The Simmering Brawl Between Characters In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

The simmering brawl between warring clan members such as Tybalt and Mercutio directly precipitates the chain of tragic events that leads to Romeo’s exile and the lovers’ death. Shakespeare constructs the two figures as mirror images of their different families which bear an ancient grudge that is difficult, or impossible, to resolve. Both Mercutio, a Montague, and Tybalt, a Capulet, are clearly troublemakers; both are antagonistic towards the Prince’s decree that … “if you ever disturb our streets again, your lives shall pay the price of it” (1.1,90). Initially at the masked ball, Tybalt is warned by Capulet to bury his resentment, but instead he is left smouldering from what he feels as an offensive intrusion by a Montague. During the later street encounter, Mercutio is just as provocative as Tybalt.

Shakespeare constructs the scene in such a way to show how their continued enmity obstructs reconciliation and peace. He employs puns that are used by both Tybalt and Mercutio to inflame the situation. For example, Mercutio deliberately misunderstands/ misinterprets Tybalt’s words, “consortst”, used because of its double meaning, as an insult. Mercutio is the one who draws his “fiddlestick” or sword first and prompts a fight. He refuses to listen to reason from either Benvolio or Romeo. He also refers to Romeo’s words of peace as “vile submission” (3.1,45). Likewise, Mercutio hates Tybalt and provokes him to a fight when he asks if Tybalt, the “Good King of Cats” (3.1,73), is a coward, “Tybalt, you rat-catcher, will you walk” (3.1,46) eventually the death of Mercutio and then Tybalt leads to Romeo’s exile and the ill-hatched plan of Friar