When Mercutio speaks he talks in prose, emphasising his state of mind and his rage at Romeo for not answering Tybalt’s letter, which he takes out on Benvolio. In his first words of the scene he compares Benvolio to a useless person and soon goes on and on at him for his faults, such as fighting with a man for waking a dog up in the street, ‘Thou hast quarrelled with a man for coughing in the street, because he hath wakened thy dog that hath lain asleep in the sun’. This is important as it shows that Benvolio will fight with people, with barely any reason to, yet he was the one who wanted to leave and escape the fight. Already the tension is building up only within the first few minutes.
Moreover, when Tybalt and the other Capulet’s arrive Mercutio is dismissive and doesn’t appear to care. ‘By my heel, I care not’. He just keeps trying to enrage Tybalt. But Tybalt did not intentionally seek Mercutio to quarrel with him; he wanted Romeo as he gatecrashed the Capulets' party. Benvolio gives three suggestions; they should either, go somewhere private, talk calmly with no fighting, or separate completely as there are too many people watching. At this point Shakespeare has used some clever stagecraft as all of the characters are behaving differently, this makes it exciting for the audience and keeps them engaged.
Tybalt is determined in his search for Romeo, he wishes to uphold the family honour, but he is cool and calm and does not wish to beseech their name.
Mercutio is looking for trouble; he is hot headed and can’t wait for a fight.
It is noticeable how much contrast there is between these two. This contrast may excite the audience because in Shakespearian times conflict would exhilarate and fascinate the audience.
Benvolio on the other hand is concerned and worried. He just wants peace and cannot stand all of the fighting. He is perhaps the only character who is against fighting.
The different characteristics make it more dramatic and add to the tension. The audience have to choose whose side they’re on which in turn adds to the entertainment of the play and the audience themselves feel involved and tense.
Mercutio and Tybalt are soon becoming more and more agitated. At this point Shakespeare brings Romeo onto the stage, who is also behaving very differently from the other characters. Here we see some dramatic irony, as he has just arrived from his secret wedding with Juliet, but only the audience are aware of this. The actors on stage are confused by Romeo’s love for Tybalt. He explains to Tybalt that he harbours no hatred of the Capulet house. Tybalt is unsure of how to deal with Romeo and is determined to challenge Romeo to a duel. Romeo refuses the challenge. “Boy, this shall not excuse the injuries thou hast done me, therefore turn and draw”. Here Tybalt insults Romeo and asks for a fight, notice he uses the remark ‘boy’ emphasising his disgust at Romeo. Romeo himself cannot understand what he has done wrong and is oblivious to the fact that Tybalt saw him at the party. Mercutio is outraged and gives a list of disapproval, “O, calm, dishonourable, vile submission,” he thinks Romeo has surrendered. He is disgusted at Romeo for not being loyal, and not upholding the family honour.
As a fight begins, between Tybalt and Mercutio, Romeo attempts to stop it by referring back to Act 1, Scene 1 where the Prince warns the two families. He speaks in prose, as it is important and the Shakespearian audience would have understood its meaning and also the language change promotes more tension.
When Mercutio is stabbed his initial reaction is to curse both houses. The curse is extremely important as in Elizabethan times people believed in curses and would have been very scared. He mentions how it’s their feud that has killed him and threatens them. It is difficult to tell whether he is badly injured or not as he speaks in puns and riddles. He refers to the wound as being just a scratch, and Tybalt’s title is that of a cat, but then he talks of being a grave man, showing the true seriousness of it. He is annoyed and confused by, his friend, Romeo’s actions, he thinks he shouldn’t have stepped in. He curses the houses three times and finalises it as Benvolio takes him away. When he asks for help from Benvolio instead of Romeo I think Romeo is feeling cast aside, as him and Benvolio don’t usually get along. He is sad and doesn’t know how to help his dying friend. The tension at this point is probably very high and the audience will be wondering what will happen to Tybalt.
At this point Shakespeare introduces a soliloquy. Romeo’s response is delivered in blank verse and he begins by talking about Mercutio. He mentions how he was very close to the Prince and states that it was his fault Mercutio died. Next he talks of Tybalt, and how Romeo’s reputation is now ruined due to Tybalt’s words and Romeo’s lack of retaliation. Finally he mentions Juliet and how she has turned him into a coward.
As the soliloquy progresses, Romeo becomes increasingly angry with Tybalt, he wants revenge, and is steadily transforming from calm and loving to evil and full of hate, especially when Benvolio returns and explains the news of Mercutio’s death. This will ensure the tension throughout the audience is rising, and questions about Romeo’s next actions will soon appear within their minds.
Tybalt soon returns to see the newly enraged Romeo. Romeo’s language now shows us that he wants revenge, “Either thou or I, or both, must go with him”. This feeling of revenge would have the audience buzzing with familiarity either in Elizabethan times or now in the 21st century as everyone experiences the feeling of wanting revenge at some point in their lives. Romeo is determined to avenge Mercutio’s death. He contrasts his earlier effort to avoid confrontation increasing the dramatic tension in the scene. He struggles with resisting the urge to fight and then acts upon impulse, but when he finally kills Tybalt all he can think about is how he has been an idiot. He believes he has had bad luck and blames the stars for his misfortune. “O, I am a Fortune’s Fool”. This could also be linked to the prologue, “A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life”, which also refers to the stars. Fate is used right from the start of the play, this is because when the play was written people of those times were incredibly superstitious and believed in curses and destiny.
Upon witnessing the death Benvolio warns Romeo to depart before the Prince arrives, so as to avoid any more trouble. When the Prince does arrive Benvolio gives a detailed first-hand account of the events previous to his arrival. (He does not lie). This explanation is important, as, although this may not happen today, an Elizabethan audience may not have been able to see what had happened due to the conditions of the theatre.
When Lady Capulet realises what has happened, she demands that Romeo is punished. She wants revenge and shall only be satisfied when he is dead. At this stage the audience will be on the edge of their seats and their minds will be pondering the Prince’s reply. Here the audience will have chosen which family is right and if they think Romeo deserves a punishment or was he just taking the law into his own hands? They will either be sad for Tybalt’s death or sad for Mercutio’s. They will be either happy or mad at Romeo for acting upon his thoughts of revenge, and when the Prince decides upon the punishment, they will be grateful or annoyed at his choice.
The Prince passes judgement and banishes Romeo, but the audience will realise the problem when they remember the marriage of Romeo and Juliet. The audience will be very tense and highly laden with questions of what will happen next. Such as, will Juliet ever forgive Romeo? Or even, will they ever see each other again?
As you can see, throughout the scene Shakespeare has used many various methods to create dramatic tension within the audience. I think it was highly successful because of these different methods, such as when he has the characters on stage all with completely opposite personalities; it keeps the audience guessing as to how they will react towards each other. Revenge is a key factor in how he accomplished at creating the tension, as it is something that we can all relate to. Within the audience the tension is constantly mounting throughout the whole scene, I think that this is partly due to the questions that are always in their minds, because of Shakespeare’s skill as a play write.
