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What happens in Act 3, Scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet?
Romeo refuses to fight Tybalt, so Mercutio fights instead. Tybalt kills Mercutio. Romeo kills Tybalt and runs away, and Prince Escalus orders Romeo's exile from Verona.
Read our Summary & Analysis of Act 3, Scene 1. (4-minute read)
How does Romeo and Juliet fit the tragedy genre? How does it not fit it?
Romeo and Juliet is classified as a tragedy, but it does differ in a couple of ways from most plays with that designation. First, it isn’t a flaw in one or both of the title characters that leads to their downfall, but a flaw in their families. The other wrinkle in its designation as a tragedy is that its first two acts are structured very much like a comedy. It is only with the two killings in Scene 1 of Act 3 that the play firmly shifts into being a tragedy.
Read more about the play’s Genre being a tragedy. (3-minute read)
How does Romeo and Juliet change when Mercutio is killed?
As noted in the genre discussion above, the killings in Act 3, Scene 1 mark the point in which the play switches from being more like a comedy to definitively being a tragedy. The progression from mere words that threaten violence to the committing of violent acts shows that passionate behavior can lead to horrific results. Mercutio’s death also leads to a profound change on Romeo’s behavior. Finally, it removes a witty and appealing character, which is key reason the play is darker in its second half.
Read an explanation of Mercutio’s dying quote in Act 3, Scene 1. (1-minute read)
Is Romeo’s killing of Tybalt justifiable?
The audience of the play hasn’t ever seemed to hold the killing against Romeo, perhaps because Tybalt has been so villainous throughout the play. An argument in Romeo’s defense is that he tried to avoid violence with Tybalt (to the point of being derided by Mercutio for doing so) even though his plea for peace may have backfired. Tybalt, who had no way of knowing that Romeo had married his cousin, likely thought Romeo’s words (“I do protest I never injured thee, / But love thee better than thou canst devise”) were meant to make fun of him.
Regardless of what the audience thinks, within the play, Romeo is found accountable for killing Tybalt by Prince Escalus. However, he is sentenced to exile rather than death—the punishment that might have been expected after the Prince’s edict in Act 1, Scene 1. The Prince seems to accept Montague’s argument that his son should not die for killing the man who had himself killed Mercutio, the Prince’s kinsman.
Read the answer to our Q&A question about Romeo’s being exiled. (1-minute read)
