How important is the character of Tybalt in deciding the outcome of the

play?
Tybalt Capulet is without a doubt crucial in deciding the outcome of William Shakespeare’s
Romeo and Juliet. He is fiery, rash and arguably the villain of the play, responsible for the
tragedy. To fully analyse why, I shall discuss the impact of his actions, his words and his
character on the play, and ultimately the climax of the play – the suicide of Romeo and Juliet.

The actions of Tybalt Capulet are important in deciding the outcome of the play and represent his
character. Tybalt features in three scenes and it is significant that in every single one of them he
is either fighting, or trying to start a fight.

A logical place to start would be Tybalt’s opening line. He enters Act I Scene I immediately after
Benvolio “does but keep the peace” between the warmongering lesser Capulets and Montagues.

Straight away Tybalt can be seen as the catalyst for the events of the plot. If they don’t fight, the
Prince’s warning is never issued and so is never broken etc. Therefore it can be said, Tybalt
decides the outcome of the play in Act I. He enters the scene and says:

What, art thou drawn

among these heartless hinds?

Turn thee, Benvolio,

look upon thy death!

Tybalt, Act I Scene I

Straight away Tybalt draws attention to himself by using the word ‘what’ to grab both
Benvolio’s and the audience’s attention. Then, he uses the word ‘thou’ to deride Benvolio. This
shows his fiery nature – by his third word he is already trying to start a fight! This is important
because, while Benvolio does not bite, it is an element of Tybalt’s character that plays an
important role later. Straight away, Shakespeare is displaying to his audience a contrast of the
play, the light, calmness of Benvolio compared to the fiery hot-headed nature of the Prince of
Cats, Tybalt. Tybalt also refers to the rest of the fray, excluding Benvolio, as ‘heartless hinds’.
This, as well as the usage of ‘thou’, ‘thee’ and ‘thy’ suggests that Tybalt feels superior to his
company, and is perhaps of noble birth. The term ‘heartless hinds’ is a double entendre, meaning
both servants without courage (‘heart’) and a female deer without a male leader – one of many
sexual innuendos Shakespeare uses in Romeo and Juliet. Also of note is the implied stage
direction of ‘look upon thy death!’, meaning Tybalt has drawn his sword. This means a character
who has just been introduced to the audience has immediately started to try and fight! This once
again suggests Tybalt’s hot headed nature which proves important later in the play.
Immediately after that, Tybalt’s hot headed nature proves important, when he says:

What, drawn and talk of peace? I hate the word,

As I hate hell, all Montagues and thee.

Have at thee, coward.

Tybalt, Act I Scene I

Once more Tybalt immediately draws the audience’s attention to himself, implying perhaps his
own nobility or importance, with use of the word “what” again. His comparison of the house of
Montague to Hell is also of note, and would have shocked the more religious Elizabethan
audience of the time and really drawn attention the character on stage. He also makes a very
valid point, which, if hadn’t been said in the context of seemingly trying to start a fight, would
probably have gotten more attention – Benvolio has his sword drawn, and is talking of how he is
the peaceful one! It is also interesting that Tybalt seems to represent war here (Benvolio in the
previous line seemed to represent peace) as it ties in nicely with the ideas of Shakespeare’s
contrasts – this time heaven and hell - and of Tybalt representing choler. He also discusses hate,
a symptom of choler, which is emphasised by his tripling of ‘hell, all Montagues and thee’. Here,
Tybalt’s reputation as a ‘courageous captain of compliments’, as said by Mercutio, seems to
precede Mercutio even saying the line! He verbally corners Benvolio by drawing his sword in
the previous line, warning him of an impending attack and insulting him, which would disgrace
Benvolio’s name if he bore it. Therefore, Tybalt outsmarts Benvolio and leaves him with no
choice but to react to Tybalt’s actions, which can be seen at this point already as a catalyst and
this can be said later in the play too. This element of Tybalt’s character is important in deciding
the outcome of the play, as we see in Scene III.

