What is the relationship between Romeo and his friends Mercutio and Benvolio in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet? | eNotes What is the relationship between Romeo and his friends Mercutio and Benvolio in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet? Tamara K. H. | Middle School Teacher | (Level 3) Educator Emeritus Posted on June 20, 2013 at 3:21 AM While it is clear that Romeo is very close with his cousin Benvolio who is also his friend, as well as his friend Mercutio, it's also very evident that Romeo and his friends have very different views on things. In fact, Benvolio and Mercutio act as two different dramatic foils to Romeo. Benvolio serves as Romeo's dramatic foil by being the peace-loving, rational, voice of reason in comparison to Romeo who is impetuous and emotionally driven. We see the closeness of their friendship when Benvolio promises Lord Montague to find out what is troubling Romeo in the very first scene and to give him counsel.

However, their dramatic foil relationship also becomes evident when Benvolio begs Romeo, "Be rul'd by me: forget to think of [Rosaline]," and Romeo's only response is "O, teach me how I should forget to think!" (I.i.227-28). Romeo's refusal to listen to Benvolio also shows us his refusal to think rationally, which helps us see their dramatic foil relationship despite their close friendship. Mercutio serves as Romeo's dramatic foil by taking love lightly and treating it as a joke in contrast to Romeo's tendency to treat love with complete seriousness. Like Benvolio, Mercutio's close friendship with Romeo is also seen in his desires to give Romeo advice and bring him out of his gloomy state of mind. Mercutio tries to coax Romeo out of his gloominess by trying to persuade him to crash the Capulets' ball along with Benvolio. His persuasion techniques not only show us his friendship with Romeo, they also show us his comic and even lewd side, demonstrating just how lightly he views love. One example can be seen in the lines, "If love be rough with you, be rough with love.

/ Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down," which can be interpreted as a sexual innuendo (I.iv.28-29). Sources: Character of Benvolio: Traits, Analysis & Profile - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com Character of Benvolio: Traits, Analysis & Profile Watch short & fun videos Start Your Free Trial Today An error occurred trying to load this video. Try refreshing the page, or contact customer support. You must create an account to continue watching Register for a free trial Are you a student or a teacher? I am a student Start Your Free Trial To Continue Watching As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. Plus, get practice tests, quizzes, and personalized coaching to help you succeed. Coming up next: Character of Tybalt: Profile, Traits & Analysis You're on a roll. Keep up the good work! Your next lesson will play in 10 seconds 0:03 Peacemaker Add to Add to Add to Want to watch this again later? Log in or sign up to add this lesson to a Custom Course. Custom Courses are courses that you create from Study.com lessons.

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Create an account to start this course today Try it free for 5 days! Lesson Transcript Instructor: Debbie Notari In Shakespeare's tragedy 'Romeo and Juliet,' we find a quiet, seemingly obscure character named Benvolio who almost solely weaves a role of stability in a tapestry of unsettled characters. We will trace Benvolio's role of peacemaker throughout this work. Peacemaker We first see Romeo's cousin Benvolio in Act One, Scene One of Romeo and Juliet, when the servants of the Capulet household pick a fight with the servants of the Montague household as part of their ongoing feud. The Prince of Verona has grown weary of the constant fighting between the two families, and their skirmishes often disrupt the peace. As the fighting breaks out, Benvolio tries to stop it by saying, 'Part, fools! Put up your swords; you know not what you do,' (1.1) warning them to quit before things accelerate to a serious level. In that statement, he also alludes to some of Christ's last words on the cross, 'Father forgive them; for they know not what they do' (Luke 23:34a).

Just as Jesus is known as a peacemaker, so Benvolio takes on a peacemaker's role in this opening scene of the play. Benvolio then pleads with Tybalt, Juliet's hot-tempered cousin, to use his sword to stop the fray. Tybalt, of course, refuses. Trustworthy Friend Along with being a peacemaker, Benvolio is trustworthy. After the fight in the town square, Benvolio gives Lord and Lady Montague an account of all that has transpired. He doesn't slant the story to favor one side or the other but gives a true account. Benvolio is also a good friend and cousin to Romeo, who has been losing sleep over his infatuation with a young woman named Rosaline. On more than one occasion, Benvolio tries to find Romeo, and he tells Lord and Lady Montague that he tried to follow Romeo that very day, hoping to speak with him. At this point in the play, Benvolio doesn't realize what is troubling Romeo, but he really cares about his cousin and makes an effort to help him.

