Character Comparison of Mercutio, Benvolio and Tybalt of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

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Character Comparison of Mercutio, Benvolio and Tybalt of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet In the play "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare there are two families, the Capulets and the Montagues. Benvolio is a nephew to Montague and Tybalt is a nephew to Lord and Lady Capulet. Mercutio is a friend of Romeo, who is a member of the Montague family, and he is also a nephew of the Prince. Young men in Verona society were very aware of status and people would never fight below their rank, this was seen as cowardly. Fencing was very popular in Verona as there are many references to this. It was the most popular sport, just like football in England now. People in Verona also enjoyed wordplay, usually involving sexual puns. People still do this today in jokes. I will now examine the characters attitude to violence and fencing and explore the similarities and differences. In the play Benvolio is definitely the peacemaker because on many occasions when a fight is going on Benvolio always tries to break it up. "Part fools, put up your swords." I think this quotation suggests that Benvolio thinks he is better than the servants who are fighting and that he thinks they are "fools" for fighting with each other. He also gives biased accounts of the fights that take place, which often aggravates Tybalt who has a "Fiery" temper and likes to keep feuds on going: "You shall find me apt enough to that sir, as you will occasion." Tybalt is the most aggressive character in the play, and he always tries to pick a fight. For example, in Act 3 scene 1 when he stabs Mercutio he is one of the main initiators of the fight. Tybalt is very loyal to the Capulet house, and he always gets revenge if something happens: "But this intrusion shall, now seeming sweet, convert to bitterest gall." This indicates that something bad is going to happen. I think it is setting the scene for the murder.

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