Tybalt’s character is the building block of his words and actions, and so Shakespeare’s usage of
dramatic techniques and dialogue is therefore important to the play. Tybalt, alluded to by
Mercutio as the Prince of Cats – a reference to both Reynald the Fox, which is subject to
reference in Romeo and Juliet, and the Italian word ‘cazzo’, meaning penis - this proves to be a
fitting analogy. We learn most about Tybalt’s character when Mercutio mocks him to Benvolio,
and says:

More than the Prince of Cats! O, he’s the courageous captain of compliments,

he fights you as you sing prick-song,

a duelist, a duelist; a gentleman of the very first house, of the first and second cause.

Ah, the immortal ‘passado’, the ‘punto reverso’, the ‘hay’!

(Mercutio, Act II scene IV)

Although Mercutio is mocking Tybalt here, and in a way which would be perceived amusing by
an audience of the time (“he keeps time, distance and proportion”) there is lots to be learnt about
him, and because of Mercutio’s neutrality between the house the audience can believe what he
says. His use of continuous prose, something used by Shakespeare typically with lesser
characters or for chatty dialogue between two characters (for example Romeo and Juliet at one
point), shows Mercutio’s opinion of Tybalt to be a low one, and makes it clear to the audience he
is mocking him. It is said he is ‘the courageous captain of compliments’, suggesting Tybalt is
brave and a ‘captain of compliments’, which means a master of the laws of ceremony. The
consonance on the c’s of courageous, captain and compliments add scorn to the phrase and tells
the audience that this is not a good thing. It turns out that way, too, for later in the play it is
Tybalt’s mastery of manners, along with his skill as a duelist (or lack of it, as it turns out), as
alluded to here by Mercutio, which lure Mercutio to fight him, for Romeo to step between them
and Romeo to get his revenge on the fiery Tybalt. This part of Tybalt’s character is therefore
very important to the play. Other details we find out about Tybalt here include his nobility – a
gentleman of ‘the very first house’. Referring to the prologue, which speaks of two houses and a
quarrel, this is important because his nobility is probably why he is the ‘courageous captain of
compliments’, and also a bit of a pain in the neck, and would be perceived in this way by the
audience.

The audience learns Mercutio does not think highly of Tybalt, and implies he is cowardly when
he says that ‘he (Tybalt) fights you as sing prick-song’, implying he fights you while you are
singing “pricked”, or written down, song, which is a (very vague and long winded) insult as it is
suggesting Tybalt lacks the wit and intelligence to think of his own songs on the spot.
Shakespeare here subtly uses Mercutio to be ironic about his own death. It is also interesting that
Mercutio claims Tybalt it ‘more than the Prince of Cats!’ Mercutio refers to Tybalt as the "Good
King of Cats" or the "Prince of Cats" because his demeanour, actions and character are much like
a cat’s: lithe, agile, predatory and territorial. Tybalt is hot-tempered and quarrelsome, as we see
by how quick he is to engage in battle. By Mercutio suggesting that Tybalt is more than this, it is
clear he is important to deciding the outcome of the play – not only is he a catalyst, a general
annoyance and general pest to the peace, there is more to him than meets the eye, perhaps
suggesting he is going to do something of importance later, which he then does.

But the "Prince of Cats" title also stems from an earlier time. There is a fable called Reynard the
Fox, in which one of the characters is a cat named Tibert/Tibalt/Tybalt that is called the "Prince
of Cats". This character was also quite quarrelsome, as is Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet. It can
therefore be said that Tybalt is, as the Prince of Cats, important in deciding the final outcome of
the play. It is also possible the title is a reference to his role as the heir to the Capulet (or Cat-
ulet) dynasty.

Now it has been established that Tybalt’s personality plays a role in the outcome of the play, one
can start to analyse his words and actions. Tybalt Capulet speaks only ten times in Romeo and
Juliet, before perishing. A character of so few words (although he’s actually quite mouthy while
he is alive) arguably causes the greatest tragedy of all time, so here I shall investigate and
analyse these words. Also included in this section will be the actions behind the words, and how
these influence the play’s final outcome.

