At the very start of Act 3 Scene 1, Shakespeare breaks a lot of dramatic conventions. He sets the scene with tension in the air. This did not conform to the standard build of tension that playwrights tended towards then. As a 17th century audience would go to the theatre on a regular basis, this would have seemed abnormal and interesting. The tension clashes with the mood of the previous scene, and as the audience are expecting a smooth gradient in the tension change; this high tension excites the audience, drawing them in to add to the drama. Because the audience has come to think of Benvolio as an emotional barometer, when he expressed his concern, we instantly trust his judgement, and the tension is raised:
“The day is hot, the Capels are abroad
And, if we meet, we shall not ‘scape a brawl”
Here, Benvolio’s concerns seem greater as Shakespeare uses the rule of three to multiply the dread. He states that it is hot, and by this he means both temperature wise, but also the connotations of heat are those of anger and irrational behaviour. This point is built upon by saying that the Capulets are also out, and will also be suffering from the same heat, and then he finally exacerbates this by reminding the audience that a fight can only end badly, as the prince said in Act 1 Scene 1, raising the tension and hence the dramatic effect of the scene greatly/
“For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring”
This line is very effective in raising the drama, as it has many clever connotations that a Shakespearean audience would have picked up on. Again, Shakespeare uses the theme of heat referring to anger as well as high temperature. He uses the phrase “the mad blood stirring”, which in this context means many different things; it refers to the idea of the blood boiling, due to anger and the heat; it refers to the blood war between the two families, it conjures up the theme of trouble brewing, as if some divine power is stirring up their blood, cooking up trouble to cause a fight. All these implications of that phrase build a very powerful tension-raising sentence, making the scene dramatically effective.
Shakespeare uses prose and verse well to increase the dramatic effect in Act 3 Scene 1. Benvolio talks in verse for almost the entire scene, expressing his concerns and demonstrating the seriousness of the situation so the audience too know where they should stand. Mercutio however talks in prose throughout the play, regardless of the mood of any other characters. This is to show his reluctance to conform to the social norm, to demonstrate his frivolous and playful mood and ultimately he talks in prose to show he is relaxed and not bothered by any of the events going on around him. As he talks with Benvolio before Tybalt’s entrance, Benvolio relaxes a little and switches to prose also. A 17th Century audience would have noticed this immediately, and would have found this subtle yet clever change in the characters mood very entertaining. When Tybalt enters, Benvolio switches straight back to verse, out of respect and seriousness. While a Shakespearean audience would have noticed this, making it dramatically effective, a modern audience would rely on a change in the actors’ tone of voice to tell them how relaxed or tense they are.
Shakespeare has Mercutio using a lot of clever word-play in his speech, and has Benvolio reacting in a playful manner to this. This calms the audiences mood, as the scene that is set is a friendly one. On stage, the actors would be moving around a lot, to convey to the audience the frivolity and playfulness of their characters, further relaxing the audience and lulling them into a sense of calm. This mood is completely shattered, and the tension rockets as soon as Tybalt enters the stage. Benvolio knows Tybalt can be extremely reckless, and so is instantly fearful and wary of the situation. As the audience look to Benvolio as an emotional barometer, we know the tension has risen immeasurably and that this cannot end well. Mercutio however, does not seem in the least bit concerned by Tybalt’s entry, and this contrast of reactions clashes, making the scene dramatically effective
“ BENVOLIO
By my head, here come the Capulets
MERCUTIO
By my heel, I care not”
Mercutio’s inappropriate use of word-play and humour here marks the beginning of his antagonistic role in this scene. When Benvolio says “by my head”, it shows he is reasoned, and level headed. However Mercutio says “by my heel” which can be interpreted in several ways: Firstly, it shows he is a stubborn character, digging his heels in, and also it refers to the concept of an “Achilles heel”, showing the audience that his frivolous and antagonistic attitude are going to cause his imminent downfall.
When Tybalt enters, he has no quarrel with either Benvolio or Mercutio, and so is calm and controlled; Shakespeare shows this by having him speak in iambic pentameter. A Shakespearean audience would notice this, and think at first that Tybalt’s entry is nothing to be concerned about. However, Mercutio has other ideas and begins to antagonise Tybalt whenever he can. He even takes offense when it was not intended:
“ TYBALT
Mercutio, thou consortest with Romeo.
MERCUTIO
Consort? What, dost thou make us minstrels?”
Here, Tybalt simply asks if Mercutio keeps company with Romeo, yet Mercutio twists it to be as if Tybalt had just insulted him. He then uses wordplay yet again to cleverly anger Tybalt:
“And thou make minstrels of us, look to hear nothing but discords.
Here’s my fiddlestick, here’s that shall make you dance.”
Mercutio changes what Tybalt has said to mean something completely different, and then using clever word-play, he expands on the semantic field of musicians, using several metaphors to anger and irritate. His use of humour is totally inappropriate to this situation and his complete ignorance to the seriousness that Tybalt and Benvolio demonstrates his reckless nature and heightens the tension and drama.
