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Tybalt |
Tybalt is a fictional charheheacter in William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. He is Juliet's hateful cousin and Romeo's rival.
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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 Boccacio'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
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. 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:
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 unequated, 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.
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
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