89 pages • 2 hours read
William ShakespeareRomeo and Juliet
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1595A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Act III
Act III, Scene 1 Summary
Mercutio and Benvolio are wandering the streets of Verona. Benvolio is trying to persuade Mercutio to get out of the sun; it’s a hot day, and the Capulets are roaming around. However, Mercutio teases the peaceful Benvolio, calling him a hothead.
They’re interrupted when the Capulets arrive. Mercutio, still in a temper, starts verbally sparring with Tybalt, trying to provoke him. Tybalt doesn’t want to fight Mercutio; instead, he’s after Romeo, and when Romeo arrives, Tybalt challenges him to a fight. Newlywed Romeo has no interest in fighting his wife’s cousin and tries to make peace. However, this only enrages Tybalt—and Mercutio too, who sees Romeo’s refusal to fight as capitulation.
Mercutio calls out to Tybalt: “Tybalt, you ratcatcher, will you walk?” (III.1.76). The two fight. Benvolio and Romeo try to separate them, and in the confusion, Tybalt mortally wounds Mercutio. Mercutio speaks of his injuries and dies cursing the houses of Capulet and Montague alike:
No, [the wound is] not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church door, but ’tis enough. ’Twill serve. Ask for me tomorrow, and you will find me a grave man.
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By William Shakespeare
