ROMEO AND JULIET - HONOUR IN PARIS' DEATH
Level 7-9
In this conversation, Shakespeare presents honour in 2 different ways between Romeo, attempting to honour his love and relationship while Paris is honouring his grief and Juliet in her death. However different there aims of honour are, both men share the common interest of honouring Juliet and her life. In the text as a whole, Shakespeare uses honour to emphasise the intense masculinity of the male characters especially Tybalt of his family honour and Mercutio of his own personal honour and his strong friendships.
In this scene where Paris dies, honour is presented differently between the two males. Paris is in the tomb grieving what could have been between him and Juliet. He feels it his duty to defend his honour and his almost wife from the “haughty Montague” that has shown up at Juliet’s grave. Paris sees Romeo as just another “vile” Montague that has no respect for the Capulets and their family honour. Paris feels the only way to protect Juliet even in death is to do his part and kill the unwanted Montague who he believes is here to do more “villainous shame”. The repetition of the adjectives “villain” and “villainous” emphasises the insult that Paris and the Capulet’s give to Romeo and how degrading they are to him just because of his name and how they will do or say anything to dishonour him all because of his family without knowing him, which even Lord Capulet acknowledges that Romeo is well-raised and a “portly gentleman” so in effect this feud between the families is nothing but toxic masculinity and the defending ones honour through violence and insults, there is no legitimate problem between the families. On the other hand, Romeo comes to Juliet’s tomb to honour their sacred ritual of marriage and therefore honour their serene love that has caused all this tragedy in the first place. Romeo sees honour in suicide where most people would see cowardice because he genuinely loves Juliet, and this proves she will do anything to be with her even in death. Romeo uses the alliterative phrase a “madman’s mercy” to insist to Paris that he is uncontrollable in his sadness and that no dishonour will come to him if he chooses to run and not fight. Romeo is trying to protect Paris from his own honour because he knows in his disarrayed, broken mindset will make him lash out and end in yet another death of the younger generation as an indirect result of this dramatic feud. The ongoing feud and the pressure on the youth to live out the family honour results in the majority of the new generation dead. The violence and “honourable” tendencies lead to nothing but death, pain and grief – just like what Romeo and Juliet had to experience. The feud has in turn after years and years of conflict taken its vengeance through the kinsman of these families living them with nothing. During the Elizabethan era, high importance on hierarchy and having a male son to descend from the parents in order to continue the family bloodline. The feud has destroyed the attempts of the Capulets and Montagues to keep their families going, perhaps to teach the characters a valuable lesson on the effects of conflict and unnecessary violence to defend you honour. The loss of their kinsman, children to the feud that feeds off of honour and masculinity shows the ugly guide of violence that the adults followed their whole life and how unnecessary it has become and how awfully it has punished them – with taking their future.
In the wider text, honour is displayed through aggression and word play, specifically in Mercutio’s death scene. Tybalt has come onto the scene as an obvious aggressive force, aiming to kill Romeo after crashing the Capulet Ball, for what he believes is an insult to his family’s honour. Tybalt finds every excuse to insult Romeo because he wants a confrontation, he wants to be able to show off his masculinity and in doing so defend his honour. Tybalt calls Romeo a “villain” as an attempt to disgrace his name and dishonour him. In a similar nature Mercutio, uses his language and wordplay to insult Tybalt and uses his honour against him. Ironically and sarcastically, Mercutio calls Tybalt “sir” deliberately angering him but also unconsciously disrespecting him and bashing his honour that he feels he has over Mercutio. Mercutio also consistently takes offence where none is meant, and twists Tybalt’s words like “consort” as if Tybalt was degrading him and Romeo by associating them with the working class. Mercutio continues this word play with the metaphor of “minstrels” as if Tybalt was calling him a travelling musician of much less class and honour than himself. To extend the metaphor he uses word like “fiddlestick” which could be interpreted as his working tool as a musician much less than that of a nobleman or possibly a sword which he is eager to draw to continue this battle in physical violence rather than just words. Mercutio is starting to become forceful and arrogant, becoming aggressive at the prospect of a fight. Tybalt’s only defence for his honour is violence and a battle because he does not have the language skills of Mercutio to be witty and clever and attack him back through words. The Capulet men and the Montague men brought together by Tybalt and Mercutio are bouncing off each other and show off their masculinity and violent skills because they need to defend their honour in front of one another. There was no backing down from confrontation in front of all the men for the fear of cowardice and dishonour. Romeo is the exception to this, he cannot fight Tybalt because of his secret marriage to Juliet. He defends his honour in a subtle way, by backing down and trying to break up the conflict. He is a calming influence using words such as “gentle” and “tender” and “good” to try and stop the men, but these only urges Mercutio on because he won’t fight and defend his honour. Ultimately this leads to Mercutio and Tybalt battling and their deaths. In contrast to the reckless and irrational behaviour of Mercutio and Tybalt to defend their honour and masculinity, Romeo’s calm and passive attitude emphasises the maturity of him and how as he’s fallen in love, he’s also developed a more accepting and mature mindset to the terrible violence as a result of the Elizabethan emphasis on male honour. The violent nature present throughout the scene as all the men fight and insult to defend their honour and their family’s honour is heavily contrasted with Romeo’s love overpowering his masculine side to the point where he accepts cowardice in attempt to restore peace and defend Juliet’s honour as well as his own. Romeo even goes so far as to claim the Capulet name “as dearly as his own” in order to sooth the situation and emphasise the power Juliet and their intense love has over him and his actions.
Overall honour is a key theme throughout the play to give a reason behind the intense emotions shown in the characters. Tybalt’s sometimes extreme violence is his way of defending honour of himself and family. Romeo places his honour on Juliet and what is best for her which emphasises his passion and deep love for the girl.