Shakespeare uses comedy in this situation because Benvolio is saying; if myself and Romeo were travelling musicians, the music would be terrible.This would have bought a laugh of relief from the audience, probably fearing the worst with Tybalts attitude.
Benvolio, who is known throughout the play as a peacemaker, says 'We talk in the public haunt of men: Either withdraw unto some private place, And reason coldly of your greivances, Or else depart; here all eyes gaze on us.'
Here he is trying to diffuse the situation by telling them to take their diffrences out of the eyes of everybody else, to somewhere private.
Mecutio is in no mood to back down saying, 'mens eyes were made to look, and let them gaze; I will not budge for no mans pleasure, I.' He just isn't bothered who sees what is about to take place.
Romeo enters and Tybalt shows his lack of respect for him by saying 'here comes my man.'He tries to goad Romeo into a duel by saying:- 'Romeo, the hate i bear theecan afford. No better term than this,-thou art a villian.' This would have been a very offensive insult to someone of noble birth and in high society, in the 1500's. This would have made the audience gasp and fear the worst of what to come.
Romeo having just married, does not rise to the bait and says, 'Tybalt the reason i have to love thee Doth much excuse the appertaining rage To such a greeting: villian am i none; therefore farewell; I see thou know'st me not.'
He is still very ecstatic from the wedding and is in no mood to fight somebody he sees as a brother.
Shakespeare uses dramatic devices to full effect here, with Romeos' descrptive, flowerey laungage at a contrast with Tybalts sharp, short outbursts:- 'thou hast done me; therefore turn and draw.'
Romeo is still thinking and speaking of love rather than violence.'I do protest. I never injured thee,' which annoys Mercutio because he won't defend his honour.
Mercutio quotes, 'O calm, dishonourable, vile submission! Alla Stoccata carries it away.' He decides to defend Romeo himself.
'Tybalt you rat-catcher will you walk?' Romeo tries to intervene with, 'gentle Mercutio, put thy rapier down', meaning put your sword away.
A fight then commences between Tybalt and Mercutio with Romeo weakly attempting to end it. 'Tybalt, Mercutio, the Prince expressly hath forbidden bandying in verona streets.' This makes him look all the more pathetic, and the audience could even be possibly booing at him, or cat-calling, because he won't stand up for himself and has somebody else defending him.
Mercutio is fatally wounded, partly due to Romeo getting in the way. He then curses the Capulets and the Montagues by saying,'a plague on both your houses!' He speaks metaphorically on his death bedHe says his wound is ' not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church-door,' 'and you shall find me a grave man.' These are words to do with death.
This laungage is typical of Shakepeares tragedies, especially on the death of one of the leading players.
Mercutio realises he is dying by saying, 'They have made worms' meat of me,' and blames Romeo with, 'Why the devil came you between us? I was hurt under your arm.'
We now enter a turning point in the play both in Romeos' character and it could possibly be the beginning of his downfall. The speaches of love and friendship have now dissapeared and now realises he must stand up for his name. He finally sees his love for Juliet has made him week.'Thy beauty hath made me effeminate And in my temper soften'd valour's steel!'
His laungage changes dramatically to feelings of revenge and vengeance.'And fire-eyed fury be my conduct now!' The audience would be cheering in the aisles at this change in Romeo with a feeling of 'it's about time!'
When Tybalt re-enters the scene Romeo challenges him to a fight with, 'Either thou, or I, or both must go with him.' This means that one or the other must accompany Mercutios soul, 'a little way above our heads,' this could mean its on the way to heaven.
After the ensuring swordfight, Tybalt is fatally wounded and gets carried away. Romeo is full of remorse and pities himself with, 'O, I am fortunes fool.' He seems to think that he is a victim of circumstance and cannot change what fate throws at him. Sadly, this seems to be true in what happens to him from this point onwards.
Romeo leaves at the end, forlorn, and the Prince and Lady Capulet arrive. The prince promises 'justice' saying that when Romeo is found 'that hour will be his last'. With these words the audience would know that his fate is sealed, and any hope of a happy ending would be gone.
Act 3 scene 1 is definatley a big turning point in the play. It is the most violent and action packed to date and very different to the previous scenes. There are two swordfights and two deaths with shakespeare using visual actions than laungage in previous scenes. The audience would go through a wide range of emotions from anger to excitement (during the swordfights). they would be fearful at the end when the Prince said Romeo's life would come to an end when he was caught.