Literature Essay Revision Grade 10 – Romeo & Juliet Step 1: Analyse the Question In an essay of 300 – 350 words, compare and contrast the characters and roles of Benvolio, Mercutio and Tybalt in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Step 2: Plan the main points you will include in your essay • Intro • Benvolio: - Peace-loving - Kind advice to Romeo - Respectful - General points: Romeo’s cousin, good friend • Mercutio: - Little sound advice to Romeo – cynical about love - Loyal to Romeo - Volatile & Easily-angered - General points: related to the prince, friend to Romeo • Tybalt: - Easily-angered - Loves a fight - Disrespectful - General point: a Capulet, not a friend to Romeo • Conclusion Step 3: Write an Intro Paragraph A. Make use of TAG: TITLE, AUTHOR and GENRE B. Reword the question, writing a short CLAIM that you will prove. You can introduce a very general point linked to the topic. C. Include an AIM that begins with, “This essays aims to…” • Example: Benvolio, Tybalt and Mercutio all play meaningful roles in Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet. It is Benvolio, however, who can be described as the most honourable in his pursuit of peace. This essay aims to discuss the similarities and differences between the three characters. Step 4: Write body paragraphs using PEEL P: Point E: Evidence E: Explanation L: Link Body Paragraph One Benvolio is the most peace loving which is evident when he professes to “but keep the peace”. It is also he who encourages Mercutio to “retire” when the Capulets are on the street – he does not want a fight. Benvolio is respectful of others – we never hear him mock another and when he speaks of others, he uses honourable language such as, “my noble uncle” when speaking of Montague. He also respects Tybalt enough to ask him civilly to help him stop the fight and “part these men”. Furthermore, Benvolio is a good friend, loyal cousin, and counsellor to Romeo, giving him kind, helpful advice about love. Body Paragraph Two Similarly, Mercutio, is a friend to Romeo. Unlike Benvolio, he is a relative of the prince and not a Montague. He doesn’t really give Romeo any sound counsel regarding love but shows his cynical side by making crude jokes about love. He too, is loyal to Romeo, however, his loyalty is displayed differently – when Romeo refuses to fight Tybalt, Mercutio can’t stand to see him be dishonoured and fights Tybalt in the name of honouring his friend. This loyal act also displays his volatile side. He is easily angered and gets frustrated when Romeo does not fight Tybalt, describing it as “vile submission”. Tybalt kills Mercutio. Body Paragraph Three • Tybalt, too, is easily angered and, unlike Benvolio, displays no sign of desiring peace. He loves fighting and passionately supports his family feud with the Montagues – he is no friend to Romeo. He goes as far to say that he hates peace; “talk of peace? I hate the word.” While Benvolio is respectful, Tybalt shows disrespect by disregarding The Prince’s command to not fight. Like Mercutio, he is unrelated to Romeo as he is a Capulet. Romeo kills Tybalt. Step 5: Wrap up your argument with a conclusion Use the words: • Based on the evidence above… • One can conclude… Example: Based on the evidence above, the similarities and differences between Benvolio, Mercutio and Tybalt are clear. Since Benvolio is the only one of the three alive at the end of play, one can conclude that it is his peace-loving nature that triumphs. Let’s practise! The theme of appearance vs reality runs through Romeo and Juliet, and the fact that things are not always what they seem is partly what leads to the tragedy in the play. In a well-structured essay of 300-350 words, discuss the validity of this statement.