Two More Acts

Recently I have finished reading acts two and three of romeo and Juliet.  If the story was not already interesting, it sure is now. These two acts were filled with love, old habits, hate, and desire.  I am having a wonderful time reading the book so far. After the the second and third act, I am still in shock about the death of Tybalt and the death of Mercutio.  My first impression of that was disbelief. I did not think that they would actually die; I was expecting Romeo to stop them or Juliet to end the dispute. I think that this event happens because of the Capulet Montague feud.  Without that feud the characters would not be fighting for what seemed to be no reason except the ancient rivalry.

What causes the end

The hate between the two families, in my opinion, is what is driving Romeo and Juliet to their death beds.  I also was surprised about how dramatic Juliet was. At one point in the play, she is threatening to kill herself because Romeo was banished. She thinks that a life without him would be pointless, but soon she gets over herself.  Juliet’s love from Romeo is also questionable. One minute she was talking bad about Romeo for killing Tybalt, and then the next she was defending him from her nurse who said the same things. I have gotten the sense that Shakespeare wrote Juliet to be very dramatic.  I think part of why love at first sight is so important in the play is because Juliet is very dramatic. Love at first sight is why Romeo does not break up the fight, he was scared to hurt Tybalt. One of the most noticeable things that love at first sight impacts is the young couple marrying so fastly.  They married before Juliet new Romeo, before he killed her cousin, before he was exiled, and because they are so in love, they will do whatever it takes to stay together. He means the world to Juliet, and Juliet is Romeo’s whole world.

Romeo Develops

In the second act, Romeo develops as a person.  We got to see his loyalty, cowardliness, and love for Juliet.  My favorite quote from Romeo during these acts is, “It cannot countervail the exchange of joy/ that one short minute gives me in her sight” (2, 6, 4-5).  I think that this is Romeo’s most powerful quote because he is expressing that no person or thing could ever compete with how happy Juliet makes him. He is helplessly in love.

Although he is so in love with Juliet, he killed Tybalt.  First of all, he was too coward to stop the fight. He could’ve done more, but he was too scared to be involved.  Then when he finally does kill Tybalt out of loyalty to Mercutio, he claims to be fate’s fool. He is too coward to accept that it is his fault, and that he had options; by claiming to be controlled by fate, he avoids any and all blame or consequences.  Although I think his acts have no meaning behind hem, I do think that he was doing the right thing of the time when he killed Tybalt. Back then revenge was a part of society, and by killing Tybalt, Romeo showed his loyalty to his friend Mercutio.

The death of Tybalt and Mercutio

Throughout this blog I talked mostly about the death of Mercutio and Tybalt.  The fight scene was so intense, and after I was filled with questions. The two men set out to have a normal day.  By the end of the day, they were both dead. I think that all in all, their deaths can be blamed on the ancient feud between the two families.  Mercutio and Tybalt never got in the fight about one specific issue, they were just fighting because they were from the two families. If the Montagues and Capulets could work past their fight, maybe the two men would still be alive.

On the other hand, maybe shakespeare was going to kill them off no matter what.  They were two very likeable characters, but if they lived they could have gotten in the way of Romeo and Juliet.  Mercutio and Tybalt were each very close with one of the young couple. If they had not died, one of them might have gotten in the way of the story.  Whether they might have been looking out for the couple or been preventing mixing between the families, Mercutio and Tybalt were destined to die or intervene.

Two movies on one story

Not only have I spent time reading the play, but my class and I have been watching the movies by Zeffirelli and Luhrmann as well.  As we watched the two movies interpret the death of Mercutio and Tybalt, you can see how different the two movies can seem while still being the same scene.  In Zeffirelli’s version, Tybalt seems to be more serious around while Mercutio is joking around. During this version, Mercutio’s final speech is given almost sarcastically.  Then after Romeo seems to feel guilty even as he kills Tybalt.

On the other hand, Luhrmann makes Tybalt out to only be messing around, killing Mercutio in a flash of madness.  Right after Tybalt seems almost upset, while Mercutio is fuming. In this version lighting and thunder add drama to Mercutio’s speech making him sound gravely serious.  Then as Tybalt tries to make an escape, Romeo is raging. Romeo takes after him and kills him, not feeling sorry until after he had done it. Through it all, you can see the difference in interpretations.