In William Shakespeare's 1595 play, Romeo and Juliet, Tybalt is the cousin of Juliet Capulet, and the rival of Romeo Montague. He is killed by Romeo, who sought to avenge Mercutio. Tybalt has a strong disliking for Romeo (and indeed all Montagues), which is exhibited throughout the play. He is unaware of Juliet's marriage when he encounters Benvolio and Mercutio on the streets, and is still unaware when he is killed by Romeo.
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Storyline
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's cousin) trying to stop the fight, Tybalt is infuriated and draws his rapier to fight Benvolio. We see the first instance of his hatred of Montagues, along with his warlike nature, when he says:
- What, drawn, and talk of peace! I hate the word
- As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee:
- Have at thee, coward!
Later, at the Capulets' ball, he is the first to recognize Romeo through his disguise, and would duel him if not for his uncle, Lord Capulet's forbidding of it. His anger unabated, Tybalt enters looking for Romeo at the beginning of Act III, only to be taunted by Mercutio, who was mocking him even before he entered the scene. Tybalt 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. 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. Romeo is driven to avenge the death of his good friend by killing Tybalt in return, leading to his own exile, while the Capulets are left to mourn over the death of Tybalt.
Performers
In the 1968 film directed by Franco Zefirelli, he was played by Michael York. In the 1996 version of Romeo and Juliet, Tybalt is played by John Leguizamo. The actual title of this movie is "William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet"
Character
Tybalt seems to be recognized even by his own family as a hothead. Up until his death in Act III, he is constantly quarreling and never hesitates to draw a weapon in the face of a foe. His nickname of "the Prince of Cats" may refer to the quarrelsome and vicious character of Tybalt the Cat in the fables of Reynard the Fox, which would have been well-known to Shakespeare's audience.
