Friday, January 30, 2015

What are the character traits of Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet ?

Tybalt, of course, is Juliet's cousin, which makes him the sworn enemy of Romeo, a Montague who is about his age. Tybalt is hot-headed and fiercely protective of his honor and that of the Capulet clan. He is constantly looking for a fight. We first see evidence of this in Scene I, when he enters the fray that is already occurring between some of his kinsmen and two Montagues. When Benvolio, a Montague, tells Tybalt...

Tybalt, of course, is Juliet's cousin, which makes him the sworn enemy of Romeo, a Montague who is about his age. Tybalt is hot-headed and fiercely protective of his honor and that of the Capulet clan. He is constantly looking for a fight. We first see evidence of this in Scene I, when he enters the fray that is already occurring between some of his kinsmen and two Montagues. When Benvolio, a Montague, tells Tybalt that he is only trying to keep the peace, Tybalt sneers:



What, drawn, and talk of peace? I hate the word
As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee.
Have at thee, coward!



This quote summarizes Tybalt's personality fairly well. Later, when he recognizes a masked Romeo at Capulet's ball, he wants to kill him, and is only restrained by Capulet himself. His anger and quick-tempered nature are his undoing when he is killed by Romeo after fighting and killing Mercutio (with whom he protests that he has no quarrel) in the streets. Tybalt is the embodiment of the long-standing hatred and violence that existed between the two feuding houses.

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