‘I do bite my thumb sir’
Biting one’s thumb was a rude gesture in Shakespeare’s time, so although the words are insulting and are intended to infuriate, they are quite trivial. This shows us that the feud is such, that it is very easily sparked. It is for that reason that the quarrel very quickly turns to physical violence. When the prince and citizens enter, the prince stops the fighting. The prince’s lines show us further that the conflict is easily sparked; his line also shows us that the brawling in the streets has happened previously,
‘...Three civil brawls, bred of an airy word,’
The prince Escalus then announces to Capulet and Montague that there will be serious consequences if the fighting continues,
‘If ever you disturb our streets again,
Your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace.’
This means that if the public conflict continues the penalty will be their deaths.
During, and after Mercutio’s death scene (Act 3, Scene 1, line 59 onwards) Conflict is used in a very different way from that which we have previously seen in the first scene. Conflict in this scene is used to build up effect rather than laying the foundation information as the conflict does in scene one. The part of the scene I am referring to begins after a conversation between Mercutio and Tybalt showing the ill feeling between the two men. Romeo then enters and Tybalt confronts him and tries to start a fight by insulting and accusing him,
‘Boy, this shall not excuse the injuries that thou hast done me;
therefore turn and draw!’
In spite of this, at this point Romeo does not wish to fight Tybalt, because he knows that Tybalt is related to him through his marriage with Juliet. To avoid fighting, he uses un-confrontational language,
‘And so, good Capulet -which name I tender as dearly as my own-
sa be satisfied,’
Mercutio, on the other hand reacts to Tybalt’s insults in a completely different manner, he thinks that the way that Romeo is evading conflict is dishonourable,
‘Oh, calm dishonourable, vile submission’
It is for this reason that Mercutio again, quarrels with Tybalt, and invites him to fight,
‘Will you pluck your sword out of his pilcher by the ears?’
Romeo is still, at this point attempting to calm down the situation. Trying to stop them, he says,
‘Hold, Tybalt! Good Mercutio!’
He is, unfortunately too late to prevent any casualties, Mercutio has been wounded, but he shrugs of the pain, saying,
‘A scratch, a scratch’
One of Mercutio’s most significant and famous lines is uttered just before his death,
‘A plague o’ both your houses!’
Mercutio curses Tybalt’s family because Tybalt has mortally wounded him. He curses Romeo’s family because he believes that it was Romeo’s intervention in trying to stop the fight which caused him to be so terribly wounded, this belief if shown in the line,
‘I was hurt under your arm’
Having Mercutio say such things to him, makes Romeo realise the gravity of the situation. He cannot believe that he let the conflict end in such a way, he feels that loving Juliet has made him soft. This is shown when he says,
‘O sweet Juliet! Thy beauty hath made me effeminate’
This is why, when Tybalt enters after Romeo finds that Mercutio is dead, his whole attitude towards Tybalt changes. He decides not to be merciful to Tybalt any longer because of his relation, through marriage, to him, or because of the prince’s law against civil brawls. Romeo’s anger is now his motivation, not his morals,
‘Fire-ey’d fury be my conduct now!’
This anger leads Romeo to challenge Tybalt, Romeo thinks that he, or Tybalt, or both of them must die to compensate for them both causing Mercutio’s death. Tybalt and Romeo then fight and Romeo kills Tybalt. When he realises what has happened he says,
‘O, I am fortunes fool!’
This shows that he thinks that fate (fortune) has caused him to be involved in the disaster of this scene. While all of these dramatic events are taking place the audience are likely to feel shocked at Romeo’s sudden change of attitude towards Tybalt and at the crescendo of events leading to Mercutio’s speech. The entrance of the citizens and prince at the end of this section of the play is important because it brings the scene back down to earth after the excitement of the previous events, more importantly the entrance of the prince and citizens allows the audience to see what the consequences of the previous events will be. The prince announces the punishment at the end of the scene,
‘And for that offence, immediately,
we do exile him hence.’
