In the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, the characters Tybalt and Benvolio are foil characters for several reasons. To begin, Tybalt and Benvolio are enemies, because Tybalt is a Capulet and Benvolio is a Montague. Tybalt yells to Benvolio and the other Montagues “Talk of peace? I hate the words as I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee” (Act 1, Scene 1, Line 72). Tybalt and Benvolio hate each other because of their different families: the Montagues and the Capulets. To continue, Tybalt tries to pick fights, whereas Benvolio wants to create piece. In Act 1, Scene 1, Tybalt is trying to pick a fight with the Montagues and yells “Turn thee… Look upon thy death.” (Act 1, Scene 1, Line 68). This is just an example of one of the many
times Tybalt wants to rouse up a fight. Finally, Benvolio is usually very happy and content, whereas Tybalt is very angry.In Act 1, Scene 1, line 139, Benvolio is enjoying life with Romeo and proclaims “Madam, an hour before the worshipp'd sun Peer'd forth the golden window of the east.” (act 1, scene 1, line 139). Benvolio does not need to cause anger, because he is a very content and happy person. The characters Tybalt and Benvolio from William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet are foil characters because they are from opposite families, have different emotions, and have different opinions on fighting.
Benvolio, in contrast to Tybalt, is a more peaceful person who can manage his angers and hate. He, I believe, is meant to be seen as some sort of mediator: “I pray the, good Mercutio, let’s retire. The day is hot, the Capulets abroad, And, if we meet, we shall not scape a brawl, For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring.” (Shakespeare, page 116).
Throughout Shakespeare's “Romeo and Juliet” we learn of the string bond Romeo has with his two friends, Benvolio and Mercutio. However, Benvolio proves himself time and time again to be there better of friends to Romeo. Benvolio is honest, loyal, and cares deeply for Romeo, all of which are excellent characteristics which make a great friend.
Tybalt can be considered one of the most aggressive characters in the play. For example, in A1S1L66 Tybalt says "Turn thee... Look upon thy death." Benvolio then explains how there is no reason to fight and says them both should go to peace. Tybalt responds with: "Talk of peace? I hate the word as I hate the word
Tybalt is related to Juliet, and is naturally a character foil to a relative of Romeo named Benvolio. Tybalt contains a quick temper, and makes a multitude of rash decisions. Tybalt also responds to disrespect with violence, and without much consideration. Benvolio’s name rings true to word that sounds similar:
Tybalt is ~'king of cats~', quick to anger and act without thought, prone to act fast and violently if he feels insulted or dishonored. Benvolio is called a peacemaker (even his name is from the root of ~'benevolent~' or kind), and tries many times to soothe frayed tempers and hurt feelings. Benvolio is also asked by Romeo's parents to keep an eye on Romeo, and he is the one the Prince approaches to get to the bottom of the street fight between Romeo's friends and Capulet's supporters. Tybalt is the opposite in character, being unfriendly and self-serving.
When asked by Benvolio to make peace in the streets, Tybalt bluntly responds,” talk of peace, I hate the word. As I hate hell all Montagues.” This is the attitude of Tybalt throughout the play. He believes he is doing all for the best and uses violence as his tool. He gets angry at the ball with Romeo being there, “villain as a guest,” and believes it best to defend his family’s honor by later taking revenge. When Tybalt finds Romeo, he thinks it best to fight him and when he ends up killing Mercutio he believes he has done his duty by causing Romeo the same hurt he has brought Tybalt, “the injuries that thou hast done me.”
