Tybalt is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. He is Juliet's hot-tempered cousin and Romeo's rival. Tybalt shares the same name as the character Tibert/Tybalt the "Prince of Cats" in Reynard the Fox, a point of mockery in the play. Mercutio repeatedly calls Tybalt "Prince of Cats", referring not only to Reynard but to the Italian word cazzo (pr. CAT-so) meaning "penis".
Luigi da Porto adapted the story as Giulietta e Romeo and included it in his Historia novellamente ritrovata di due Nobili Amanti published in 1530.[1] Da Porto drew on Pyramus and Thisbe and Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron. He gave it much of its modern form, including the names of the lovers, the rival families of Montecchi and Capuleti, and the location in Verona.[2] He also introduces characters corresponding to Shakespeare's Mercutio, Tybalt, and Paris. Da Porto presents his tale as historically true and claims it took place in the days of Bartolomeo II della Scala (a century earlier than Salernitano). Montecchi and Capuleti were actual 13th-century political factions, but the only connection between them is a mention in Dante's Purgatorio as an example of civil dissention.[3]
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Role in the play
In Act I, Scene I, Tybalt enters to help his servants, Sampson and Gregory, who are fighting in the streets with servants of the Montagues, Abraham and Balthazar. Seeing Benvolio (Romeo Montague's cousin) trying to stop the fight, Tybalt expresses his hate of peace and of the Montagues and draws his sword to fight Benvolio. Even here, he says:
- What, drawn and talk of peace? I hate the word
- As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee.
- Have at thee, coward.
Later, at the Capulets' ball, he is the first to recognize Romeo through his disguise, and would kill him if not for his uncle, Lord Capulet's forbidding of it. His lust for revenge unsated, Tybalt sends a challenge letter to Romeo for a duel to the death. He enters looking for Romeo at the beginning of Act III, only to create tensions with Mercutio, who was mocking him even before he entered the scene. Tybalt initially ignores Mercutio, for his target is Romeo; but when Romeo does appear, Romeo refuses to fight because of his marriage to Juliet. Tybalt becomes even angrier; he does not know that Romeo cannot fight him because they are relatives now.
Mercutio, believing that Romeo has acted too submissively, upbraids Romeo and decides to fight Tybalt himself. Romeo tries to stop the combat by putting his body between them; Tybalt promptly takes advantage of this to kill Mercutio or – as many productions interpret this moment – takes advantage of this to try to kill Romeo, stabbing Mercutio under his arm in error (sometimes viewed as accidental). Romeo is driven to avenge the death of his best friend by dueling and killing Tybalt in return, leading to his own exile, while the Capulets are left to mourn over the death of Tybalt.
He is referred to as the Prince of Cats as he is a skillful fencer and kills all the mice he encounters.
Analysis
John W. Draper points out the parallels between the Elizabethan belief in the four humors and the main characters of the play (for example, Tybalt as a choleric). Interpreting the text in the light of humours reduces the amount of plot attributed to chance by modern audiences.[4]
References
Bibliography
- Draper, John W. (1939). "Shakespeare's ‘Star-Crossed Lovers’". Review of English Studies os-XV (57): 16–34. doi:.
- Hosley, Richard (1965). Romeo and Juliet. New Haven: Yale University Press.
- Moore, Olin H. (1930). "The Origins of the Legend of Romeo and Juliet in Italy". Speculum 5 (3): 264–277. ISSN 00387134.
- Moore, Olin H. (1937). "Bandello and “Clizia”". Modern Language Notes (Johns Hopkins University Press) 52 (1): 38–44. ISSN 01496611.
External links
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