Benvolio Flashcards
(17 cards)
Rough plan
Level-headed
Peace-maker
Loyal
Opening quotes
‘Part, fools! Put up your swords—you know not what to do’
‘I do but keep the peace. Put up thy sword, Or manage it to part these men with me’.
‘step aside; I’ll know his grievance, or be much denied.’
Opening intentions
Contrasts examples of toxic masculinity within play and therefore showcase preferred behaviours in men
Male capacity to demonstrate peace and goodwill to others
By acting as a peace-maker both between the duelling families, and between Romeo and Montague, Benvolio serves as a reminder to the conflict toxic masculinity causes in society
Middle quotes
‘Take thou some new infection to thy eye and the rank poison of the old will die’.
Romeo! My cousin Romeo! Romeo!’
‘Nay, he will answer the letter’s master, how he dares, being dared.’
Middle intentions
Benvolio’s loyalty as a cousin and a friend to Romeo, which juxtaposes Mercutio’s ostensible interest with Romeo, emphasises the importance of good kinship
End quotes
‘Romeo, away, be gone!’
‘There lies the man, slain by young Romeo, that slew thy kinsman, brave Mercutio.’
‘This is the truth or let Benvolio die’
End intentions
Commitment to telling truth regardless of consequences or harm on status
Him staying alive demonstrates how peace can prevent such catastrophes
Cyclical nature of being a peace-maker defies toxic masculinity
‘Part, fools! Put up your swords—you know not what you do’
- seen as a voice of reason trying to separate and prevent conflict through imperative
- insightful as he sees such violence as narrow-minded and foolish
- although part of the family, juxtaposes many buy trying to placate tensions
- exclamative shows command and urgency
‘I do but keep the peace. Put up thy sword, Or manage it to part these men with me’.
- purpose to keep peace, first person to mention this which juxtaposes with Tybalt who first mentions hate
- repetition reinforces urgency in preventing bloodshed
- does not exhibit male bravado but is rational and calming
‘step aside; I’ll know his grievance, or be much denied.’
- Romeo’s parents are unable to identify cause of melancholy however Benvolio is confident he will be able to ascertain this information providing an insight to their close relationship as cousin and friend
- conviction of ‘i’ll know’ due to strong friendship
- however is rational allowing for the possibility that the conversation may not occur
‘Take thou some new infection to thy eye and the rank poison of the old will die’.
- encourages Romeo to abandon thoughts of Rosaline by turning his attention to another women
- positions love as a kind of ‘infection’ which feeds into Renaissance belief in lovesickness as a physical ailment
- perhaps insightful since he realises Romeo is lustful for Rosaline, hence calls it a ‘poison’
- Rosaline’s effect on Romeo considered as a detrimental and damaging force
Romeo! My cousin Romeo! Romeo!’
- continues to search for Romeo demonstrating genuine care and worry
- repetition paired with exclamative shows how care for his family is primary concern
- sense of urgency
- insightful since he understands the dangers of being near the Capulet masquerade, as he knows how the violence can easily break out
‘Nay, he will answer the letter’s master, how he dares, being dared.’
- attempts to placate scenario to stop Mercutio from fighting
- gives Romeo responsibility, perhaps because of his benevolence
‘Romeo, away, be gone!’
- concern for Romeo as he does not want him to get caught and killed
- deep friendship between them
- exclamation shows concern
- audience (Renaissance) may not back this
‘There lies the man, slain by young Romeo, that slew thy kinsman, brave Mercutio.’
- describing events to Prince, trying to justify his actions to the prince
- although seen to be a peace-maker, the patriarchy still leaves an unconscious bias in him as he describes Mercutio with the adjective ‘brave’ although he was foolish
- him being the one describing the accounts indicates how trusted and respected he is as a level-headed man
‘This is the truth or let Benvolio die’
- short sentence indicates conviction in his beliefs of the truth
- reference to noun ‘truth’ demonstrates how he is an embodiment of truth and honesty, sincere
- he is willing to die for the truth, justice is something he highly values
- 3rd person persona makes audience aware of actions
Overview
Shakespeare uses the character of Benvolio as a vehicle to contrast examples of toxic masculinity within the play and therefore showcase preferred behaviours in men. Benvolio takes a level-headed approach to matters, acting as a peace-maker in Verona whilst all the while remaining as loyal as possible to Romeo throughout.