In comparison to Benvolio, they are highly divergent characters. Benvolio’s personality is one of peace and wellbeing, and his character is in juxtaposition to that of Tybalt’s. It is evident from the moment Tybalt first spoke in act 1 scene 1 that he is violent and enjoys fighting. His first line being ‘What, art though drawn amongst these heartless hinds?’ referring to Benvolio’s involvement in a fight between the servants, further implicates that Tybalt is regularly focused on violence and fighting. The line that further implicates his passion for conflict is at the moment when he discusses the topic of ‘peace’. Tybalt, on the subject of this word, says ‘I hate the word, as I hate hell’, suggesting that he has a passionate dislike for
Tybalt is like many other young men his age and is immature. This can be seen in almost every action he makes. One can see his immaturity when he makes impulsive decisions, like when he wrote a letter to Romeo challenging him to a duel. Another immature thing that he does is when he sees a Montague, he automatically sees him/her as a evil villain because of the ancient feud. Tybalt states, “Uncle, this is a Montague, our foe,/ A villain that is hither come in spite/ To scorn at our solemnity this night.” (1.5.69-71). He sees Romeo when at the party and instantly abandons any sense maturity or reason and assumes that that man is a villian, not knowing who he is or having any knowledge about him other than his name. His childish behavior can be seen through out
This aggression is shown when Tybalt insults Romeo (3.1.55-69), calling him “thou art a villain” (3.1.56), and “boy” (3.1.61). In the context of this scene, boy is an insult. Once Romeo shows that he will not fight back (3.1.57-60), Tybalt’s ego takes control. This incident embodies cockiness as Tybalt continually berates Romeo and his friends with insults. He has no real reason to escalate this conflict as he knows that the Prince hates fighting. Despite this, Tybalt shows how cocky and abrasive he is, and perpetrates the tragedy by killing Mercutio and getting killed, himself. Since Tybalt literally beckons Romeo to draw (3.1.62), he further exemplifies cockiness. This results in a tragedy as Tybalt slays Mercutio and is slain by Romeo in turn. Furthermore, Tybalt shows aggression in his aside with Lord Capulet at the party. Tybalt says many threatening things about Romeo, calling him: “a slave” (1.5.52), his “foe” (1.5.59), and a “villain” (1.5.63). In this part of the story, Tybalt shows aggression, by wanting to kill Romeo. This is made evident by him asking his servant to grab his sword (1.5.52-4). Once again, Tybalt shows unnecessary aggression by insulting and threatening Romeo. This moves the plot towards tragedy by establishing a rivalry between Romeo and Tybalt. Later on, this rivalry results in the death of Tybalt and Mercutio. In summation, Tybalt’s aggression and cockiness results in the deaths of himself and Mercutio, making this story a
Because of this conflict, confrontations occurred and insults were thrown. Hatred is bred which is evident when Tybalt, who is Lady Capulet's nephew, joins the fight against the Montague family. Tybalt hates Romeo and doesn't hesitate to let it be known.
As a famous author once said, “You don’t have to attend every argument you’re invited to.” To clarify, it isn’t necessary to engage in every conflict that is encountered. In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Tybalt is a truculent and unsympathetic man who tends to take the quarrel between the Capulets and Montagues a step too far. He soon is challenged with a fight he cannot beat. In this tragic play, Tybalt’s tragic flaw of aggressiveness guides him towards a bitter end.
Who would have thought that their own family could be responsible for their death? In William Shakespeare’s play, “Romeo and Juliet”, a horrible crime was committed between two lost souls who were never meant to meet, their lives came to an end and there’s only one to blame for these two murders.Although he did not physically kill Romeo or Juliet, Tybalt is the one to blame for their deaths. Many may argue that others are to blame, but Tybalt has caused the most damage, ruined everything, and led the couple to their suicides. These deaths, although horrific, will bring two fighting families together and bring peace back to their lives.
Shakespeare cunningly gives the audience an early indication of Benvolio’s personality through his name. Benvolio translated literally means “good-will” or “well wisher” a role he consistently fills, although sometimes unsuccessfully throughout the play, striving to keep himself and others around him out of any conflict. In the very first scene of the play, Benvolio quickly establishes himself as the peacemaker as he tries to stop the fight between the Montague and Capulet servants by saying, “Part fools! Put up your swords, you know not what you do.”(I.i.64-65) Wanting peace he warns them to stop arguing before things evolve into a grave situation. In that statement, Shakespeare references the Gospel of Luke “Father forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34), using his skillful use of the written language to allude that Benvolio was taking on a Christ like peacemaker role in the play. Benvolio’s moral convictions do not change over the course of the play. His stance on peace is evident in all three scenes. In Act III, as Mercutio and Tybalt begin to fight, Benvolio once again attempts to be the voice of reason, “We talk here in the public haunt of mean: eithe...
Drawn, and talk of peace? I hate the word, as I hate hell, all Montague’s, and thee. Have at thee cowards!” which proves to us that Tybalt is more committed to the feud then Benvolio and the Montague’s. Act 1 scene 5: in this act we look at how Romeo goes to the great. feast in the household of the Capulet’s.
In fact, without it, many of the major plot lines would be incredibly different if Benvolio pertained some of Tybalt’s rage or if Tybalt shared some of Benvolio’s peace. Before Benvolio and Mercutio come upon Tybalt one afternoon, Benvolio tries to get out of it and mentions, “I pray thee, good Mercutio, let’s retire. / The day is hot; the Capulets, abroad; / And if we meet we shall not ‘scape a brawl, / For now, these hot days, is mad blood stirring.” (3.1, 1-4). Benvolio had prior knowledge that as Montagues, him and Mercutio would manage to get into a fight if they tried to stay where they were, surrounded by Capulets. He wanted to possibly escape the repercussions of what said fight might entail. However, Tybalt had very different plans. He purposely went looking for the two Montagues and started a brawl which, of course, resulted in Mercutio’s death. This death is a crucial part in the tragedy, for it is when Romeo causes another death, Tybalt’s, which gets him banished from Verona. Therefore, without this said character foil, none of this would have ever happened, and the plot line would drastically