When Romeo reveals what is ailing him, Benvolio replies that he would 'weep' at Romeo's 'heart's oppression' (1.1). Benvolio is compassionate towards others. Counselor As a wise counselor, Benvolio advises Romeo to forget about Rosaline and 'giv{e} liberty unto {his} eyes . . . by {e}xamin{ing} other beauties' (1.1). He goes on to say that if Romeo compares Rosaline to other young women Benvolio knows, they 'will make thee think thy swan a crow' (1.2). Romeo is not too receptive to this idea but does agree to sneak into a Capulet masquerade party, where he meets Juliet and forgets all about his previous infatuation with Rosaline. Problem Solver Offended that any Montague dare attend a Capulet party, Tybalt sends a letter challenging Romeo to a sword fight. It is Benvolio who brings the letter to Mercutio's attention. Mercutio remarks: 'Alas poor Romeo!

he is already dead; stabbed with a white wench's black eye; shot through the ear with a love-song; the very pin of his heart cleft with the blind bow-boy's butt-shaft: and is he a man to encounter Tybalt?'(2.4). It is clear to Romeo's friends that he is in no shape - mentally or emotionally - to fight Tybalt, but Benvolio knows Mercutio can handle what Romeo cannot, at least in his present state of mind. Here we see Benvolio, the problem-solver. However, Benvolio is uneasy and would rather avoid conflict with Tybalt if it is at all possible. He advises Mercutio, saying: 'I pray thee, good Mercutio, let's retire: The day is hot, the Capulets abroad, And, if we meet, we shall not scape a brawl; For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring' (3.1). × No Fear Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet: Characters No Fear Shakespeare Prologue Romeo The son and heir of Montague and Lady Montague. A young man of about sixteen, Romeo is handsome, intelligent, and sensitive.

Though impulsive and immature, his idealism and passion make him an extremely likable character. He lives in the middle of a violent feud between his family and the Capulets, but he is not at all interested in violence. His only interest is love and he goes to extremes to prove the seriousness of his feelings. He secretly marries Juliet, the daughter of his father’s worst enemy; he happily takes abuse from Tybalt; and he would rather die than live without his beloved. Romeo is also an affectionate and devoted friend to his relative Benvolio, Mercutio, and Friar Lawrence. Juliet The daughter of Capulet and Lady Capulet. A beautiful thirteen-year-old girl, Juliet begins the play as a naïve child who has thought little about love and marriage, but she grows up quickly upon falling in love with Romeo, the son of her family’s great enemy. Because she is a girl in an aristocratic family, she has none of the freedom Romeo has to roam around the city, climb over walls in the middle of the night, or get into swordfights.

Nevertheless, she shows amazing courage in trusting her entire life and future to Romeo, even refusing to believe the worst reports about him after he gets involved in a fight with her cousin. Juliet’s closest friend and confidant is her Nurse, though she’s willing to shut the Nurse out of her life the moment the Nurse turns against Romeo. Friar Lawrence A Franciscan friar, friend to both Romeo and Juliet. Kind, civic-minded, a proponent of moderation, and always ready with a plan, Friar Lawrence secretly marries the impassioned lovers in hopes that the union might eventually bring peace to Verona. As well as being a Catholic holy man, Friar Lawrence is also an expert in the use of seemingly mystical potions and herbs. Mercutio A kinsman to the Prince, and Romeo’s close friend. One of the most extraordinary characters in all of Shakespeare’s plays, Mercutio overflows with imagination, wit, and, at times, a strange, biting satire and brooding fervor. Mercutio loves wordplay, especially sexual double entendres. He can be quite hotheaded, and hates people who are affected, pretentious, or obsessed with the latest fashions.

He finds Romeo’s romanticized ideas about love tiresome, and tries to convince Romeo to view love as a simple matter of sexual appetite. The Nurse Juliet’s nurse, the woman who breast-fed Juliet when she was a baby and has cared for Juliet her entire life. A vulgar, long-winded, and sentimental character, the Nurse provides comic relief with her frequently inappropriate remarks and speeches. But, until a disagreement near the play’s end, the Nurse is Juliet’s faithful confidante and loyal intermediary in Juliet’s affair with Romeo. She provides a contrast with Juliet, given that her view of love is earthy and sexual, whereas Juliet is idealistic and intense. The Nurse believes in love and wants Juliet to have a nice-looking husband, but the idea that Juliet would want to sacrifice herself for love is incomprehensible to her. Tybalt A Capulet, Juliet’s cousin on her mother’s side. Vain, fashionable, supremely aware of courtesy and the lack of it, he becomes aggressive, violent, and quick to draw his sword when he feels his pride has been injured. Once drawn, his sword is something to be feared. He loathes Montagues.

