the pain that he has caused and feels guilty for Mercutio’s ‘wound’:
“My very friend, hath got his mortal hurt
In my behalf”
Mercutio’s dying words “A plague o’both your houses!” are making Romeo feels even more guilt ridden and disappointed at himself for not preventing Mercutio form getting hurt.
The death of Tybalt is incredibly important to the rest of the play. If his death had not happened, then Romeo would not have to be banished and Juliet would not have to pretend to die. Shakespeare contrastingly chooses Tybalt to die on stage, because it adds to the dramatic effect and shows that there is no ambiguity over his death. Also it develops the idea that Romeo never really thought about what he was doing and it all happened in an instant so there was not turning back for Romeo. As soon as Romeo kills Tybalt, acting on emotion and revenge, he instantly regrets what he has done, this keeps the audience captivated and is the climax of the tension.
Lady Capulet is a very minor character within this scene, but through the few lines that says, the audience really get a sense of her morals and principles:
“For blood of ours, shed blood of Montague!”
This quotation highlights that Lady Capulet feels that Romeo should be punished for murder with his own death. Just this line alone can develop the idea that Lady Capulet is a spiteful woman and believes in such teachings as ‘ an eye for an eye’, which in modern day Britain is not widely accepted.
Shakespeare portrays the character of Benvolio as a kind hearted, honest person, who is a loyal friend to Romeo and wants to do right by him:
“This is the truth, or let Benvolio die.”
From this quotation the audience can really see that Benvolio is an honest character and is prepared to die if he lies. Even though he has the opportunity to lie and make the situation seem less Romeo’s fault he does not, which shows that he strongly believes that honesty is the best policy.
A modern audience has very different reactions to some of the words that Shakespeare uses. The modern audience is not as offended by the language used by Benvolio:
“A plague o’both your houses!”
In Elizabethan times this would have been interpreted as a serious statement and would have been taken literally. To wish the plague on someone was a serious matter because it still existed and they still had not found the cause. Whereas, for a modern audience, these words do not have as much dramatic effect, because we now know the cause of the plague and it is not current in our lives. Also, a modern audience knows that from the words alone, nothing is going to happen, but in Elizabethan times they were more superstitious and this would have been a serious matter.
In the film version of Romeo and Juliet by Baz Luhrman, the director cleverly modernises the play and makes it more dramatic from a modern audience’s perspective. In the film, the actors playing Romeo, Tybalt and Mercutio create dramatic tension through their body language and also their voice. The audience can see when a character expresses anger or regret through their body language. In the play many of the ideas and themes are old fashioned and not relevant to a modern audience, but the modernised films have shown that there are still themes from the original play that are still relevant to a modern audience, such as the themes of rebellion and politics. Also arranged marriages are still a common issue for a modern audience. Overall the dramatic effect for a modern audience is only slightly less than for an audience of the Elizabethan era.
Act III scene I is a dramatic enthralling scene, in which the families ‘ancient grudge’ leads to the deaths of two prominent characters. The dramatic effect of this scene is emphasised by the tension and anger that run through it.
Act III scene I has great dramatic significance, because it is a catalyst in the play and contains the dramatic deaths of two main characters. If this crucial scene did not occur then the subsequent events would not have happened. This scene contains a large build up of dramatic tension and keeps both an Elizabethan, and modern audience interested in the events that are happening.