That was the question of the day.
I don't really know. He does seem to be overly forthcoming with the information about what went down between Romeo and Tybalt. I'm trying to tell the kid to imagine the setting, imagine that the Prince might strike down anyone he feels might be lying. But, really, that's a hard scene for me, or them, to wrap our heads around; for Benvolio to give 40 lines of poetic explanation just seems too much.
Still love the play, though. I'm having an intensely good time teaching it this year.
Tomorrow is the big game. Woah, I'm excited.
Literary Memory
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Ian Crouch reflects on his tendency to read vociferously, only to
completely forget books shortly after: This forgetting has serious
consequences—but it ha...
9 minutes ago
3 comments:
That's an interesting question.
I always thought he was trying to get Romeo out of trouble by showing that Tybalt provoked him. After all, Lady C's right there, demanding Romeo's death.
But I had to look it up; my teacher's edition says: "...Benvolio accurately represents everything but his own part. He claims that Tybalt was slain before Benvolio could draw his sword to part the two. Yet there is no indication that he made any attempt to stop the fight, either with word or action."
It does make sense, given his previous peacemaking attempts, that he would try to stop this fight too. But is he just trying to make himself look good, trying to make sure he doesn't get banished/executed as an accessory?
God, I love this play!
I agree that he's trying to get his friend off, and does a good job of telling a slightly biased account of what happened (discounting Mercutio's role in starting it in the first place, overplaying Romeo's valour), but Lady Capulet hadn't yet demanded Romeo's death.
I think making himself look good is definitely a possibility, but I don't really seem him as that calculating. I think he just blurts out everything without really thinking. My kids were also wondering why he just doesn't tell them that Mercutio and Tybalt killed each other in a brawl...
Interesting... Yes, I love this play too!
i just stumbled upon your blog here...
and i gotta say that i really don't think benvolio is trying to snitch here. he's basically freaking out because he just saw one best friend die and his other best friend/cousin kill somebody. this is not a calm scene, and benvolio is also on the spot (the prince is right there, demanding that he speak). at least that's how i interpreted it when i played benvolio. it seemed to work.
benvolio isn't really "snitching" per se...he's telling the truth because he is (i believe) one of the most forthright, upstanding and good-hearted characters in shakespeare. he wants to keep the peace, and i really doubt he's motivated by revenge on tybalt during this speech.
i don't know. just my 2 cents.
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