To the first-time reader, Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare may seem like just another boring play to read. But if read a few times, the characters in Romeo and Juliet seem to be personifications of certain emotions, or groups of emotions. For instance, the Nurse would represent outgoing, Friar Lawrence would represent thought and hope, and Tybalt would represent hate and aggression. Tybalt’s representation of aggressiveness could mean a number of things, the most likely including the defense of his reputation as the toughest Capulet, his loyalty to, and the defense of, his family, or that he is a short-tempered person that is particularly unfond of any kind gesture towards him by others.

            If the “Prince of Cats,” as Tybalt is so lovingly dubbed, is just a hot-headed person, then his actions in Romeo and Juliet lead any reader to believe that his aggression gets the better of him anytime any violent act is committed by the characters interacting around him. Tybalt seems to have a physical role in every fight that happens, which eventually leads to his death. In the opening of the play, Tybalt picks a fight with Benvolio, who was trying to break apart an upcoming quarrel between the Montagues and Capulets. In this scene, Tybalt states that he hates the word “peace,” which indicates that he not only enjoys fighting with the Montagues, but also that he would enjoy fighting with anyone, thus leading to the point that Tybalt may in fact just be a violence seeker.

            In another argument, Tybalt may only just be trying to defend his family, the Capulets. If by proving his loyalty to Capulet and the rest makes Tybalt feel like he has done his duty towards his family in upholding the house name, Shakespeare’s point didn’t get across because Tybalt, in all the lines that he says, none specifically make the point that he is trying to just defend the house. However, just because this is not a theme in the play does not mean that it is not a plausible idea. Tybalt may just not have had the means to express his correct emotion towards his family because he is a minor character.

            Tybalt, in all his moody glory as a Cat, may also have been trying to do what cats do best: defend their territory and keep up their reputation. If Tybalt was just trying to be tough his whole life, it was a waste, as that was what put a stop to his heart. In Tybalt’s death scene, Mercutio decides to pick a fight with Tybalt, an offer which Tybalt was more than happy to accept. If Tybalt wasn’t defending his reputation as the tough buy, maybe he would have decided that the fight wasn’t worth it and told Mercutio to back down. Or, when Romeo barged in, Tybalt may have just stopped and left it at that. But if Tybalt’s aggression was a result from his social status as the guy that likes to fight, his pedestal was too high for him and he couldn’t see the reason that lied at the base of it.

            There are a few reasons why Tybalt, the beloved “Prince of Cats”, may have been so hateful. He may have been defending his family, or his reputation, or he may have just been a sadistic person. Tybalt brings the aggression into Romeo and Juliet and makes the story bearable, as without him it would be dull.