In Act
three, scene 1,says:
I pray thee, good , let's
retire.
The day is hot, the Capels abroad,
And if we meet we shall not 'scape
a brawl,
For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring.
That passage typifies Benvolio, the level-headed peacemaker, who is
speaking wisely to the hot-blooded Mercutio. While bothand Mercutio tend to be dramatic and
impulsive, Benvolio is the steady friend who tries to steer them from danger. This strategy on
Benvolio's part has a history of not working. Early in the play, in Act one, scene 1, Benvolio
advises the lovesick Romeo to seek out other women besides Rosaline, saying, essentially, that
there are lots of attractive women in Verona:
Be ruled by
me, forget to think of her ... Examine other beauties.
We
see how that works out: the cure is worse than the initial disease, as Romeo ends up falling
even more madly and fatally in love withthan with Rosaline.
In the first
passage quoted, Benvolio clearly has a presentiment of danger,the events that will soon leave
Mercutio dead, but Mercutio will have none of his friend's caution. Both Romeo and Mercutio run
on heedlessly and die, whereas Benvolio survives.
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