Capulet The patriarch of the Capulet family, father of Juliet, husband of Lady Capulet, and enemy, for unexplained reasons, of Montague. He truly loves his daughter, though he is not well acquainted with Juliet’s thoughts or feelings, and seems to think that what is best for her is a “good” match with Paris. Often prudent, he commands respect and propriety, but he is liable to fly into a rage when either is lacking. Lady Capulet Juliet’s mother, Capulet’s wife. A woman who herself married young (by her own estimation she gave birth to Juliet at close to the age of fourteen), she is eager to see her daughter marry Paris. She is an ineffectual mother, relying on the Nurse for moral and pragmatic support. Montague Romeo’s father, the patriarch of the Montague clan and bitter enemy of Capulet. At the beginning of the play, he is chiefly concerned about Romeo’s melancholy. Lady Montague Romeo’s mother, Montague’s wife. She dies of grief after Romeo is exiled from Verona. Paris A kinsman of the Prince, and the suitor of Juliet most preferred by Capulet.

Once Capulet has promised him he can marry Juliet, he behaves very presumptuous toward, acting as if they are already married. Benvolio Montague’s nephew, Romeo’s cousin and thoughtful friend, he makes a genuine effort to defuse violent scenes in public places, though Mercutio accuses him of having a nasty temper in private. He spends most of the play trying to help Romeo get his mind off Rosaline, even after Romeo has fallen in love with Juliet. Prince Escalus The Prince of Verona. A kinsman of Mercutio and Paris. As the seat of political power in Verona, he is concerned about maintaining the public peace at all costs. Friar John A Franciscan friar charged by Friar Lawrence with taking the news of Juliet’s false death to Romeo in Mantua. Friar John is held up in a quarantined house, and the message never reaches Romeo. Balthasar Romeo’s dedicated servant, who brings Romeo the news of Juliet’s death, unaware that her death is a ruse. Sampson and Gregory Two servants of the house of Capulet, who, like their master, hate the Montagues.

At the outset of the play, they successfully provoke some Montague men into a fight. Abraham Montague’s servant, who fights with Sampson and Gregory in the first scene of the play. The Apothecary An apothecary in Mantua. Had he been wealthier, he might have been able to afford to value his morals more than money, and refused to sell poison to Romeo. Peter A Capulet servant who invites guests to Capulet’s feast and escorts the Nurse to meet with Romeo. He is illiterate, and a bad singer. Rosaline The woman with whom Romeo is infatuated at the beginning of the play. Rosaline never appears onstage, but it is said by other characters that she is very beautiful and has sworn to live a life of chastity. The Chorus The Chorus is a single character who functions as a narrator offering commentary on the play’s plot and themes. Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet Benvolio Dear Agony Aunt My cousin is in love with this girl who doesn’t love him back. He is actually obsessed with her, but I know he doesn’t stand a chance! How can I persuade him to move on?

Comments Tell him that she doesn't want to be with him then he will leave. Dear Benvolio, I know you may love your cousin very much, but you have to let him make his own decisions. You may not want him to be hurt by the girl he loves, but if you choose everything for him he will never learn. Try introducing him to other girls, just don’t push it, he’ll figure it out himself. - Abba<3Doll Dear Benvolio, You should persuade your cousin by introducing him to other girls. You should also have the girl who doesn’t love him back talk to him and tell him how she truly feels about him. Hope it all ends well for your cousin. Dear Benvolio, If “this girl” does not like your cousin and you know that then you should introduce him to other girls. Then that way he isn’t getting the wrong idea about this girl that he thinks likes him. Introducing him to other girls will do him well and I hope it all goes great for your cousin. Dear, Benvolio Just tell him the truth, so that he can snap out of it. Go find a different girl. There are plenty in the sea.

