Essay on How Does Shakespeare Present Conflict in Act 3 Scene 1?

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How does Shakespeare present conflict in act 3 scene 1?
In William Shakespeare’s play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ there is alot of conflict particularly in act 3 scene 1. The audience find conflict interesting to watch because it creates drama and tension. Shakespeare uses many dramatic devices to present this; some of these techniques include foreshadowing, puns and irony to add to this effect. Another reason why Shakespeare uses conflict in the play is so that the audience are able to get attached to it and watch the conflict grow. The fact that the scene is set in a public place encourages the characters to show off, the characters do this because they want to show their strength and show people that they are not afraid. The conflict in the
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Patterns of language of conflict are shown in curses. Mercutio curses Tybalt and Romeo when he says “a plague o’ both your houses”. The word ‘plague’ suggests that the violence is epidemic and it will spread. The term ‘houses’, shows Mercutio curses both the Capulet’s and Montague’s. Moreover the quotation foreshadows that Tybalt and Romeo are about to cause Mercutio’s death. However Mercutio foreshadows Romeo’s and Tybalt’s death later on in the scene by cursing them both.
Alliteration is also used as a pattern of conflict; the quotation “fire-eyed fury” shows this. The alliteration of the ‘f’ shows Romeo’s anger building. The word ’fury’ shows that Romeo wants to be bad; he wants to be evil because he wants to kill Tybalt. The quotation itself shows Romeo’s anger. The word ‘fire’ represents danger and shows how Romeo’s mood has changed.
Mercutio is used to present conflict by using humour and sarcasm. For example Mercutio quotes “Tybalt you rat-catcher, will you walk?” Mercutio intentionally belittles Tybalt as Tybalt the cat was a character from a children’s story. Mercutio later on carries on being informal and jokey to provoke Tybalt. Shakespeare used Mercutio to be able to present conflict through his humour and sarcasm as this does provoke and annoy other characters, so violence is possible.
Romeo is used to present conflict in two ways.