The very first thing that surprised me in Shakespeare was the fact that I came across an unfamiliar in Romeo and Juliet. This surprised me since I had read it so many times. The part that caught my eye was the fact that I never stopped to think about why Romeo kills Tybalt. It has always seemed to be that Romeo was revenging Mercutio to me, but this play I didn’t notice evidence to that. It seemed more that Mercutio’s big mouth was the only instigator in his death. The only inkling of animosity I could find between the two families came from the very beginning of the play. There is a scene set up that allows us to see that there is hatred between the two families. This occurrence is most pronounced in act I.1 ln.58 when Tybalt proclaims his hatred of Montagues to Benvolio, but they never really get the chance to duel. Throughout the play there is increasing growth on the conflict between the two houses. But in act III.1 Tybalt is slain. This sets up the remainder of fate for Romeo. After all, these two houses are supposed to keep their distance. But doesn’t it seem strange that a man would kill just out of dislike of a certain group. And out of that certain group Romeo kills the first Capulet he comes across. Yes, he is upset about Mercutio, but geesh! Talk about flying off The handle. The thing I guess I can most closely equate this to is the idea of Road Rage we see today. Still when some one is in a hurry And I change lanes unexpectedly and they flip me off, cursing at me all the way down the street I am surprised at the intensity of their outburst. It is a very surprising behavior, even for today, not to mention the small amount of reasoning behind it. Romeo, don’t forget your chill pill next time.What I found most out of the ordinary in Twelfth Night was the fact that Shakespeare wrote comedies. I think of old time humor to be sarcasm or other such trivial writing, but this play was rather clever in the pr...