EW I suggest you try and find him another girl who likes him back. E Dear Benvolio, Let him know that it is not going to work. If he doesn’t listen I guess that love is love. Can’t fight that so give up move on let him do what he has to do and find out what happens. Sincerely, Neighborhood Advice Person I think you should show him new girls, because you know Verona is a city full of girls. he'll get over it Take him out to a party! He's bound to find another chick there. Have fun! O cousin cousin Prince Benvolio who began this bloody fray - WRIT - 101 View Full Document O cousin, cousin! Prince. Benvolio, who began this bloody fray? Ben. Tybalt, here slain, whom Romeo's hand did stay. Romeo, that spoke him fair, bid him bethink How nice the quarrel was, and urg'd withal Your high displeasure.

All this- uttered With gentle breath, calm look, knees humbly bow'd- Could not take truce with the unruly spleen Of Tybalt deaf to peace, but that he tilts With piercing steel at bold Mercutio's breast; Who, all as hot, turns deadly point to point, And, with a martial scorn, with one hand beats Cold death aside and with the other sends It back to Tybalt, whose dexterity Retorts it. Romeo he cries aloud, 'Hold, friends! friends, part!' and swifter than his tongue, His agile arm beats down their fatal points, And 'twixt them rushes; underneath whose arm An envious thrust from Tybalt hit the life Of stout Mercutio, and then Tybalt fled; But by-and-by comes back to Romeo, Who had but newly entertain'd revenge, And to't they go like lightning; for, ere I Could draw to part them, was stout Tybalt slain; And, as he fell, did Romeo turn and fly. This is the truth, or let Benvolio die. Cap. Wife.

He is a kinsman to the Montague; Affection makes him false, he speaks not true. Some twenty of them fought in this black strife, And all those twenty could but kill one life. I beg for justice, which thou, Prince, must give. Romeo slew Tybalt; Romeo must not live. Prince. Romeo slew him; he slew Mercutio. Who now the price of his dear blood doth owe? Mon. Not Romeo, Prince; he was Mercutio's friend; His fault concludes but what the law should end, This preview has intentionally blurred sections. Sign up to view the full version. View Full Document The life of Tybalt. Prince. And for that offence Immediately we do exile him hence. I have an interest in your hate's proceeding, My blood for your rude brawls doth lie a-bleeding; But I'll amerce you with so strong a fine That you shall all repent the loss of mine. I will be deaf to pleading and excuses; Nor tears nor prayers shall purchase out abuses. Therefore use none. Let Romeo hence in haste, Else, when he is found, that hour is his last. Bear hence this body, and attend our will.

Mercy but murders, pardoning those that kill. Exeunt. Scene II. Capulet's orchard. Enter Juliet alone. Jul. Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds, Towards Phoebus' lodging! Such a wagoner As Phaeton would whip you to the West And bring in cloudy night immediately. Spread thy close curtain, love-performing night, That runaway eyes may wink, and Romeo Leap to these arms untalk'd of and unseen. Lovers can see to do their amorous rites By their own beauties; or, if love be blind, It best agrees with night. Come, civil night, Thou sober-suited matron, all in black, And learn me how to lose a winning match, Play'd for a pair of stainless maidenhoods. Hood my unmann'd blood, bating in my cheeks, This is the end of the preview. Sign up to access the rest of the document. TERM Describe the relationship between Romeo and his cousin Benvolio, and their friend Mercutio, from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Use a...

| eNotes January 9, 2015 at 4:06 AM In William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, Romeo and Benvolio are cousins, and members of the Montague clan or family. The two are very close, and Benvolio is preoccupied for much of the first two acts trying to keep his cousin from dwelling on his unrequited passion for Rosaline, the beautiful but chaste Capulet for whom the young Romeo has been obsessed. As members of the Montagues and, consequently, direct parties to the blood feud that has raged with the Capulets, Romeo and Benvolio are linked together in a way that their friend Mercutio is not. Mercutio is related to Prince Escalus, the ruler of Verona, where the clans reside and where much of the play is set. Despite his closeness to Romeo, he is safe from the acts of violence directed by the two clans against each other because he is neither a Montague nor a Capulet, and because he is related to the governing prince.

In addition, while Benvolio shares Romeo’s romantic view of human relations, Mercutio is somewhat indifferent to the passions that drive others, and views human relations in a far more impassioned or cold way. Where Romeo and Benvolio differ, however, is in the latter’s far greater reluctance to countenance violent conflict between the two clans, such as in the impromptu encounter in “a public place” that opens the play when Benvolio counsels caution to the Capulets who threaten him. In Act II, Scene IV, Mercutio and Benvolio are searching for Romeo. Mercutio assumes that Romeo’s disappearance is directly related to his friend’s obsession with Rosaline, but Benvolio knows that Romeo’s absence is more likely related to a letter his cousin received from Tybalt challenging him to a dual: MERCUTIO Ah, that same pale hard-hearted wench, that Rosaline. Torments him so, that he will sure run mad. BENVOLIO Tybalt, the kinsman of old Capulet, Hath sent a letter to his father’s house.

