Act III, Scene I: the Pivotal Scene in Romeo and Juliet

Since life is too complex to be classified into a single category, then why should a play imitating life be confined to a single genre? In the classic tale of two "star cross'd lovers", Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare dabbles with both the comic and tragic genres (Prologue, Line 6). The play starts in the traditional comic form but undergoes a transformation in Act III, Scene I. In this scene, the death of Mercutio, and consequential death of Tybalt, transform the play into a tragedy. With each death comes a change that alters the course of the rest of the play. Mercutio's death results in an inversion of the play's genre. Traditional comic elements are lifted only to be replaced by tragedy. The death of Tybalt constitutes another radical change in the play - this time in the plot. Before Tybalt's death, the ongoing feud between the Montagues and Capulets was nothing more than idle threats. The only character to take the quarrel beyond mere words was Tybalt. Ironically, his murder intensifies the feud and takes it to a whole new level. Also, Romeo's role in this scene propels the new genre of tragedy as he takes up the role of the tragic hero. This new role dooms both him and Juliet. Thus, the shifting genres in this scene set the course for the rest of the play.

To understand the shift in genres, there must be recognition of Mercutio as a comic character. Mercutio is Shakespeare's prominent comical character in Romeo and Juliet. He is not bound by the events around him, as he often rambles on a topic that is completely irrelevant to the situation in which he finds himself. Mercutio is a free character who is independent of the world around him. His existence is entirely comical in his play with language. For Mercutio, speech is ...

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...d Juliet's suicide is the result of Act III, Scene I's shift in genres. The death of Mercutio provokes a change from comedy to tragedy but it is Romeo's actions that sustain the tragedy. Although Tybalt's murder reinforces the tragedy, it results in another change in the play. His death changes the course of the play as the family feud becomes increasingly serious. This further complicates the situation for Romeo and Juliet since now their love is forbidden even more than it was before. They cannot reveal their marriage, thus, their attempt to reconcile the families fail. All of this stems from the events in Act III, Scene I. Therefore, it can be concluded that this scene is the most critical scene in Romeo and Juliet.

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. The Arden Shakespeare Complete Works: Romeo and Juliet. Ed. Brian Gibbons. London: Thomson Learning, 2001.