Romeo and Juliet is a romantic tragedy that was written by the famous writer William Shakespeare. The play is based on two “star-crossed lovers” who come from two feuding families- the Capulets and the Montagues. The genre of the play is a tragedy because it is about the main characters- Romeo and Juliet being faced with dark decisions to hold onto their love for each other and eventually being bound to a hopeless and somehow inescapable fate. Some of the other themes in the play include Romance, Fate, Death and bad timing. In this essay I will focus on the dramatic devices that Shakespeare has used in act 3 scene 1 and how it affects the audience.

This scene comes right after the best moments of the play and is the point at which everything crashes and disaster emerges in the play. Because it is right after Romeo’s and Juliet’s marriage, it puts a heavy blow on the audience.

Shakespeare uses many dramatic devices within this scene to grab the audience and make them experience a range of emotions. Some of the methods he used to do so was the way he set the atmosphere and the mood at the start of the scene using things such as the behaviour of the character and frightening language. This is shown where Mercutio says- “Tybalt, you rat catcher, will you walk?” So he is basically challenging Tybalt to a fight. This is showing us and telling us that this is the turning point of the play. In my opinion, where Mercutio says this, he has sparked the fire of rage. I also think that this line is the barrier between the happy parts of the story and the anger, fear and agony at the end, while others may argue that the very beginning of the scene, the hints the characters gave that a fight was going to arise was the pivotal point in the play. Whatever is true, I think it is a fact that this entire scene marks the mood swing in the play. Another dramatic device that Shakespeare used to create anxiety in the audience is timing. This scene comes right after Act 2 scene 6 which is full to the brim with romance. It is the happiest scene in the play from my point of view however, others may think that the most romantic scene in the play is near the beginning where Romeo and Juliet first meet. When this fight scene comes right after the romance scene, it changes the audiences emotions immediately because the mood and atmospheric change is so large and happened so fast

I think another dramatic device used in this scene is dramatic irony. This is shown where benvolio quotes “The day is hot and there is mad blood stirring”, this is hinting that there will be a fight and he also says “ Capulets are abroad”, which is hinting Capulets are present. This brings us to irony, because we know that Capulets hate Montagues and therefore there is bound to be a fight but the characters have no idea.

This has a further impact on the audience because we know that the prince has banned fights in Verona and if there is a fight, one will die, and that might be Romeo.

The conflict between Romeo and Tybalt has a big impact on the audience because when Romeo refuses to fight Tybalt several times, it builds up suspension and anxiety in the audience. I support Romeo