This banishment of Romeo (who is the ‘he’ who the prince talks of) is partly to blame for the confusion of events leading to the final tragic end of the play, and so the implications of Romeo’s banishment are grave.
Another scene involving conflict is the scene where Juliet and her parents argue about Juliet marrying Paris (Act 3, Scene 5, lines 107-204). This conflict does not set the foundation information of the play like the first conflict and it does not, create a great deal of tension and effect like Mercutio’s death scene. This conflict is more to do with showing the different attitudes of the time, for example, the views of people on parent/child relationships or those on gender. We can see from this scene the Shakespearean ideas of marriage, and it is evident that they rarely married for love (especially in the upper classes), marriage was more like a business deal in which you didn’t have any involvement, especially if you a woman; your father was in control. This is demonstrated in some of the lines of this scene, for example this line, spoken by lady Capulet,
‘…Hath sorted out a sudden day of joy
That thou expect’st not, nor I looked for’
This line shows that the marriage is sudden and unexpected for Juliet; this is due to her complete lack of control over the situation. Another quote shows how the father was in control of these affairs,
‘…And you be mine, I’ll give you to my friend;
And you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets …’
We can see from this line from lord Capulet, that females of this time had a particularly small say in the matter of marriage, this is because they were thought of as their father’s property (he says Juliet is his), with which he could do, as he liked. This kind of parent child relationship seems to be one mainly of business at times, where Juliet’s feelings mean less than the outcome of her marriage. A modern Juliet would not endure her parents controlling her life in such a manner, she would have protested more and would have left if she were as unhappy as Juliet is in this scene. This is because women have a completely different place in the modern world, they are no longer thought of as property. Children in the modern world also have a different position from that of Shakespeare’s time; they have more choice and independence from their parents. It is very easy to see, from this scene, that Capulet is very hot-tempered; this is shown in the powerful language Shakespeare uses for him in this scene. Capulet curses his daughter a lot and never gives her time to make her point,
‘Hang thee, young baggage! Disobedient wretch!’
Capulet just rants and raves in this scene, he does not appear to be trying to sort out the problem. The use of short, blunt sentences and severe curses shows that Capulet is speaking with rage, not with forward thought. Lady Capulet is angry but is not so verbal about it; it seems that she is seething. This would be because she feels shameful towards her daughter because she has not done as a good daughter is meant to do, and she has been disrespectful of her parents’ wishes. Her final line of this section shows this
‘Talk not to me, for I’ll not speak a word.
Do as thou wilt, for I have done with thee’
Juliet’s parents expect unquestioning acceptance of their wishes and when Juliet does not give this to them it is as if a terrible crime has been done to them.
From studying Romeo and Juliet, I can see that Shakespeare uses conflict in three main ways; to give information, to create tension and to show peoples attitudes to issues. I think that conflict is a key element of ‘Romeo and Juliet’. It is the conflict caused by love and hate (the two main emotions controlling actions within the play) that causes the tragic ending of the play.
During our studies of the play, we watched Baz Luhrman’s film of the play. I think that this film gave a good account of the conflict between the families because the modern idea of gang warfare that it used fitted the Shakespearean idea of family feud very easily. I did not think that the film portrayal of the conflict of children with parents was a good account of this type of conflict as it would be in a more conventional version of the play. This is because modern ideas of the family are very different from the Shakespearean ideas of a patriarchal society, where women accepted and did -overall- what their fathers or husbands told them. I found the conflict within the individual particularly interesting because, it allows us to see more of their personality and view where the loyalties of a character lie. Juliet is a good example of this, she has Conflicting loyalties; those to her husband and those to her parents, and these are shown in the argument with her parents. Having studied Romeo and Juliet I think I now have a greater understanding of the representation of conflict in the play. Shakespeare uses it in many forms, for many reasons, but all examples of conflict in the play have a similar effect, that is, to develop the interest of the audience in the play and its many issues and to cause the tragic spiral of events leading to the lovers’ tragic deaths.
Helen Crutcher
