Romeo and Juliet and Fourteenth Century Verona

The Shakespearean tale of Romeo and Juliet is a story of two lovers from enemy families, the Montague’s and the Capulet’s, are forbidden from being together happily. They have to go behind their parents’ backs and this ends in their tragic deaths. Tybalt is the cousin of Juliet and a Capulet who also acts as a catalyst for the heart wrenching events that take place further on into the story. I am comparing Act 1 Scene 1 of William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ with the Baz Lurhmann film version. The book is set in fourteenth century Verona, Italy in contrast the film is set in a modern day on Verona Beach, California. Shakespeare wrote the play between 1591 and 1596 whereas the film was produced in 1996.
The main focus of my essay is the character Tybalt and how he is presented in both film and book. The name Tybalt would have connotations to a cat because an old fable ‘Reynard the Fox’ portrayed a cat called Tibbles as a sly character, Tybalt is referred to as ‘Prince of Cats’ further on in the story. The four humours also played a large part of Elizabethan life as it was what they thought your personality was based on. The story offers many references to the four humours and Tybalt is described as ‘fiery’ very early on in the story to show his short temper and anger.
We first see Tybalt in Act 1 Scene 1 where Benevolio is attempting to part a fight between two servants who have their swords out. Benevolio doesn’t want anyone to get seriously hurt. As soon as Tybalt enters the atmosphere immediately changes. In his first line he insults Benevolio ‘What art thou drawn among these heartless hinds?’. This is him referring to Benevolio as someone as low as the servants when he is of the same level of importance. He comes across angrier than any of the other characters previous to him. Whereas the servants had been having a joke beforehand Tybalt enters and seems desperate for a fight. He then goes on to say “What, drawn and talk of peace? I hate the word”. This