In the opening scene, Tybalt, despite making a very good point with his dialogue that Benvolio
was talking of peace with a drawn sword, starts a fight. This is significant to the outcome of the
play because the fight leads to the Prince declaring anyone else who disturbs the peace will be
put to death, and Tybalt causes the fight. It can therefore be said that the character of Tybalt is
very important in deciding the outcome of the play.

In Scene I of Act III when Tybalt again tries his bit as captain of compliments when he says to
Mercutio:

Mercutio, thou consortest with Romeo!

(Tybalt, Act III, scene I)

Yet again Tybalt uses ‘thou’ as a term to signify his perceived superiority over whoever he is
talking to. He says it to provoke a reaction and start a fight, another indication of Tybalt’s nature
as a catalyst. Also interesting is his usage of the word ‘consortest’. "Consort" means both to
"keep company with" but was an ancient slang term to also imply "having carnal relations with,"
so it is a double-entendre insult.

Tybalt’s words provoke reactions in other characters by demeaning them, such as the usage of
the words ‘thou’ and ‘thee’, and insulting them in such a way that the honour of the character
would be mortally offended if they did not react to him. Tybalt’s words, and thus the character
they represent, are therefore important in deciding the outcome of the play because two of the
key moments in the play – the initial fight and later on the fight which leads to both Mercutio
and Tybalt’s deaths – occur when Tybalt opens his mouth.

During the party, Tybalt notices Romeo and swears to kill him. This is important as it again
shows Tybalt to be the catalyst for events later on – without the death threat it is unlikely Tybalt
would have tried to start a fight with Romeo. However, it could be said that this action is not
particularly important in deciding the play’s outcome, because we know from earlier scenes that
Shakespeare’s portrayal of Tybalt to the audience is of one that is fiery, hot headed and a
warmonger, and could therefore start a fight for any given reason, and would not necessarily
need a sworn oath to affray.

The actions of Tybalt Capulet are also important in deciding the outcome of the play and
represent his character. Tybalt features in three scenes and it is significant that in every single
one of them he is either fighting, or trying to start a fight.

The last scene and death of Tybalt Capulet is surely crucial in deciding the outcome of the play.
With his (and Mercutio’s) death, Romeo’s fate is sealed, and this is made clear to the audience
by Shakespeare. Gone are the earlier elements of a comedy with Mercutio’s passing – caused by
Tybalt – and it is now clear Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy. After Romeo’s exile to Mantua there
is only one outcome to the play, it seems. Tybalt attempts to start a fight with Romeo, fails, and
then kills Mercutio. This action lead to Romeo seeking revenge and Tybalt’s death shortly
follows. This action of the character of Tybalt is important in deciding the outcome of the play,
as without it the play is cruising towards a romantic comedy, with it comes tragedy and the
deaths of Romeo and Juliet.

A theory of note is that throughout the play references are made, and representations are made
for, each of the four humours, and that Tybalt represents choler. This is important because, if so,
it drastically reduces the amount of the events of the play which can be put down to ‘chance’,
which in turn makes Tybalt’s character more important in deciding the outcome of the play.
Furthermore, suggestions that Tybalt is not just a hot headed killer have to born in mind,
especially when his language and actions towards other characters suggest a sense of nobility and
honour, which were both Elizabethan values, and in a way excuse his rash, seemingly hot headed
actions. Furthermore, as the heir to a large, powerful family it is likely that Tybalt has a lot to
prove, both to himself, his family and to his rivals in the future – especially as Romeo is heir to a
large, powerful, rival family. If this was so, it is not Tybalt’s character per se which decide the
outcome of the play, it is the values and attitudes of the time. Additionally, the code of honour
between rich families and states at the times dictated that if someone was killed, revenge could
be sought without fear of reprisals from the law – they were in some ways therefore above the
law – and it can also be said the lessening of punishment from the Prince – who threatened death
in Act I – lead to the tragedy, and again, that was due to a moral of the time, and could therefore
be said that Tybalt is not important in deciding the outcome of the play.

