Top Ten Romeo and Juliet Quotes Explained (Act 3)

Romeo and Juliet Top 10 Act 3 Quotes

Act 3 Scene 1 sees the deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt - it is the moment of reversal in the play. Here are the ten quotes from Act 3 that I think it would help you to know.

1

MERCUTIO: O calm, dishonourable, vile submission!

Scene: Act 3 Scene 1
Themes: conflict, youth, Mercutio
This is how Mercutio reacts when Romeo tries to calm Tybalt. We see that Mercutio follows the code of violence, that seems so prevalent in Verona. We him using oxymorons and an exclamation, his language echoing Romeo's from the first Act. So Mercutio, like Romeo is attracted to extreme reactions.

2

MERCUTIO: A plague o' both your houses!

Scene: Act 3 Scene 1
Themes: conflict, fate, Mercutio
When Mercutio is killed by Tybalt, he says "A plague o' both yourhouses!" three times. The repetition marks this a a key quote in the play. Mercutio curses the Montagues and the Capulets in this curse. It's important to note that he blames "both" houses, as this scene marks a reversal in the play where things begin to go wrong. It seems that Mercutio believes that it is the families' feud is responsible for his death.

3

 ROMEO: fire-eyed fury be my conduct now!

Scene: Act 3 Scene 1
Themes: conflict, youth, Romeo
Romeo's reaction to Tybalt's death is a reversal of his mood, from pacification to wild fury. The alliteration and the exclamation shows Romeo's all-consuming rage.

4

ROMEO: O, I am fortune's fool!

Scene: Act 3 Scene 1
Themes: fate, Romeo
When Romeo realises the seriousness of what he has done in killing Tybalt, he declares that he is "fortune's fool". Again there's alliteration and an exclamation. We see Romeo blaming fate for his predicament. We wonder whether Romeo's dowfall is his own fault, or whether Romeo  is indeed the helpless victim of fate.

5

JULIET: Come, night; come, Romeo; come, thou day in night;

Scene: Act 3 Scene 2
Themes: love, Romeo, Juliet
Juliet's use of repetition shows the  powerful desire she feels for Romeo, and the juxtaposition of "day" and "night" mirrors Romeo's likening Juliet to the sun in act 2 scene 2.

6

JULIET: Beautiful tyrant! fiend angelical!

Scene: Act 3 Scene 2
Themes: youth, love, Juliet
When Juliet hears that Romeo has killed Tybalt she uses oxymorons and exclmations.  But her language mirrors the language that Romeo uses when he talks about Rosaline in Act 1 Scene 1 and consequently we have to question the authenticity of Juliet's confusion.

7

ROMEO: There is no world without Verona walls,

Scene: Act 3 Scene 3
Themes: youth, Romeo
Romeo's reaction to being banished is to use a hyperbole. The quotation shows the limits of Romeo's evperience and highlights his immaturity.


8

ROMEO: More light and light; more dark and dark our woes!

Scene: Act 3 Scene 5
Themes: love, fate, Romeo, Juliet
Here the effect of the light and dark imagery returns again. The repetition and juxtaposition may suggest that Romeo is not taking his situation as seriously as he should, choosing instead to play with language, but it also foreshadows the doom that waits for Romeo and Juliet at the end of the play.


9

CAPULET: Hang thee, young baggage! disobedient wretch!

Scene: Act 3 Scene 5
Themes:  marriage, power, parents, Capulet
Capulet's anger at the disobedient Juliet marks a striking contrast from his attitude at the start of the play, where he says "my will to her consent is but a part". Here the imperative and the exclamation show his anger and the metaphor shows that he considers Juliet a burden. He insults her for being "disobedient" which demonstrates the power of the patriarchy at the time. Capulet's change of manner comes as a result of the death of Tybalt. In order to maintain his power in the feud with the Montagues, Capulet needs more connections, and this is why he tries so hard to marry Juliet to Paris.

10

NURSE: I think it best you married with the county.

Scene: Act 3 Scene 5
Themes: marriage, power, Nurse
By the end of act three, even the Nurse deserts Juliet. She suggests that Juliet marry Paris without acknowledging her marriage to Romeo. So we see the Nurse as both practical and willing to deceivee. In this way she acts as a foil to the overly romantic Juliet.