Hello everybody and welcome to today’s video on ‘Romeo and Juliet’,
analysing the character of Benvolio. Download the free worksheet to accompany
this video through following the link in the description.
The audience’s first introduction to Benvolio in Act 1, Scene 1
suggests that he will be a key character in the play. To begin with, Shakespeare switches
from the prose used by Sampson, Gregory and Abraham to blank verse for Benvolio.
Shakespeare usually employs blank verse for upper-class or noble characters,
so Benvolio’s speech in this scene sets him apart
from the servants who have so far done the talking—in prose.
Let’s look at Benvolio’s first lines:
Part, fools! Put up your swords; you know not what you do.
The phrase ‘you know not what you do’ would remind the contemporary audience
of the words of Jesus in the Bible, in which he says ‘Father, forgive them;
for they know not what they do’ (Luke 23:34 KJV). This Biblical echo is all the more
impactful when we consider Shakespeare’s use of structure. Sampson and Gregory’s sexual innuendo
and puns from just moments before contrast greatly with Benvolio’s religious language.
When we add the fact that the name Benvolio translates roughly to peacekeeper,
the audience might assume that he will fulfil a Christ-like, religious role in the play.
There is some truth to this. For example, Jesus was a prophet, and Benvolio occasionally
makes prophetic utterances. When he tells Romeo he will forget Rosaline if he chooses
to ‘examine other beauties’ (Act 1, Scene 1), he is correct—that’s exactly what happens.
Similarly, Benvolio’s prophetic statement to Mercutio at the start of Act 3, Scene 1, ‘The day
is hot, the Capels are abroad;/ And if we meet, we shall not scape a brawl’, also proves to be true.
But there are other times when Benvolio’s prophetic statements prove incorrect, such as
when he warns Romeo to flee after killing Tybalt, proclaiming ‘The Prince will doom thee death’ (Act
3, Scene 1). The prince does not proclaim Romeo’s death (despite the warning that the next person
to unsettle the peace of Verona will pay for it with their life); instead, he banishes Romeo.
So, the label of ‘prophet’ doesn’t neatly fit Benvolio. Similarly, the idea of Benvolio as wise
counsel and peacekeeper also doesn’t make complete sense: yes, Benvolio tries to stop the fighting,
both in Act 1, Scene 1 (‘Part, fools’) and Act 3, Scene 1 (‘Either withdraw unto some private
place, / Or reason coldly of your grievances, / Or else depart’). However, it is Benvolio’s
suggestion that Romeo attend the Capulet feast, advising him to ‘Go thither’ in Act 1, Scene 2.
Only moments after a public fight between the two warring families,
it is surely not wise or keeping the peace to suggest gate-crashing the enemy party,
especially with Tybalt listed as one of those invited. And in terms of the play as tragedy,
the meeting of Romeo and Juliet at the feast is the inciting incident of the play—the catalyst,
the trigger, that leads to the deaths of Romeo, Juliet, Tybalt, Mercutio, Lady Montague and Paris.
So again, it’s not that we can say that Benvolio is a wise, peace keeping, Christ-like figure.
In actual fact, despite the grandness of his first entrance, Shakespeare often
uses Benvolio as little more than a tool for plot development, and in a chorus-like role.
PLOT DEVELOPMENT Sometimes in a play,
the playwright will want to establish important information, without having it acted onstage.
At other times, a playwright will want to move the play from one event to another,
needing a vehicle for this. In ‘Romeo and Juliet’, Shakespeare uses Benvolio for both purposes:
• In Act 1, Scene 1, it is through Benvolio’s conversation with Romeo
that the audience learns about Rosaline. Romeo’s past with Rosaline paints an important picture
(which I have explored in my character analysis of Romeo), but the audience only learns about
it through Benvolio’s prompting. Benvolio’s patient listening to and questioning of Romeo
is used by Shakespeare to develop important information about Romeo, not Benvolio.
• The same can be said at the start of Act 3, Scene 1 when Benvolio talks to Mercutio:
their conversation tells the audience something important about Mercutio and his character,
but not Benvolio. (We have no cause to believe anything Mercutio says about Benvolio
being hot-headed and aggressive, so it’s more about what it tells the audience about Mercutio).
