Tybalt is to blame for this tragedy - Romeo and Juliet Essay

“Tybalt is to blame for this tragedy” discuss with reference to Act 3 Scene 1

On one hand, Tybalt is heavily involved in the build up to the tragedy in Romeo and Juliet; Shakespeare portrays him as a villainous character who is the cause of several deaths and misfortune. Throughout the play Shakespeare exposes Tybalt’s violent nature and his anger is particularly shown, when Tybalt confronts Romeo and insults him in Act 3 Scene 1 saying, ‘thou art a villain’. This, in the Elizabethan period was very insulting and shows how quick Tybalt is to start fights, proving that he is hot-tempered. Critics argue that Tybalt caused the tragedy as he encourages a brawl by inviting Romeo to ‘turn and draw’. Had Tybalt not said this, Mercutio would probably not have been provoked to fight and consequently die. As a result of Mercutio’s death, Romeo killed Tybalt, forcing Romeo to leave. This led to a chain of disastrous events resulting in Romeo’s, Juliet’s and Paris’ deaths. It can also be argued that Tybalt is to blame as he triggers the fights and seems to cause of the unfortunate events. The importance of Tybalt’s invitation to ‘turn and draw’ is also explored by Baz Luhrmann in the 1996 film adaptation of the play; the character repeats the phrase several times. This draws attention to the words and again makes it seem like Tybalt was the cause of the deaths as he started the fights. Tybalt believes that he has the right to kill Romeo, saying ‘To strike him dead I hold it not a sin’ as Romeo attended the Capulet’s party despite the feud. This suggests that Tybalt believes in the Old Testament principle of Lex Talionis - an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Luhrmann conveys the religious and traditional aspects of Tybalt by his clothing which has pictures of Jesus Christ and all his weapons have the Capulet family crest on it. Tybalt’s ruthlessness and sense of family loyalty suggest that he is indeed to blame for this tragedy.


On the other hand, even thought Tybalt is a major influence in the play, some may say he is not the sole cause of the tragedy. Tybalt may feel he is just bringing justice to his family; the tragedies that follow are just unfortunate and completely out of Tybalt’s hands. Mainly, because he is dead, but also as other characters are responsible for their own actions.  It can also be argued that Tybalt was not completely at fault as other characters were involved in the brawl as well. At the beginning of Act 3 Scene 1, Benvolio says ‘the day is hot and the Capels abroad, and if we meet we shall not escape a brawl.’ It seems Benvolio anticipated that there would be trouble and maybe if he, prevented his friends from fighting, the tragedy could have been prevented. In addition, Mercutio is not totally innocent he, with amusement, mocks Tybalt making him increasingly angry and in a way this also starts the brawl. In some ways Mercutio is more to blame than Tybalt for the fight. Tybalt becomes involved due to family loyalty and pride, whereas Mercutio joins in for amusement. This is evident when, as soon as Tybalt and his men enter, Tybalt asks politely, ‘a word with one of you’ and Mercutio instantly mocks Tybalt replying, ‘make it a word and a blow’. Mercutio continues to mock and tease Tybalt throughout build up to the brawl on several occasions. For example, when he says ‘Thou make minstrels of us’ and ‘I’ll be hanged if he wear your livery’, this shows, Mercutio purposely misinterpreting Tybalt’s comments and trying to goad him into a fight. Tybalt tries to ignore Mercutio’s provocative comments making it clear he only wants to fight with Romeo, saying ‘peace be with you sir, here comes my man’. Tybalt’s comment of ‘turn and draw’ is directed solely to Romeo, who backs away from this invitation and Mercutio chooses this moment to intervene further by joining in a physical fight and drawing his sword well before Tybalt. If Mercutio was not so eager to fight, Tybalt may possibly have listened to Romeo’s explanation and maybe the fight could have been prevented. Tybalt only draws his own sword after being insulted by Mercutio, who calls him the ‘king of cats’. Therefore, in a way Mercutio seems to be the one to blame for the tragedy as he provokes Tybalt first. Furthermore, viewers of the play may argue that the tragedy is a combination of the other characters’ faults as well. Tybalt and Paris actually died at the hands of Romeo and his suicide led to Juliet killing herself. However, in a way it seems easier to blame Tybalt for the tragedy because of the manner in which Shakespeare portrays him as someone who hates ‘peace’ as he hates ‘hell’ and ‘Montagues’. This is a contrast to the amiable character traits of the others, such as Mercutio who is shown to be funny and friendly and Romeo who is shown to loving. Due to this, the audience are more inclined to favour Romeo and Mercutio and blame Tybalt even though he cannot be solely blamed as other characters clearly played a major part in the final tragedies as well. 

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