In the exchange that follows, the more calculating but pragmatic Mercutio cautions the more sentimental Benvolio about the dangers that could confront Romeo in the event of a duel with Tybalt, whose abilities with a sword and cunning instincts Mercutio respects but whom he refers to as a “prince of cats,” a reference the feline character in the medieval tale Reynard the Fox who falls victim to his misbegotten loyalties. Benvolio, however, is confident that Tybalt’s bark is worse than his bite: “Why, what is Tybalt?” he rhetorically asks of the more cautious Mercutio. Mercutio, while having no direct stake in the feud between the two clans, doesn’t want to see his close friend killed; Benvolio, as was evidenced in Act I, Scene I, during the aforementioned confrontation, holds Tybalt and his presumed abilities as a swordsman in complete contempt (“. .

.close fighting ere I did approach: I drew to part them: in the instant came/The fiery Tybalt, with his sword prepared, Which, as he breathed defiance to my ears, He swung about his head and cut the winds, Who nothing hurt withal hiss’d him in scorn.”) One of the key points regarding the relationships among the three men is that very real distinction between Mercutio’s expressiveness and jocularity versus the more introverted and serious Benvolio. It is Mercutio who carries the conversations, with his wit and observations intended to steer his friend clear of the danger he knows lies ahead. It is Mercutio who engages in light-hearted banter with Romeo, not Benvolio. Witness the following exchange between Mercutio and Romeo when the latter finally materializes: ROMEO Good morrow to you both. What counterfeit did I give you? MERCUTIO The slip, sir, the slip; can you not conceive? ROMEO Pardon, good Mercutio, my business was great; and in such a case as mine a man may strain courtesy. MERCUTIO That’s as much as to say, such a case as yours constrains a man to bow in the hams.

ROMEO Meaning, to court’sy. MERCUTIO Thou hast most kindly hit it. ROMEO A most courteous exposition. MERCUTIO Nay, I am the very pink of courtesy. ROMEO Pink for flower. All speeches (lines) and cues for Benvolio in "Romeo and Juliet" :|: Open Source Shakespeare Put up your swords; you know not what you do. 2 Tybalt. What, art thou drawn among these heartless hinds? Turn thee, Benvolio, look upon thy death. Benvolio. I do but keep the peace: put up thy sword, Or manage it to part these men with me. 3 Montague. Who set this ancient quarrel new abroach? Speak, nephew, were you by when it began? Benvolio.

Here were the servants of your adversary, And yours, close fighting ere I did approach: I drew to part them: in the instant came The fiery Tybalt, with his sword prepared, Which, as he breathed defiance to my ears, He swung about his head and cut the winds, Who nothing hurt withal hiss'd him in scorn: While we were interchanging thrusts and blows, Came more and more and fought on part and part, Till the prince came, who parted either part. 4 Lady Montague. O, where is Romeo? saw you him to-day? Right glad I am he was not at this fray. Benvolio.

Madam, an hour before the worshipp'd sun Peer'd forth the golden window of the east, A troubled mind drave me to walk abroad; Where, underneath the grove of sycamore That westward rooteth from the city's side, So early walking did I see your son: Towards him I made, but he was ware of me And stole into the covert of the wood: I, measuring his affections by my own, That most are busied when they're most alone, Pursued my humour not pursuing his, And gladly shunn'd who gladly fled from me. 5 Montague. Many a morning hath he there been seen, With tears augmenting the fresh morning dew. Adding to clouds more clouds with his deep sighs; But all so soon as the all-cheering sun Should in the furthest east begin to draw The shady curtains from Aurora's bed, Away from the light steals home my heavy son, And private in his chamber pens himself, Shuts up his windows, locks far daylight out And makes himself an artificial night: Black and portentous must this humour prove, Unless good counsel may the cause remove. Benvolio. My noble uncle, do you know the cause? 6 Montague.

