How does Shakespeare create tension for the audience in Act3 Scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet

How does Shakespeare create tension for the audience in Act3 Scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet?

Romeo and Juliet is set in a town called Verona in Italy. The Capulets and Montagues are the two main families in the play and for years they have been fierce rivals in a bitter feud. Their teenage children, Romeo, a Montague and Juliet, a Capulet, meet each other by chance at a grand party and fall in love instantly. They marry in secret, but cannot escape the consequences of their families’ quarrel. Mercutio, Romeo’s best friend is killed by Tybalt of the Capulet family. In brutal revenge, Romeo murders Tybalt and as a punishment he is banished from Verona. Friar Lawrence, the priest in the play devices a dangerous plan in an attempt to keep Romeo and Juliet together but his scheme goes terribly wrong. Romeo, believing his true love is dead claims his own life. Then Juliet finds Romeo dead and she also takes her life, not wishing to live without him. These tragic deaths bring peace between the Montagues and the Capulets.

The play fits into the genre of a Greek tragedy as the two innocent protagonists, Romeo and Juliet die through no fault of their own. Because of the intensity of the relationship between the couple and the complex development of events during the few days of the play’s action, the story can certainly seem to take place over a time span much longer than the one it actually occupies. This adds to the pace of the play and therefore shows the audience how the love shared by the two characters brings about their pre-mature deaths.

Love is undoubtedly the play’s dominant and most important theme. It focuses on romantic love, specifically the intense passion that springs up at first sight between Romeo and Juliet. Juliet expresses her love for Romeo by refusing to describe it: “But my true love is grown to such excess I cannot sum up some of half my wealth”. In Act 3 Scene 1 love is the cause of violence and death. “I do protest I never injured thee, But love thee better than thou canst devise.” In this particular scenario Tybalt is confused as to why Romeo is showing affection towards him and believes that he is being sarcastic. This leads to Romeo refusing to fight and trying to make peace between the angered Mercutio and Tybalt, “Gentlemen, for shame forbear this outrage.” This fatal intervention sees an escalation in tension as Mercutio is fatly wounded but the characters around him fail to realise the seriousness of his injury. “Courage, man, the hurt cannot be much.” This statement from Romeo underlines how he is unaware of Mercutio’s pain. The audience know the situation is serious and yet Romeo is doing nothing to help. Although he knows he will shortly die he still maintains a joking tone of voice. “Ask me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man.” This pun shows that he literally means that he will be in a “grave”. Although the characters are unaware of this the audience know what is going to happen. The use of dramatic irony by Shakespeare forces an angry response from the audience. This reaction is the complete opposite of the one made in the previous scene when Romeo and Juliet celebrate their love for each other.

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Shakespeare deliberately contrasts Act 3 Scene 1 and Act 2 Scene 6. The romantic atmosphere in the previous scene and the theme of violence in the next builds up greater tension as the audience does not expect anything awful to take place. In Act 2 Scene 6 everything seems perfect and the couple are united in love. “Conceit, more rich in matter than in words” shows how Juliet feels that her love for Romeo cannot be measured. Another contrast between the two acts is, while love is celebrated in one, love is lost in another. This creates a tense atmosphere because the audience are shocked as they realise that Romeo is to be banished and potentially will never see Juliet again. This is shown when the Prince says, “Immediately we do exile him hence”. The word “exile” suggests that he shall never return to Verona. From this moment onwards the couple’s fait takes a turn for the worst.

Act 3 Scene 1 is the pivotal point in the play. The humour in the play is killed off through the death of Mercutio. The violence and sudden build up to the fighting serves as a reminder to the audience that things will not end up as everyone wants and for all the emphasis on love, beauty, and romance, the story still takes place in a masculine world full of conflict. Elizabethan society generally believed that a man too much in love lost his manliness. Romeo clearly subscribes to that belief, as can be seen when he says “O sweet Juliet, Thy beauty hath made me effeminate.” The idea of pre-destination in the play also fits in with the society at the time. At the beginning the chorus tells the audience that Romeo and Juliet are “start crossed”. This automatically builds up the audience’s expectations as they may start to believe that the couple will end up together, thus creating tension as they don’t know if this is to be the case until the end of the play. The mechanism of fate is seen in all of the events surrounding the couple: the rivalry between their families; the horrible series of accidents that ruined Friar Lawrence’s well-intentioned plans at the end of the play; and the tragic timing of Romeo’s suicide and Juliet’s awakening. Romeo’s remark “O, I am fortune’s fool!” illustrates the fact that Romeo sees himself as subject to the whims of fate. When he cries out “Then I defy you, stars,” after learning of Juliet’s death, he declares himself openly opposed to the destiny that so grieves him. Sadly, in “defying” fate he actually brings it about. Romeo’s suicide prompts Juliet to kill herself, thereby ironically fulfilling the lovers’ tragic destiny. Shakespeare uses these prophetic statements throughout the scene, “This day’s black fate on moe days doth depend.” These lines build an air of uncertainty in the audience. The words “black fate” show that Romeo fears that there will be evil outcomes of the day’s violence. Also “moe days” suggests that these outcomes lie in the future. These subtle hints make the audience ask questions about what is going to happen next.

