Romeo & Juliet - How is tension created

Before act three, scene one the Nurse informs Juliet that Romeo is waiting for her at Friar Lawrence’s cell to take her hand in marriage, “Then hie you hence to Friar Lawrence’ cell: There stays a husband to make you a wife.” Juliet rushes to Friar Lawrence’s cell. Romeo and Juliet get married. This marriage between Romeo and Juliet will lead to major conflict between the two households if they find out, especially if Tybalt finds out about it. Here Shakespeare is again adding fuel to the fire by marrying a Capulet and a Montague. Shakespeare is once more building the tension towards the big fight scene. Also earlier on in the play Capulet throws a party, Romeo enters along with Mercutio and Benvolio. Tybalt then spots him. Tybalt begins to get angrier. Capulet then breaks it up and tells Tybalt to go away and leave Romeo alone. As he leaves he pronounces, “I will withdraw, but this intrusion shall, now seeming sweet, convert to bitterest gall.” After this speech conflict is inevitable. Tybalt is not planning to forget that Romeo intruded into the Capulet's party and he will get revenge. Here Shakespeare is creating more friction between the two characters and creating more reasons for conflict between them.

When Tybalt enters the scene he is looking for a fight, preferably with Romeo as revenge intruding on his party, despite for the fact he is looking for a fight Tybalt behaves in a quite polite manner towards Mercutio and Benvolio considering his usual livid, irate state. “Gentlemen, good-den; a word with one of you.” He uses words like ‘Gentlemen’ and ‘good-den.’ These are words which you would not often hear him say, so this puts the audience on edge and makes them wonder why he is being so polite and well mannered. Mercutio approaches this strange behaviour change very cautiously, being very inquisitive, questioning all the time,

Mercutio: “Could you not take some occasion without giving?”    

Tybalt:     “Mercutio, thou consort’st with Romeo.”

Mercutio: “Consort? What, dost thou make us minstrels?”

As a result of this Shakespeare creates an anxious, uneasy mood, a mood where you can sense something bad is going to happen. The ways in which he does this are, by the way Tybalt is acting. He is acting very calmly and politely for a character that is meant to be infuriated and vicious almost all of the time. “You shall find me apt enough to that, sir, an you will give me occasion,” Tybalt to Mercutio. He uses language like ‘sir.’ This is very unusual for his personality. Also how he creates this mood is the fact that Tybalt is looking for Romeo and earlier in the play Tybalt vowed to get revenge for Romeo for gate crashing their party. “I will withdraw, but this intrusion shall, now seeming sweet, convert to bitterest gall.” It is not a peaceful, quiet word that Tybalt is looking for, he is out for revenge.

When Romeo arrives Tybalt diverts his attention from Mercutio to Romeo, “Well, peace be with you, sir; here comes my man.” Tybalt then tries to entice a fight between himself and Romeo; however Romeo declines because he can not fight the cousin of the person he has just married. Shakespeare has very ingeniously put dramatic irony into the play. The dramatic irony is that Romeo has just married Juliet, the audience know that, but Tybalt does not. Therefore Romeo is talking to Tybalt saying, “And so, good Capulet, which name I tender as dearly as mine own, be satisfied”

As this quarrel is going on between Tybalt and Romeo, Mercutio is getting increasingly frustrated at Romeo’s lack of manliness so he takes the initiative, he draws his sword and asks, “Tybalt, you rat-catcher, will you walk?” Tybalt accepts and draws. They fight. Tybalt wounds Mercutio. As Mercutio is down he pronounces, “A plague o’ both your houses!” This means a curse on both Capulets and Montagues. Shakespeare cunningly creates tension by dropping more clever hints about the outcome of the play and what kind of ending it will be.

The final outcome of this scene is more tragedy as in an act of revenge Romeo kills Tybalt. Benvolio then tells the Prince that Romeo killed Tybalt and Tybalt killed Mercutio. “There lies the man, slain by young Romeo, that slew thy kinsmen, brave Mercutio.” This therefore leads to the Prince announcing Romeo’s banishment. “And for that offence, immediately we do exile him hence.” The consequence of Romeo killing Tybalt is even more conflict between the two families throughout the rest of the play. Also the banishment of Romeo adds to Shakespeare’s creation of tension to the rest of the play. It makes the audience wonder, will he be coming back? If he does what will happen to him? Will the love story of Romeo and Juliet be anymore?

This scene has an immense impact on the way the play is shaped out. As a result of Romeo killing Tybalt he is now banished from Verona. Consequently Juliet is arranged to marry Paris but Friar Laurence tells Juliet to take a potion simulating death, allowing Romeo to take her away to Mantua. However, Romeo learns of Juliet's death and then decides to risk his own life by returning to Verona to see Juliet one last time. Romeo buys poison from a local Apothecary. Romeo arrives to see Juliet dead. He kisses her then takes the poison. Juliet then wakes up sees him dead and stabs herself. All this tragedy and heartbreak would not have happened if it were not for this scene. Therefore this scene has a massive impact on the rest of the play and its outcome.