Villainism or Tragically Flawed “Tragic heroes are failed pragmatics”. Their ends are unrealistic and their means are impractical” - Adam Philips. Who gets to decide who’s the bad and who’s the good in stories? Many characters get the title of ‘villain’: Severus Snape from Harry Potter or Jay Gastby from The Great Gatsby, they’re both seen from the eyes of others as evil, but in the end they’re simply misunderstood. Tybalt Capulet from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet was truly not the antagonist of the play. It was not his fault that he was tragically flawed with belligerence from birth. He was loyal to his family; too loyal and that got him killed. Tybalt’s death was destined, but he needed not to die with the reputation of the ‘villain’ …show more content…
“Patience perforce with wilful choler meeting. Makes my flesh tremble in their different greetings.” (Shakespeare, 28) He explains that the mixed emotions of patience and anger are both so uncontrollable, it makes his body shake. He understands that he’s in a state that’s like the calm before the storm, he leaves so as to not bother anyone. While he can’t control his emotions, he is still able to control his actions. He means not to cause anyone harm with his fieriness. We can’t always control our feelings and sometimes we let them take the reins over ourselves, this happens to Tybalt as well as everyone else. He was misunderstood by the people around him, even his family, during certain times. “You are a saucy boy: isn’t it, indeed?” (Shakespeare, 28) Lord Capulet says to Tybalt, even his own uncle doesn’t understand him. If everyone could have seen where Tybalt was coming from, no one would be calling him violent, hostile and …show more content…
He wants peace for his family, and he won’t let anyone get in the way of that. “What, drawn, and talk of peace!” (Shakespeare, 6) Tybalt is offended by Benvolio's actions, as he wants peace and yet he has his rapier out towards Tybalt beckoning him to fight. Tybalt didn’t want to fight Benvolio, but he had affronted him. Tybalt only fought to protect his family image and also his own at the same time. There’s nothing wrong with him defending himself and yet apparently it is, possibly it could be due to the choice of words he uses with Benvolio. However, his actions should matter more than his words in this case. But in other cases, his words should matter far more. “Uncle, this is a Montague, our foe.” (Shakespeare, 27) He warns Lord Capulet of the danger of Romeo. But he’s shrugged off and Capluet tells him to calm down and leave Romeo alone. Tybalt is enraged by his family's naiveness to the problem around them. So, he takes it upon himself to try and solve it without bringing them into the mess of it all. If only his family could understand things the same way he does, he would be far more praised and treated better than he is, and maybe even then he and their only daughter would still be alive. So in the end, was Tybalt truly the villain or was he simply just misunderstood by all the people around him? A man with too big of
From the very beginning of the play, Tybalt expressed how he hated peace. He would prefer to hate than to have peace with the Montagues.
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
A few quotes from the play will prove that Tybalt is ignorant. Tybalt: Is he that villain Romeo? Tybalt: It fits when such a villain is a guest. I'll not endure him, either. Tybalt: Why, uncle, is that a shame.
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:
The hot-blooded and furious Tybalt had a grudge against Romeo, which inevitably led to a series of misfortunes, and in the end, the two protagonists died. He had held that grudge, since the day he confronted Romeo at the Capulet’s party, where Tybalt was dishonoured in front of a whole debauchery.
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
For shame! /I'll make you quiet" (I.v.94-99). Plus, Benvolio thinking prior to his acts, "I pray thee, good Mercutio, let's retire/the day is hot, the Capulet's abroad, /and, if we meet, we shall not scape a brawl; /for now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring" (III.1.22-25). This proves that Tybalt is spirited to the extent of his old uncle noticing him feisty.
Tybalt is a Capulet and very passionate about hating the Montagues. In Act 1 Scene 5 when Romeo, Benvolio, and Mercutio sneak into Capulet’s party, Tybalt recognizes Romeo and begs Lord Capulet to kick him out. “Uncle, this is a Montague, our foe, / A villain that is hither come in spite / To scorn at our solemnity this night” (1. v. 69-71). Later, Tybalt sees Romeo on the street and tries to fight him, convinced that Romeo has done something to him. Romeo doesn’t want to fight, and Mercutio steps in. Benvolio and Romeo try to stop them, but Mercutio gets fatally wounded. Tybalt’s devotion to his family ended up killing Mercutio, and Tybalt himself later ends up dead because of
Tybalt constantly wants to fight and attack people. Benvolio is trying to keep the peace between all and doesn’t really have a side; he just wants the fighting to end. In one scene, there is a fight between some servants and the boys get involved. Tybalt walks over, What, art thou drawn among these heartless hinds? Turn thee, Benvolio, look upon thy death.
Just as hunters can kill mockingbirds in sports, people can kill innocence or other individuals who are innocent. This correlation is well illustrated in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. The author incorporates symbolism and point-of-view to illustrate her point that innocence is a very fragile quality that can be destroyed easily by humanity’s actions and words. In this novel, there are several cases where a harmless and naive person is exposed to the evils surrounding him, and thus, his or her innocence is destroyed—either by adult realities or society itself.
Despite the fact that Capulet tries to marry Juliet because he loves her and wants her to be happy, it still ends up dividing them more because this is what causes Juliet to fake her own death to be with Romeo, which ruins her family. Tybalt is generally thought of as a brash and impulsive character that perpetuated the feud, but in reality, he is just as much driven by love as all the other characters. For instance, Tybalt feels like he needs to protect his family from the