It could be said, Tybalt’s character – a fiery, hot headed duellist who fights first and asks
questions later – is surely important in deciding the outcome of the play, as the traits of his
personality initiate a series of causes and effects. If his fiery nature hadn’t lead him to pick a
fight with Romeo, Mercutio never would have tried to fight a duellist who would be his demise,
and in turn Romeo wouldn’t have killed Tybalt in an act of bloodthirsty nature and been exiled
from Mantua, where his rash reaction lead to returning to Verona, seeing Juliet’s ‘corpse’,
before spontaneously killing himself. As can be seen by the words in bold print, the key actions
of the tragedy are all elements of Tybalt’s character, stemming from the actions of Tybalt
himself and his personification as choler. Therefore, the character of Tybalt is important in
deciding the outcome of the play – it is elements of Tybalt’s choleric character which are the
main reasons for all of the major events of the play.

Tybalt also plays a key role in Shakespeare’s dramatic structure of the play. For example, the
marriage of Romeo to Juliet is swiftly followed by a duel, which has the effect of making the
contrasts of love and hate, of light and dark and of passion and moderation seem all the more
extreme, which adds to the drama and effect of Shakespeare’s work on his audience.

Another theme of the play in which Tybalt influences is the isolation and eventual suicide of
Juliet. During the course of Romeo and Juliet the thirteen year-old Juliet changes from an
obedient daughter to a strong-willed young woman. The fact Juliet is presented as a thirteen
year-old adds dramatic emphasis to her innocence and youthfulness, both are which symbolised
by the fact that until the last scene when Friar Lawrence leaves her, she has no control over her
own life, like a child. Tybalt affects this as when Juliet is seen waiting for Romeo in Act III
scene II, after his death, Juliet’s inner turmoil over the possible death of her husband (as the
Nurse makes it seem as if Romeo is dead and not Mercutio) and cousin. Dramatic irony is used
as the audience know what went on in the scene before, which makes the audience empathise
with Juliet’s situation. Her torment and change – she “will not speak ill of her husband” – from
the girl to a woman are partly caused by Tybalt’s actions in starting the fight in the previous
scene.  She recognises her turmoil in her confusion at her tears – are they because Tybalt is dead
or Romeo lives?

This isolation continues as her Father, then Mother (“I have done with thee”), her beloved Nurse
and finally Friar Lawrence all abandon her, and it is one of the largest ironies of the play that the
first time she is truly independent is when she takes her own life, it could be said Tybalt is
crucial in deciding this outcome, as he starts the chain of events leading towards it.

It could be said the actions and character of Tybalt have nothing to do with deciding the outcome
of the play. The fact that Romeo, who at the beginning of the play seemed madly in love with
Rosaline, who is notable by her absence from Romeo and Juliet, falls in love in an instant with
Juliet shows a deeply changeable character and perhaps tragedy would always befall the star-
crossed lovers therefore. Furthermore, it is implied that the conflict between the houses of
Capulet and Montague had been going on for a long time, probably preceding Tybalt, and
therefore it could be said the conflict would go on without him and the marriage of Romeo to
Juliet would not solve the feud, which, again, would make tragedy inevitable. Although Tybalt’s
speech seems to provoke the actions of the play, people react to Tybalt. At no point during the
play does Tybalt draw his sword and go on a killing spree, people always react to Tybalt.
Therefore it is perhaps the human flaw of anger to blame, or the Elizabethan code of morals and
of ‘honour’, for one would be shamed if they bore the insults Tybalt threw at them. Nothing
makes them react though, so perhaps it is unfair to blame Tybalt.

However, it is fair to say that if Tybalt did not say these things the conflicts never would have
happened – the Prince never would have issued his warning, so Romeo would not have been
exiled and would have got the message and thus not committed suicide – and so it must be said
the character of Tybalt is crucial in deciding the outcome of the play. Furthermore, Juliet would
not have felt isolated without Tybalt’s actions. His speech inflames – often with imagery of heat
-, his actions provoke and his character is the reasoning for inflammation and provocation.
Tybalt is very important in deciding the outcome of the play.