Shakespeare uses entrances and exits very well as a way of raising or lowering the tension of the scene. One example of this is when Romeo enters in Act 3 Scene 1. Here, as the audience know about Romeo and Juliet’s marriage, we expect Romeo to be calm, collected and try to restore peace. We hope that with his entry, the misunderstandings Mercutio has created will be forgotten and that the situation will become peaceful. However, Shakespeare deliberately chooses to not follow our expectations and Tybalt insults Romeo with the word “villain”. To a 17th century audience, this would be an insult of the highest order, calling for immediate reprisal. Hence, when Romeo does not challenge Tybalt, out of his love for Juliet, we understand that he wants peace. However, both Tybalt and Mercutio are unaware of the new family ties, and view this as a cowardly act. Mercutio even switches to verse to exacerbate his disgust with Romeo, showing he is serious now, and this switch makes a big impact. This is very dramatically effective, as the audience can see the beginnings of a tragedy unfolding before they’re eyes, and as they know the full story, and the other characters don’t, nothing can be done to stop it from snowballing out of control.
Shakespeare uses the concept of love very well in this section of the scene:
“ TYBALT
Romeo, the love I bear thee can afford
No better term than this, thou art a villain
Romeo
Tybalt, the reason I have to love thee
Doth much excuse the appertaining rage
To such a greeting”
Here, Tybalt says that he has so little love for Romeo that he sees him as the lowest of the low. By stark contrast, Romeo, who we know has to love Tybalt because of his marriage, says that the reason for his love is so strong that he can ignore the insult Tybalt has just thrown at him. Because villain was such a serious insult, this would be very dramatically effective. Mercutio, despite the now obvious tension in the scene, continues to aggravate Tybalt by using word-plays like “rat-catcher” and “nine lives”. Shakespeare juxtaposes Mercutio’s ill-placed humour with the seriousness and graveness of Romeo and Tybalt to make this section dramatically effective.
As Tybalt and Mercutio fight, they would be moving about the stage, making the audience aware that the scene is dramatic. Romeo first speaks, to tell them to stop, and when this doesn’t work, he steps between them, and this dramatic separation would have been incredibly dramatically effective. Then Mercutio is wounded, and Tybalt leaves, and we think the scene’s drama has peaked. Mercutio however, refuses to die quietly, and even in death he is not serious. He uses wordplays like “ask for me tomorrow and you will find me a grave man” and jokes about his death. “Ay, ay, a scratch, a scratch” is his response to Benvolio asking if he is hurt, when he knows it is not merely a scratch. This is dramatically effective for the audience, as when Benvolio asks, he is speaking the audiences mind, and as the answer is not a serious one, when the atmosphere is serious, this confuses us and makes the scene dramatically effective. Mercutio curses both families three times in his last words:
“A plague a’both your houses”
This curse would be seen as serious, showing that Mercutio blames both of them and their mindless quarrels for his death, and wishing a plague on them would be seen as very bad indeed. A 17th century audience would be very superstitious, and so the effect of repeating the curse three times would be huge on them. Shakespeare also does not let Mercutio die onstage and there are many reasons for this. Firstly, Mercutio is too proud a character to display his death onstage. Secondly, if Shakespeare had shown the death of a character, the audience would be desensitised, and the impact of Romeo and Juliet’s death at the end of the play would lose a lot of its impact. Finally, by having Mercutio die offstage, it keeps the focus on Romeo and his emotions, and away from Mercutio.
It was the dramatic convention at the time to end scenes with something dramatic, in this case the death of Mercutio. The fact that Romeo uses rhyming couplets on discovering Mercutio’s death further strengthens this, as scenes often ended with rhyming couplets also. The scene had run for a long time already, and so the audience are expecting the scene to end soon. This idea is further exacerbated by the use of the word “end” at the close of the rhyming couplets.
So when Tybalt re-enters straight after this, the tension rockets once again. Shakespeare breaks the dramatic convention, and goes against the audience expectations, shocking and gripping them, making it dramatically effective. Romeo addresses Tybalt:
“Away to heaven, respective lenity
And fire-ey’d fury be my conduct now!”
Here, Romeo says that the love and compassion he showed Tybalt before is gone, and now he thinks through his anger. The last line is incredibly effective, as fire-ey’d fury alliterates to show the seriousness and give a big impact on the audience. Also, as there is an exclamation mark at the end of the statement, the actor would have shouted this with a lot of emotion in his voice, again adding to the dramatic effect. The audience, being in the know about Romeo’s marriage, are incredibly worried about how the fight will influence the course of the play, as a death would shatter any hope of Romeo and Juliet’s happiness. When Romeo has killed Tybalt, and he realises that with Tybalt he has also killed his chances of a peaceful life, he says:
“O, I am fortune’s fool”
This line has a massive impact on a Shakespearean audience who would be very superstitious and hence afraid and heavily influenced by the concepts of fate and destiny. Romeo uses alliteration again to show how important the realisation is. The audience now finally understand that his hubristic nature has conquered our hopes of a happy ending for him and Juliet, and the play will be a tragic one after all.
In the final section, the audience are given time to reflect on what has just happened, and think about the consequences of this event. All the characters present in this section use rhyming couplets to emphasise the seriousness of the situation. Lady Capulet argues profusely to have Romeo sentenced to death, which is the final act that makes us understand things aren’t going to be ok for Romeo and Juliet, and that problems will unfold hence forth. As the scene ends, the audience are tense as we fear for Romeo now that he has been exiled, and we wonder what will happen to him. This creates dramatic symmetry, with the scene both beginning and ending with tension in the air.So to conclude, Shakespeare uses language and action in many different ways to add to the dramatic effect of the scene. Some of the main ways are by letting the audience know things the characters don’t, by clever choice of language, and by using humour and word-play to control the level of tension in the scene.