Shakespeare uses a variety of different methods to create mood and atmosphere in the beginning of the scene. The opening lines reveal Benvolio’s foresight of events that could occur. “The days is hot, the Capels are abroad, And if we meet we shall not scape a brawl.” Benvolio clearly fears meeting the Capulets, knowing a fight will surely follow. The scene is set on Verona’s streets and so is the ideal backdrop for violence. As it is a public place the fight will draw a lot of attention so this will add more dramatic impact to the scene. The introduction of Tybalt initially brings slight humour through the use of language and character actions. “By my heel, I care not.” Here Mercutio laughs at Benvolio’s fears, almost accusing him of being a quick-tempered quarreller. The word “heel” also shows Mercutio’s casual attitude which can lead to the audience having a false sense of security because normally there is an air of anxiousness within them when two different members of the rival families meet. The verbal spar also builds up atmosphere through the use of fast dialogue between Mercutio and Tybalt.

This adds pace and excitement for the audience and words such a “fiddlestick” and “minstrels” contribute to the humour. Romeo’s entrance also adds to the excitement because this provides the spark that initiates the first fight. When Tybalt sees Romeo he says, “Well, peace be with you, sir, here comes my man.” Mercutio is always alert to double meanings and perceives that “man” means “servant” or “follower”. As a consequence he is provoked into an angry response which leads to the brawl between the two characters. Romeo tries to keep the peace, “beat down their weapons” but his intervention is fatal for Mercutio. In desperation Romeo warns the two about what the Prince had said at the beginning of the play, “the Price expressly hath Forbid this bandying in Verona streets.” He does this because the penalty of this crime is death. This is ironic because the fight leads to both the deaths of Mercutio and of Tybalt. When Tybalt realises that Mercutio has been hurt he exits the scene with his followers. This may cause to the audience feeling outraged as no one appears to be helping Mercutio. It also reinforces the bitter rivalry between the two different families which in turn adds to the tension.

A dying Mercutio sets up the action for the rest of the play when he repeatedly exclaims, "A plague o' both your houses!" This reminds the audience of the tragedy that will soon occur and propels Romeo to take revenge. His actions contrast his earlier effort to avoid confrontation, increasing the dramatic tension in the scene. One of Mercutio’s last dying lines is, “I was hurt under your arm.” His speech leaves Romeo feeling guilt and responsibility for his death. “My very friend hath got this mortal hurt In my behalf; my reputation stained.” In an act of revenge Romeo vows to claim the “soul” that took away Mercutio’s life. Therefore the entrance of Tybalt after line 112 causes an air of uncertainty due to the fact that the audience are unaware if Romeo will carry out his promise.

The entrance of the Prince also impacts on the atmosphere in the scene because he represents power and justice in the play. This causes the audience to feel anxious as they do not know what Romeo’s punishment will be. In the Prince’s last speech in Act 3 Scene 1 he reveals that Romeo will only be “exiled” and not killed. This could be seen as an act of mercy on his behalf. “Mercy but murders, pardoning those that kill.” However, he makes it clear that Romeo will never be able to return and therefore never be able to see Juliet again. This is shown when he says, “I will deaf to pleading and excuses.” Throughout the Prince uses words connected with death. In turn this sets a serious tone for the remainder of the play. An example of this can be seen from the last two lines of the scene, “Bear hence this body, and attend our will: Mercy but murders, pardoning those that kill.” The words “murders” and “kill” have connotations of death. Shakespeare uses these rhyming couplets so that the audience will remember what the Prince has said.

To conclude, Act 3 Scene 1 is the turning point in the play as two major characters are killed off and the series of events that follow will eventually lead to the tragic end of Romeo and Juliet. The serious side of the story is truly seen when the humour is killed off through the death of Mercutio. This is also the scene where the climax of the play is reached and the theme of violence is at its peak.

From the point at which Romeo and Juliet first meet love seems to push them closer to love and violence, not farther from it. This is seen in Act 3 Scene 1 when Romeo tells Tybalt he loves him. In turn this starts the brawl between Mercutio and Tybalt because Romeo refuses to fight as he is now related to the Capulet through his marriage to Juliet.

To add to the theme of love as a cause of violence the couple are plagued with thoughts of suicide, and a willingness to experience it: after the Capulets decide that Juliet will marry Paris, Juliet says, “If all else fail, myself have power to die”. Later on the in the play Romeo brandishes a knife in Friar Lawrence’s cell and threatens to kill himself after he has been banished from Verona and his love.

Overall, the audience experience a mixture of different emotions as the scene progresses. At the start there is a great deal of tension as there is a possibility of a fight and then anger as Mercutio is fatally wounded. By the end, the audience are lead to feel sympathy for Romeo as he is banished by the Prince. These contrasts of different feelings make the scene dramatic and powerful because the audience will remember what events took place and how they affected the outcome of the play.

Kapish Patel