Romeo enters the stage but the audience fells concerned because they know that Romeo is unaware of the situation and that Tybalt is angry and this makes Romeo a target. This is also bad timing because this is exactly the point where a fight is very likely. It is also very likely because it is set in Italy which is a stereotype that Italian men were proud, passionate and were seen as cowards if they didn’t fight. The reason for this is because men in Italy were expected to settle quarrels through sword fighting. Also it is because this is like a code of behaviour - if someone calls someone a villain (Tybalt calls Romeo a villain) they are expected to fight back but Romeo just says “villain am I none; therefore farewell; I see thou know ’st me not”. His friends at this point are shocked, embarrassed and concerned for his reputation whereas the audience understands Romeo’s reply and wants him to walk away from Tybailt. This is an example of dramatic irony because the audience knows more than his friends.
Mercuto is shocked, we can tell this because “dishonourable, vile submission!” This shows us that Mercuto thinks he is losing his reputation and that Mercuto might look bad because he is Romeo’s friend. Mercuto insults Tybailt when he says “rat-catcher”. This is trying to cover up Romeo’s walk away. Mercuto then asks Tybailt for a duel when he says “will you walk”. It is like Mercuto is trying to take matters into his own hands. This is dramatic because the audience enjoys the action/fighting. Benvolio and Romeo want to stop the fight. Romeo indirectly causes Mercuto’s death because Romeo gets in the way of the fighting which causes his death. The reason for this is because Mercuto would have won the fight against Tybailt, so he would have been alive and Tybailt would have been dead.
The audience knows Mercuto is dying but his friends do not know he is dying because they think he is joking as he is a joker. The audience is shocked when he says “a plague on both your houses” and curses the Capulets and the Montagues. When Mercuto is dying he makes a joke when he says “ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man”. This is a pun because it has two meanings - the serious meaning and the dead meaning. The audience is again shocked when he basically says Romeo killed me. This section reminds us of the prologue at the beginning of the story where it tells us roughly the storyline. This describes Romeo as a ‘star crossed’ and this reminds us that he is doomed to die.
Romeo feels that Mercuto has died for him when he says “my very friend, hath got his mortal hurt in my behalf”. This makes him angry and he feels is honour has been damaged. We can tell this because he says “my reputation is stain’d”. Romeo is also shocked that his relative has killed his friend. He blames his weakness on his beauty (Juliet) when he says “o sweet Juliet, thy beauty hath made me effeminate”. The audience at this point has mixed feelings, they want to see Tybailt punished but we don’t want Romeo to fight because we know it will ruin everthing. It is also frustrating because it will cause problems with Juliet and the prince.
Romeo says two things that suggests that he does not feel in control of what is happening to him. When he says “this day’s black fate” we can tell that he does suggest he is not in control because when he says the words “black fate” it shows that he thinks destiny has taken over. “Black fate” is a connotation of bad and connected to death. Another quote that suggests that he does not feel in control is when he says “either thou or I or both must go with him”. This shows that it is certain that it is going to happen. In this quote when he says “with him” he realises one of them is going to die with him. In the first quote he says “fate” which relates to tragedy because “fate” and tragedy is usually linked to death. Tragedy is a type of literature where the main character is destroyed because it is their destiny. Often they have a choice, but whatever choice they make it will be a bad one. It is like they are trapped. The audience knows that someone will die. Romeo is very angry and emotional therefore he no longer wants to participate in the fight and seems as if he has lost control over his life. This is kind of like a defeat for Romeo because he thought that he could cure the family feud with his love but now he has started fighting. Romeo’s emotion gives him the motive to win the fight but the audience knows he is in a no win situation - he will either be a killer or killed. When he says “I am fortune’s fool” we can tell that he is totally depressed and he also feels unlucky and he thinks he cannot escape his fate. We can also tell from this quote that when he says “fool” he feels he has done the wrong thing and thinks everything will go wrong now.
The ending of the scene is very dramatic because there is a lot of noise, tense atmosphere, weeping and there is a lot of people on stage (police, Benvolio, Lady Capulet, Lord Montague, the Prince and the public). Lots of people are shouting at the Prince, Benvolio and Lord Montague are defending Romeo by saying he did not want to fight, Benvolio said Tybalt deserves to die for killing Mercutio so it is like Romeo has done the law a favour by killing Tybalt. Lady Capulet says Romeo deserves to die when she says “for blood of ours, shed blood of Montague”, but the Prince is being shouted out and he says Romeo must leave the town and if he gets caught in the town again he will be executed. Benvolio says “Romeo, that spoke him fair, bid him bethink”. He also says “how nice the quarrel was” - he said the quarrel was pointless and urged withal. Lord Montague says “his fault concludes but what die for killing Mercutio the law should end”. The atmosphere at this point is tense, noisy and interruptions. The suspense is caused by the audience because we want to know what will happen. We also realise at this point that Romeo’s banishment means that he won’t be able to see Juliet because it is too dangerous for Romeo to come to the city. Also girls were chaperoned in those days, which means Juliet cannot see Romeo because he has a chaperone. Romeo cannot also send a message to Juliet because it has to pass through the chaperone first.
Overall this is a very dramatic scene because it includes fighting, humour, sadness, death, the scene is fast moving, depression, anger and anxiety. All of these things make the audience interested and makes them keep watching. Also in this scene there is a mixture of several types of language used, such as insults, swearing, joking, begging, pledging and arguing. There is a lot to watch on stage in this scene including violence and distress. Also in this scene it is like a turning point for Romeo because lots of things happen in this scene for him. I liked this scene because of the fighting and it is a very dramatic and exciting scene.