I neither know it nor can learn of him. Benvolio. Have you importuned him by any means? 7 Romeo. Out of her favour, where I am in love. Benvolio. Alas, that love, so gentle in his view, Should be so tyrannous and rough in proof! 14 Romeo. Alas, that love, whose view is muffled still, Should, without eyes, see pathways to his will! Where shall we dine? O me! What fray was here? Yet tell me not, for I have heard it all. Here's much to do with hate, but more with love. Why, then, O brawling love! O loving hate! O any thing, of nothing first create! O heavy lightness! serious vanity! Mis-shapen chaos of well-seeming forms! Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health! Still-waking sleep, that is not what it is! This love feel I, that feel no love in this. Dost thou not laugh? Benvolio. No, coz, I rather weep. 15 Romeo. Good heart, at what? Benvolio. At thy good heart's oppression. 16 Romeo.

Why, such is love's transgression. Griefs of mine own lie heavy in my breast, Which thou wilt propagate, to have it prest With more of thine: this love that thou hast shown Doth add more grief to too much of mine own. Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs; Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes; Being vex'd a sea nourish'd with lovers' tears: What is it else? a madness most discreet, A choking gall and a preserving sweet. Farewell, my coz. Benvolio. Soft! I will go along; An if you leave me so, you do me wrong. 17 Romeo. Tut, I have lost myself; I am not here; This is not Romeo, he's some other where. Benvolio. Tell me in sadness, who is that you love. 18 Romeo. What, shall I groan and tell thee? Benvolio. Groan! why, no. But sadly tell me who. 19 Romeo. Bid a sick man in sadness make his will: Ah, word ill urged to one that is so ill! In sadness, cousin, I do love a woman. Benvolio.

I aim'd so near, when I supposed you loved. 20 Romeo. A right good mark-man! And she's fair I love. Benvolio. A right fair mark, fair coz, is soonest hit. 21 Romeo. Well, in that hit you miss: she'll not be hit With Cupid's arrow; she hath Dian's wit; And, in strong proof of chastity well arm'd, From love's weak childish bow she lives unharm'd. She will not stay the siege of loving terms, Nor bide the encounter of assailing eyes, Nor ope her lap to saint-seducing gold: O, she is rich in beauty, only poor, That when she dies with beauty dies her store. Benvolio. Then she hath sworn that she will still live chaste? 22 Romeo. She hath, and in that sparing makes huge waste, For beauty starved with her severity Cuts beauty off from all posterity. She is too fair, too wise, wisely too fair, To merit bliss by making me despair: She hath forsworn to love, and in that vow Do I live dead that live to tell it now. Benvolio.

Be ruled by me, forget to think of her. 23 Romeo. O, teach me how I should forget to think. Benvolio. By giving liberty unto thine eyes; Examine other beauties. To call hers exquisite, in question more: These happy masks that kiss fair ladies' brows Being black put us in mind they hide the fair; He that is strucken blind cannot forget The precious treasure of his eyesight lost: Show me a mistress that is passing fair, What doth her beauty serve, but as a note Where I may read who pass'd that passing fair? Farewell: thou canst not teach me to forget. Benvolio. I'll pay that doctrine, or else die in debt. 25 (stage directions). [Enter BENVOLIO and ROMEO] Benvolio. Tut, man, one fire burns out another's burning, One pain is lessen'd by another's anguish; Turn giddy, and be holp by backward turning; One desperate grief cures with another's languish: Take thou some new infection to thy eye, And the rank poison of the old will die. 26 Romeo. Your plaintain-leaf is excellent for that. Benvolio.

For what, I pray thee? 27 Romeo. For your broken shin. Benvolio. Why, Romeo, art thou mad? 28 Benvolio. At this same ancient feast of Capulet's Sups the fair Rosaline whom thou so lovest, With all the admired beauties of Verona: Go thither; and, with unattainted eye, Compare her face with some that I shall show, And I will make thee think thy swan a crow. 29 Romeo. When the devout religion of mine eye Maintains such falsehood, then turn tears to fires; And these, who often drown'd could never die, Transparent heretics, be burnt for liars! One fairer than my love! the all-seeing sun Ne'er saw her match since first the world begun. Benvolio. Tut, you saw her fair, none else being by, Herself poised with herself in either eye: But in that crystal scales let there be weigh'd Your lady's love against some other maid That I will show you shining at this feast, And she shall scant show well that now shows best. 30 Romeo. What, shall this speech be spoke for our excuse? Or shall we on without a apology?

