Romeo_and_Juliet

Why is Act 3 Scene 1 such an important part of Shakespeare’s tragedy, “Romeo and Juliet”' Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies. The story is set in Verona, Italy in the 16thcentury. It is about two young lovers, each from two different feuding families - the Montagues and the Capulets - which have a historical hatred for each other. Shakespeare describes the lovers as “star-cross’d” – meaning that their love for each other is blinded by the reality of the feud between their families, as if dazzled by the stars. The play ends with the deaths of these lovers, as well as the deaths of many other characters throughout the play. The first two Acts of the play have a comedic, love-story feel and there has hardly any sign of tragedy or death. Shakespeare also uses the first two Acts as an opportunity to introduce both the central characters of the play and the history of the family feud. The reader has little knowledge of the dramatic events that will unfold, nor the tragic ending, as Shakespeare gives little hint of this. The only place in the first two Acts where Shakespeare demonstrates signs of violence are in Act 1 Scene 1. Shakespeare demonstrates that even with minor characters of the play, the family feud is apparent. Samson and Gregory are both servants to Capulet, who meet with Abraham, a servant to Montague. They give rude gestures to each other (“do you bite your thumb at as sir'”) and are only separated from fighting by the entrance of Benvolio, a nephew to Montague. In Act 3 Scene 1, Shakespeare shows us how violence can lead to the destruction of love and life by killing the characters of Mercutio, a friend of the Montague, and Tybalt, a Capulet. Shakespeare puts all the characters in Act 2 Scene 1 under pressure by putting them in situations that could result in injury or death. After Act 3 Scene 1, the atmosphere of the play transforms dramatically into an obvious tragedy, as from now on many characters are killed or kill themselves, including Romeo and Juliet. This leads me to think that Act 3 Scene 1 of the play “Romeo and Juliet” is the pivotal point of the play, and therefore one of the most important. Shakespeare introduces us to the main characters throughout the first two Acts and gives us insight into their personalities and relationships with each other. Romeo is the son of Montague and great friends with Mercutio and Benvolio. Mercutio is a kinsman to the Prince, and a good friend of Romeo, he has a fiery temper, masked by humour, but is provocative in his speech and behaviour. I think Shakespeare may have named this character Mercutio because Mercutio comes from the word Mercury. And just as mercury rises when hot, so does Mercutio’s temper. This is highly symbolic in Act 3 Scene 1 as the weather in this scene is stated as being a very hot day, which gives a reason for Mercutio’s argumentative temper. Benvolio is nephew to Montague and a friend of Romeo, he is also humorous and witty, but is more cautious then Mercutio when it comes to fighting, he tends to keep the peace and he appears to dislike violence. Juliet is the daughter of Capulet, and the cousin of Tybalt, who is also known for his fiery temperament and his profound hatred of the Montague family and of peace. By looking at Shakespeare’s use of language in Act 3 Scene 1, we can see that he is trying to emphasise the fact that this scene is important to the play as a whole. Shakespeare starts the scene with calm, peaceful language but he then builds up to fiery, emotional and violent language and language techniques to get his message across that this scene is important to the storyline of the play. In Act 3 Scene 1, there are several Montagues gathered in a public place on the hot streets of Verona. This is a contrasting setting to the previous scene where Romeo and Juliet are getting married. In this scene the atmosphere is cool, calm and happy. Shakespeare does this is in an attempt to add drama to the scene, and it works well. Here, Benvolio is trying to persuade Mercutio to leave the streets of Verona. “Benvolio: I pray thee, good Mercutio, let’s retire: The day is hot, the Capels are abroad, And, if we meet, we shall not ‘scape a brawl, For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring.” Benvolio is aware that a combination of the hot weather and Mercutio’s hot temperament may lead to trouble with the Capulets. The language used by Benvolio here is peaceful and he wishes not to argue with Mercutio, but to merely leave and avoid trouble. Mercutio sees this as an opportunity for humorous argument with Benvolio, as he usually does, “Mercutio: Come, come, thou art as hot as a jack in thy mood as any in Italy; and as soon moved to be moody, and as