Romeo kills Tybalt in Zeffirelli's version of Romeo and Juliet. By killing Tybalt in the heat of impassioned anger, Romeo sets off a chain of events that help Shakespeare to create the perfect tragedy.
Act 3, Scene 1: What Many Of You Missed.
After reading your Twitter scenes (which I enjoyed thoroughly, by the way), I noticed that you gathered many of the important points necessary to understand why the play progresses forward. Here's what you caught:
1. Mercutio knows Romeo won't fight...at least willingly. Romeo is a lover, but Mercutio wishes for Romeo to answer the challenge that has been put before
him by Tybalt. Mercutio knows that Tybalt is a good fighter, but he is beginning to question Romeo's loyalty to family and friends, especially after he ditches them to go shimmy up the Capulets' castle wall.
2. Benvolio...poor guy, he tried so hard to convince everyone to NOT fight. Benvolio knows that the conditions are ripe for the Capulets and Montagues to fight. He even recognizes within himself that he would fight if his family required it. When questioned by the Prince, Benvolio gives a faithful account of events, but does not consider that the Capulets would accuse him of having false loyalties to the Montagues. Benvolio might be the only reason why Romeo is exiled, and not sentenced to death, because of his account of the last brawl.
3. Tybalt didn't get the blood he wanted. Instead, his own blood was spilled. As Friar Laurence said, "Violent delights have violent ends." This doesn't just happen with love. Often, when we see a character in a literary work with a temper such as Tybalt's, he will self-destruct. His anger blinds him from his objective - to recover his honor by killing Romeo - and goes to focus on Mercutio. Did he not consider that Romeo would then be blinded by anger himself? Did he not consider that this would drive Romeo to commit his fatal act? Perhaps he didn't care. Perhaps.
4. Pay attention to this, because this is something you missed: When Romeo kills Tybalt, he immediately regrets killing him. According to your Twitter feeds, this is something you did not catch. Romeo stabs him, realizes what he has done, and screams into the sky, "O, I am fortune's fool!" He thought he was invincible for a hot second, because of his marriage to Juliet combined with his blind anger for Tybalt's murder of Mercutio. But when he realizes how badly he has jeopardized his marriage in that split second, he regrets having killed his newly found kinsman. He has committed the ultimate sin against a family member.
Which brings us to Scenes ii and iii, where he sulks about it and his tears are "womanish." Awesome.
III.ii focuses on Juliet's emotional reaction to Romeo's killing her kinsman. The Nurse doesn't help much, as she further confuses Juliet with her back and forth vague commentary. The only solace that Juliet gains is that Romeo is still alive, but NOT BEFORE Juliet spews a line of paradoxes explaining her divisive emotions regarding her recently wedded groom. It is clear that Juliet loves Romeo by the end of the scene, but Juliet still needs to show devotion to her kinsman. In the end, she gives the Nurse her wedding band to give to Romeo, as a sign of devotion and loyalty to her marriage.
III.iii focuses on Romeo's irrational and impulsive behavior after being exiled from Verona. Romeo probably knows that death is more extreme and permanent than the banishment decree, but Romeo doesn't have any control over his emotions right now. Friar Laurence exposes Romeo's personality (as his foil!) through his exasperation over Romeo's behavior, by calling him "womanish" and declaring that he has "a pack of blessings, light upon thy back". Romeo just wants his wife, plain and simple.
Romeo has a lot of farewells to make at the end of this scene. He still has to go to Juliet, and he will never see Verona in the daylight again.
Let me know if you guys have any que
After reading your Twitter scenes (which I enjoyed thoroughly, by the way), I noticed that you gathered many of the important points necessary to understand why the play progresses forward. Here's what you caught:
1. Mercutio knows Romeo won't fight...at least willingly. Romeo is a lover, but Mercutio wishes for Romeo to answer the challenge that has been put before
him by Tybalt. Mercutio knows that Tybalt is a good fighter, but he is beginning to question Romeo's loyalty to family and friends, especially after he ditches them to go shimmy up the Capulets' castle wall.
2. Benvolio...poor guy, he tried so hard to convince everyone to NOT fight. Benvolio knows that the conditions are ripe for the Capulets and Montagues to fight. He even recognizes within himself that he would fight if his family required it. When questioned by the Prince, Benvolio gives a faithful account of events, but does not consider that the Capulets would accuse him of having false loyalties to the Montagues. Benvolio might be the only reason why Romeo is exiled, and not sentenced to death, because of his account of the last brawl.
3. Tybalt didn't get the blood he wanted. Instead, his own blood was spilled. As Friar Laurence said, "Violent delights have violent ends." This doesn't just happen with love. Often, when we see a character in a literary work with a temper such as Tybalt's, he will self-destruct. His anger blinds him from his objective - to recover his honor by killing Romeo - and goes to focus on Mercutio. Did he not consider that Romeo would then be blinded by anger himself? Did he not consider that this would drive Romeo to commit his fatal act? Perhaps he didn't care. Perhaps.
4. Pay attention to this, because this is something you missed: When Romeo kills Tybalt, he immediately regrets killing him. According to your Twitter feeds, this is something you did not catch. Romeo stabs him, realizes what he has done, and screams into the sky, "O, I am fortune's fool!" He thought he was invincible for a hot second, because of his marriage to Juliet combined with his blind anger for Tybalt's murder of Mercutio. But when he realizes how badly he has jeopardized his marriage in that split second, he regrets having killed his newly found kinsman. He has committed the ultimate sin against a family member.
Which brings us to Scenes ii and iii, where he sulks about it and his tears are "womanish." Awesome.
III.ii focuses on Juliet's emotional reaction to Romeo's killing her kinsman. The Nurse doesn't help much, as she further confuses Juliet with her back and forth vague commentary. The only solace that Juliet gains is that Romeo is still alive, but NOT BEFORE Juliet spews a line of paradoxes explaining her divisive emotions regarding her recently wedded groom. It is clear that Juliet loves Romeo by the end of the scene, but Juliet still needs to show devotion to her kinsman. In the end, she gives the Nurse her wedding band to give to Romeo, as a sign of devotion and loyalty to her marriage.
III.iii focuses on Romeo's irrational and impulsive behavior after being exiled from Verona. Romeo probably knows that death is more extreme and permanent than the banishment decree, but Romeo doesn't have any control over his emotions right now. Friar Laurence exposes Romeo's personality (as his foil!) through his exasperation over Romeo's behavior, by calling him "womanish" and declaring that he has "a pack of blessings, light upon thy back". Romeo just wants his wife, plain and simple.
Romeo has a lot of farewells to make at the end of this scene. He still has to go to Juliet, and he will never see Verona in the daylight again.
Let me know if you guys have any que
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