Tybalt Flashcards
- First introduced, wanting to fight Benvolio (A1S1)
“What, drawn and talk of peace? I hate the word, / As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee.”
• What: Reveals Tybalt’s deep-rooted aggression and loathing
• How:
• Triplet of hatred → intensifies venom (“hell”, “Montagues”, “thee”)
• Religious allusion (“hell”) = absolute moral disgust
• Juxtaposition of “peace” and “drawn” = mocks peace as weakness
• Polysyndeton = builds overwhelming rage
• Why: Tybalt = embodiment of generational hatred → opposition to peace fuels tragedy
• Themes: conflict, honour, family loyalty, love vs hate
- Spots Romeo at the Capulet ball (A1S5)
“It fits when such a villain is a guest: / I’ll not endure him.”
• What: Sees Romeo’s presence as an insult
• How:
• Dramatic irony → Romeo is peaceful, yet branded “villain”
• Declarative tone = unbending nature
• Semantic field of intrusion/defilement → obsession with honour
• Enjambment mirrors Tybalt’s seething energy
• Why: Foreshadows violence from wounded pride → honour > reason
• Themes: honour, social divide, conflict, appearance vs reality
- Fuming after Capulet calms him (A1S5)
“Patience perforce with wilful choler meeting / Makes my flesh tremble in their different greeting.”
• What: Feels his rage bubbling under forced restraint
• How:
• Personification (“patience” vs “choler”) = inner emotional duel
• Sibilance & plosives = sound of contained fury
• Tactile imagery (“flesh tremble”) = rage physically embodied
• Rhyming couplet = ironic calmness in structured fury
• Why: Tybalt’s rage = powder keg → social control can’t suppress toxic masculinity
• Themes: honour, youth (impulsiveness), conflict, generational divide
- After being told to stand down (A1S5)
“I will withdraw; but this intrusion shall / Now seeming sweet convert to bitterest gall.”
• What: Threatens future revenge on Romeo
• How:
• Juxtaposition (“sweet”/“gall”) = masked threat
• Metaphor of poison → emotional bitterness = venom
• Foreshadowing = poison = motif of future tragedy
• Tone = simmering resentment under false politeness
• Why: Pride delayed, not extinguished → sets in motion the fatal duel
• Themes: fate/destiny, love vs hate, appearance vs reality, conflict
- Sending challenge to Romeo (offstage, referenced A2S4)
“Tybalt, the kinsman to old Capulet, hath sent a letter to his father’s house.”
• What: Publicly challenges Romeo to restore honour
• How:
• Use of formal duel → code of honour & masculinity
• Indirect delivery → threat looms offstage = suspense
• Echoes chivalric code = toxic male rituals
• Name placement → establishes legacy/family status
• Why: Reinforces performative honour culture → fuelled by reputation
• Themes: honour, social divide, conflict, male friendships
- Arrives to confront Romeo (A3S1)
“Thou art a villain.”
• What: Publicly insults Romeo, demands fight
• How:
• Direct address + insult → provocation through degradation
• Monosyllabic → blunt force accusation
• Absence of evidence or reason = fuelled by bias, not logic
• Loaded term “villain” → dishonour = weapon
• Why: Language = weapon → Tybalt upholds honour by attacking identity
• Themes: honour, conflict, appearance vs reality, fate
- Insult escalates further (A3S1)
“Boy, this shall not excuse the injuries / That thou hast done me.”
• What: Refuses peace, dehumanises Romeo
• How:
• Diminutive “boy” = strips Romeo of manhood
• Legal language (“excuse the injuries”) = formalises feud
• Third-person tone = rehearsed, performative masculinity
• Dramatic irony → Tybalt unaware of Romeo’s marriage to Juliet
• Why: Locked into false reality → blinded by pride and honour
• Themes: honour, conflict, generational divide, appearance vs reality
- Kills Mercutio (A3S1, offstage blow)
“Tybalt under Romeo’s arm thrusts Mercutio in.” (stage direction)
• What: Kills Mercutio during Romeo’s attempt to keep peace
• How:
• Irony of placement → Romeo’s peace enables death
• Physical positioning → death through interference
• “Thrusts” = violent, phallic verb → symbol of aggression
• Silent act = louder than words → action defines Tybalt
• Why: Violence triumphs over diplomacy → masculine ego destroys lives
• Themes: conflict, death, fate, male friendships
- After Mercutio’s death (A3S1)
“Thou, wretched boy, that didst consort him here / Shalt with him hence.
• What: Threatens to kill Romeo next
• How:
• “Wretched boy” = further emasculation
• “Consort” = musical pun → insult and innuendo
• Foreshadowing of joint death (“with him hence”)
• Elevated diction = mock-heroic tone
• Why: Revenge cycle intensifies → irony: Tybalt’s own death follows
• Themes: honour, conflict, fate, male friendships
Tybalt’s death (A3S1)
“Romeo, away, be gone! / The citizens are up, and Tybalt slain.” (Benvolio)
• What: Tybalt’s death sparks public unrest
• How:
• Passive structure = “Tybalt slain” = consequence, not act
• “Citizens are up” → private feud becomes civic crisis
• Irony → defender of honour dies dishonourably
• No final words → Tybalt’s violence silences him
• Why: Tybalt’s death escalates feud → conflict infects public order
• Themes: conflict, death, fate, individuals vs society
- Romeo reflects post-killing Tybalt (A3S1)
“O, I am fortune’s fool!”
• What: Romeo blames fate for Tybalt’s death
• How:
• Personification of “fortune” → Tybalt’s role as catalyst
• Alliteration → highlights foolishness in impulsive revenge
• Foil to Tybalt → both trapped in same fate-driven web
• Irony → Tybalt acts to defend honour, ends as victim
• Why: Tybalt’s honour culture has fatal ripple effects
• Themes: fate, death, conflict, impulsiveness
Capulet’s grief, referencing Tybalt (A4S5)
“Tybalt is gone, and Romeo banished.”
• What: Loss of Tybalt framed as family tragedy
• How:
• Parallel phrasing → Tybalt’s death = emotional collapse
• Caesura in line = sobering break in rhythm
• Emotive simplicity → real cost of feud becomes clear
• List of losses → grief deepens, domino effect of violence
• Why: Reflects weight of Tybalt’s absence → feud consumes family legacy
• Themes: family loyalty, death, fate, generational divide
