The Theme in the Work
In scene 1 of Act I, servants taunt each other in a square and the brawl grows until the Prince threatens death to whoever rekindles it. In scene 5 of Act I, Tybalt recognizes the voice of a Montague at the ball and wants to kill him on the spot, and Capulet holds him back to protect the feast.
In scene 4 of Act II, Benvolio and Mercutio learn that Tybalt has sent a challenge to Romeo's house. In scene 1 of Act III, violence takes its toll: Mercutio, wounded under Romeo's arm, dies saying that the plague take both houses; Romeo kills Tybalt, and the Prince banishes him.
In scene 3 of Act V, violence returns to the cemetery: Romeo asks Paris to flee, the two fight nonetheless, and Paris dies.
Violence often begins with words and gestures before the blow. In scene 1 of Act I, Sampson bites his thumb to provoke without being the first to attack, and Tybalt, hearing Benvolio speak of peace, says he hates the word as he hates hell. In scene 5 of Act I, after being restrained by Capulet at the ball, Tybalt leaves promising that Romeo's presence, now tolerated, will turn to gall. In scene 1 of Act III, Mercutio calls Romeo's refusal to fight "vile submission," draws his sword against Tybalt and is wounded under Romeo's arm, and asks him why he came between the two; on learning that his friend has died, Romeo trades clemency for fury and kills Tybalt. The Prince responds with punishment: he banishes Romeo, fines both houses, and says that the clemency that pardons one who kills is another way of murdering.
Violence also turns against those who practice it. In scene 3 of Act III, Romeo hears the friar speak of the banishment, asks in what part of the body his name dwells so that he may destroy it, and draws his sword against himself, and the friar stops him and reminds him that Tybalt would have killed him had he not killed Tybalt first. In scene 3 of Act V, after Romeo asks Paris to flee and Paris falls, Romeo drinks the poison, and Juliet, waking and hearing the guard, takes his dagger and kills herself.
The violence of the play comes from habit, not from a villain: from the servants' brawl to Tybalt's duel, each blow answers an earlier one. The Prince, who threatens in Act I, reads the whole at the end as a punishment also for his own tolerance of the fights.
Where It Appears
- Scene 1 of Act I: After Tybalt challenges Benvolio and the street brawl grows in Verona, Prince Escalus threatens with death whoever disturbs the peace again.
- Scene 5 of Act I: Tybalt recognizes the voice of a Montague at the ball and wants to kill him on the spot, but Capulet holds him back and orders that he be left in peace.
- Scene 4 of Act II: In the street, Mercutio and Benvolio learn that Tybalt has sent a challenge to Romeo's house, before Romeo himself arrives.
- Scene 1 of Act III: Mercutio provokes Tybalt, is wounded under Romeo's arm and dies; Romeo kills Tybalt and flees, and the Prince banishes him.
- Scene 3 of Act V: Paris scatters flowers on Juliet's tomb; Romeo arrives to break it open, and in the fight Paris dies.
Passages
Romeo, seeing the brawl just ended:
O brawling love! O loving hate!(I.1)
Mercutio, mortally wounded:
A plague o’ both your houses(III.1)
The Prince, before the bodies:
See what a scourge is laid upon your hate, / That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love!(V.3)