• As I’ve already mentioned, in Act 1, Scene 2, it is Benvolio who persuades
Romeo to go the Capulet feast. Without this, Romeo and Juliet would never have
met. Shakespeare of course needs Romeo and Juliet to meet to further the plot,
and Benvolio’s seemingly illogical suggestion is the means to make it happen.
• In Act 2, Scene 4, it is Benvolio who informs Mercutio
(and more crucially the audience) that Tybalt has sent a letter of challenge to Romeo.
• In Act 3, Scene 1, it is Benvolio who informs Romeo (and again the audience)
that Mercutio is dead. Without this news, Romeo would not kill Tybalt.
So, we see that Benvolio is used in all these moments simply to move the story along.
And there’s nothing wrong with that, but it does seem a bit of a let-down
after our first impressions of the character.
CHORUS As well as
furthering the plot, Benvolio on at least two occasions fulfils the role of a chorus.
A chorus was often used in drama to provide a summary of important background information.
The chorus in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ actually summarises the entire plot in the two prologues.
Admittedly, there is some background information:
two households, both alike in dignity, with an ancient grudge, but in the biggest spoiler
ever seen, everything that is to come is revealed in the opening prologue.
However, Benvolio also fulfils a chorus-like role—particularly in the two major summaries
he gives after fight scenes. In Act 1, Scene 1, after the brawl, Benvolio tells Montague
what has happened. Then, in Act 3, Scene 1, after the deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt,
Benvolio tells the prince what has happened. His summaries are very much in keeping with
the role of a chorus, and this helps us to see Benvolio as a plot construct:
he furthers narrative through plot development and summarises the action as a chorus.
But this is where things begin to get a little more complex. Why does Shakespeare use Benvolio
to summarise fight scenes that the audience has only moments before witnessed onstage?
This is something explored by Jill Levenson in ‘Echoes Inhabit a Garden: The Narratives of Romeo
and Juliet’. Levenson writes, and this is used with permission from the author, so thank you:
As much a defence as an eyewitness account, this narrative slants events to exonerate Benvolio’s
two friends… What Benvolio says is inconsistent with what the audience knows: he omits Mercutio’s
provocation of Tybalt, and he heightens Romeo’s gestures of peaceful intervention.
—'Shakespeare Survey’: Volume 53, Shakespeare and Narrative: An Annual
Survey of Shakespeare Studies and Production, 2000, Cambridge University Press, p. 44.
Now on the one hand, there’s nothing surprising in this: of course,
Benvolio will slightly alter his account of the fight if he believes that by doing so,
he might save Romeo’s life. Remember, Benvolio would be well aware of the prince’s last threat
that the next person to disturb the peace would pay for it with their life.
But we can also link the futility of Benvolio’s actions here to the theme of fate.
Fate is the idea that events in our lives are predetermined and set; it’s a theme we
see explored time and time again in the play. If Romeo and Juliet are ‘star-crossed’ as the
prologue suggests, then nothing is able to prevent their deaths. Benvolio certainly fits into this.
Despite his best efforts, he cannot prevent the tragedy from unfolding:
• Despite trying to stop the fighting in Act 1,
Scene 1, the fighting continues. • Despite trying to prevent a
fight in Act 1, Scene 3, there is a fight. • Despite bending the truth in his report
to the prince in Act 3, Scene 1 in order to prevent Romeo’s death, Romeo dies anyway.
We therefore see that, despite his best efforts, Benvolio is unable to prevent things from
happening. His character reminds the audience that fate determines what happens in life.
In terms of key quotations for Benvolio, I think his opening line is worth remembering:
‘Put up your swords; you know not what you do’.
This will allow you to write about the religious imagery, the blank verse, the role of peacekeeper
and, ultimately, how fate makes all of Benvolio’s attempts to keep the peace miserably fail.
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Everything I go through in this video can be found in the third edition of
my guide to ‘Romeo and Juliet’ which contains the complete original text,
a line by line translation into modern English, and detailed analysis.