8/3/2019 R,M+Relationship in A3 S1

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Tom Burns

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Romeo, Mercutio and their Relationship in Act 3 Scene 1

In Act 3 Scene 1, Romeo is portrayed as being very pacifistic, and peaceful. This is shown

when Mercutio and Tybalt have a duel, and he says to them both:

Gentlemen, for shame forebear this outrage!Tybalt, Mercutio, the Prince expressly hath

Forbid this bandying in Verona streets.

Hold, Tybalt! Good Mercutio!

This shows he is willing to go against the wishes of even his closest friends to stop violence,

which could show his fear for the aftermath. Also, Mercutios death leads to Romeo killing

Tybalt, and Romeo could have been splitting up the fight because he knew he would not be

able to cope with one of the possible outcomes emotionally. One of the words he uses in

this is Gentlemen, which shows his high level of respect for both Mercutio and Tybalt as

friend and enemy. Shakespeare will have used this word so that this scene had thisparticular effect and not used a word such as fighters or boys as this would have made it

more informal and not shown Romeos respect for both men. Another interpretation of this

quote could be that it shows Romeo as being scared of the violence in general because

otherwise he would have allowed the fight to continue and not interrupted it. This could

give the reader the impression that he is an innocent, and has a slightly childish view on the

violence between the two opposing houses.

In this scene, Mercutio says things that make him seem like he is longing for a fight. He shows

this when he says:

O calm dishonourable, vile submission!

Alla stoccata carries it away.

Tybalt, you ratcatcher, will you walk?

This quote shows he is someone who believes that arguments can be resolved with

violence, and it will be the quickest way of dealing with things. In this quote, Mercutio uses

the word ratcatcher, which could be mean that he looks upon Tybalt as if he is someone

who catches rats to make a living. This would be a job for poorer people with no

education, meaning he thinks of Mercutio as unintelligent, and this job would require no

academic knowledge to do, therefore reinforcing the idea that Tybalt is unintelligent.

Another interpretation of this quote could be that it portrays Mercutio as a well-educated,

up to date person, because of his advanced knowledge of fencing vocabulary. This would

mean Shakespeare intended him to be a character that has an underlying smarter side to

him, and he doesnt always have a hard, fight loving exterior.

In this Act 3 Scene 1, Romeo and Mercutios relationship can be seen as a very strong one. A

quote that suggests this is:

8/3/2019 R,M+Relationship in A3 S1

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Tom Burns

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My very friend, hath got this mortal hurt

In my behalf; my reputation stained

This quotation reinforces Romeo and Mercutios strong relationship when Romeo say My

very friend. This shows that he cares a great deal about Mercutio and even more so

because he has been mortally injured. Another interpretation of this quote could be that

Romeo is a self-centred person (when he says my reputation stained) and that his

relationship with Mercutio is weakened because of his stuck up nature. Shakespeare could

have used this to show that Romeo may have a loving caring for others exterior, but he is

really just worried about himself and his impression upon others.

After having written this essay, I can conclude that Romeo has a pacifistic view on life,

Mercutio is aggressive yet surprisingly clever, and their relationship is ruined by Romeos

self-centred nature.