Benvolio. The date is out of such prolixity: We'll have no Cupid hoodwink'd with a scarf, Bearing a Tartar's painted bow of lath, Scaring the ladies like a crow-keeper; Nor no without-book prologue, faintly spoke After the prompter, for our entrance: But let them measure us by what they will; We'll measure them a measure, and be gone. 31 Mercutio. If love be rough with you, be rough with love; Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down. Give me a case to put my visage in: A visor for a visor! what care I What curious eye doth quote deformities? Here are the beetle brows shall blush for me. Benvolio. Come, knock and enter; and no sooner in, But every man betake him to his legs. 32 Mercutio.

True, I talk of dreams, Which are the children of an idle brain, Begot of nothing but vain fantasy, Which is as thin of substance as the air And more inconstant than the wind, who wooes Even now the frozen bosom of the north, And, being anger'd, puffs away from thence, Turning his face to the dew-dropping south. Benvolio. This wind, you talk of, blows us from ourselves; Supper is done, and we shall come too late. 33 Romeo. I fear, too early: for my mind misgives Some consequence yet hanging in the stars Shall bitterly begin his fearful date With this night's revels and expire the term Of a despised life closed in my breast By some vile forfeit of untimely death. But He, that hath the steerage of my course, Direct my sail! On, lusty gentlemen. Benvolio. Strike, drum. Mercutio. Nay, I'll conjure too. Romeo! humours! madman! passion! lover!

Appear thou in the likeness of a sigh: Speak but one rhyme, and I am satisfied; Cry but 'Ay me!' pronounce but 'love' and 'dove;' Speak to my gossip Venus one fair word, One nick-name for her purblind son and heir, Young Adam Cupid, he that shot so trim, When King Cophetua loved the beggar-maid! He heareth not, he stirreth not, he moveth not; The ape is dead, and I must conjure him. I conjure thee by Rosaline's bright eyes, By her high forehead and her scarlet lip, By her fine foot, straight leg and quivering thigh And the demesnes that there adjacent lie, That in thy likeness thou appear to us! Benvolio. And if he hear thee, thou wilt anger him. 38 Mercutio. This cannot anger him: 'twould anger him To raise a spirit in his mistress' circle Of some strange nature, letting it there stand Till she had laid it and conjured it down; That were some spite: my invocation Is fair and honest, and in his mistress' name I conjure only but to raise up him. Benvolio.

Come, he hath hid himself among these trees, To be consorted with the humorous night: Blind is his love and best befits the dark. 39 Mercutio. If love be blind, love cannot hit the mark. Now will he sit under a medlar tree, And wish his mistress were that kind of fruit As maids call medlars, when they laugh alone. Romeo, that she were, O, that she were An open et caetera, thou a poperin pear! Romeo, good night: I'll to my truckle-bed; This field-bed is too cold for me to sleep: Come, shall we go? Benvolio. Go, then; for 'tis in vain To seek him here that means not to be found. 40 Mercutio. Where the devil should this Romeo be? Came he not home to-night? Benvolio. Not to his father's; I spoke with his man. 41 Mercutio. Ah, that same pale hard-hearted wench, that Rosaline. Torments him so, that he will sure run mad. Benvolio.

Tybalt, the kinsman of old Capulet, Hath sent a letter to his father's house. 42 Mercutio. A challenge, on my life. Benvolio. Romeo will answer it. 43 Mercutio. Any man that can write may answer a letter. Benvolio. Nay, he will answer the letter's master, how he dares, being dared. Mercutio. Alas poor Romeo! he is already dead; stabbed with a white wench's black eye; shot through the ear with a love-song; the very pin of his heart cleft with the blind bow-boy's butt-shaft: and is he a man to encounter Tybalt? Benvolio. Why, what is Tybalt? 45 Mercutio. More than prince of cats, I can tell you. O, he is the courageous captain of compliments.

He fights as you sing prick-song, keeps time, distance, and proportion; rests me his minim rest, one, two, and the third in your bosom: the very butcher of a silk button, a duellist, a duellist; a gentleman of the very first house, of the first and second cause: ah, the immortal passado! the punto reverso! the hai! Benvolio. Here comes Romeo, here comes Romeo. 47 Mercutio. Why, is not this better now than groaning for love? now art thou sociable, now art thou Romeo; now art thou what thou art, by art as well as by nature: for this drivelling love is like a great natural, that runs lolling up and down to hide his bauble in a hole. Benvolio. Stop there, stop there. 48 Mercutio. Thou desirest me to stop in my tale against the hair. Benvolio. Thou wouldst else have made thy tale large. 49 Mercutio. A sail, a sail! Benvolio. Two, two; a shirt and a smock. 50 Nurse.

if you be he, sir, I desire some confidence with you. Benvolio. She will indite him to some supper. 51 (stage directions). [Enter MERCUTIO, BENVOLIO, Page, and Servants] Benvolio. I pray thee, good Mercutio, let's retire: The day is hot, the Capulets abroad, And, if we meet, we shall not scape a brawl; For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring. 52 Mercutio. Thou art like one of those fellows that when he enters the confines of a tavern claps me his sword upon the table and says 'God send me no need of thee!' and by the operation of the second cup draws it on the drawer, when indeed there is no need. Benvolio. Am I like such a fellow? 53 Mercutio. Come, come, thou art as hot a Jack in thy mood as any in Italy, and as soon moved to be moody, and as soon moody to be moved. Benvolio. And what to? Mercutio. Nay, an there were two such, we should have none shortly, for one would kill the other.

Thou! why, thou wilt quarrel with a man that hath a hair more, or a hair less, in his beard, than thou hast: thou wilt quarrel with a man for cracking nuts, having no other reason but because thou hast hazel eyes: what eye but such an eye would spy out such a quarrel? Thy head is as fun of quarrels as an egg is full of meat, and yet thy head hath been beaten as addle as an egg for quarrelling: thou hast quarrelled with a man for coughing in the street, because he hath wakened thy dog that hath lain asleep in the sun: didst thou not fall out with a tailor for wearing his new doublet before Easter? with another, for tying his new shoes with old riband? and yet thou wilt tutor me from quarrelling! Benvolio. An I were so apt to quarrel as thou art, any man should buy the fee-simple of my life for an hour and a quarter. 55 Mercutio. The fee-simple! O simple! Benvolio. By my head, here come the Capulets. 56 Mercutio. Consort! what, dost thou make us minstrels?

an thou make minstrels of us, look to hear nothing but discords: here's my fiddlestick; here's that shall make you dance. 'Zounds, consort! Benvolio. We talk here in the public haunt of men: Either withdraw unto some private place, And reason coldly of your grievances, Or else depart; here all eyes gaze on us. 57 Benvolio. O Romeo, Romeo, brave Mercutio's dead! That gallant spirit hath aspired the clouds, Which too untimely here did scorn the earth. 59 Romeo. This day's black fate on more days doth depend; This but begins the woe, others must end. Benvolio. Here comes the furious Tybalt back again. 60 (stage directions). [They fight; TYBALT falls] Benvolio. Romeo, away, be gone! The citizens are up, and Tybalt slain. Stand not amazed: the prince will doom thee death, If thou art taken: hence, be gone, away! 61 Romeo. O, I am fortune's fool! Benvolio. Why dost thou stay? 62 First Citizen.

Which way ran he that kill'd Mercutio? Tybalt, that murderer, which way ran he? Benvolio. There lies that Tybalt. 63 Prince Escalus. Where are the vile beginners of this fray? Benvolio. O noble prince, I can discover all The unlucky manage of this fatal brawl: There lies the man, slain by young Romeo, That slew thy kinsman, brave Mercutio. 64 Prince Escalus. Benvolio, who began this bloody fray? Benvolio.

Tybalt, here slain, whom Romeo's hand did slay; Romeo that spoke him fair, bade him bethink How nice the quarrel was, and urged withal Your high displeasure: all this uttered With gentle breath, calm look, knees humbly bow'd, Could not take truce with the unruly spleen Of Tybalt deaf to peace, but that he tilts With piercing steel at bold Mercutio's breast, Who all as hot, turns deadly point to point, And, with a martial scorn, with one hand beats Cold death aside, and with the other sends It back to Tybalt, whose dexterity, Retorts it: Romeo he cries aloud, 'Hold, friends! friends, part!' and, swifter than his tongue, His agile arm beats down their fatal points, And 'twixt them rushes; underneath whose arm An envious thrust from Tybalt hit the life Of stout Mercutio, and then Tybalt fled; But by and by comes back to Romeo, Who had but newly entertain'd revenge, And to 't they go like lightning, for, ere I Could draw to part them, was stout Tybalt slain.

And, as he fell, did Romeo turn and fly. This is the truth, or let Benvolio die.

Question: Benvolio is the cousin and friend of which Shakespearian hero?
Answer: Romeo