BS: Romeo & Juliet: just noticed

Subject: BS: Romeo & Juliet: just noticed
From: meself
Date: 04 Jan 11 - 03:29 PM

Gregory & Sampson are provoking a quarrel with servants of the rival 'house'. One says - I'm paraphrasing: "Say 'better' - here comes my master's kinsman." Enter Benvolio.

Wait a minute - Benvolio is NOT his master's kinsman. Benvolio is kinsman to Montague, the master of the rival servants. The text has told us twice already that Gregory & Sampson are "of the house of Capulet". Tybalt, a Capulet, doesn't enter until several lines later.

To make these relationships clear to the audience, a director would either have to bring in Tybalt ahead of Benvolio, and let him stand around mugging while Benvolio does his bit, or have Gregory & Sampson pointedly looking in a different direction from that of Benvolio's entrance. Not that it matters a whit which servants are connected with which house in this scene - but why the confusion?

I've read that scene I-don't-know-how-many-times in the last forty years, and I just noticed this curiosity. So what do you think: did Willie or one of his editor's slip-up here, or is there some other explanation?

Subject: RE: BS: Romeo & Juliet: just noticed
From: Rapparee
Date: 04 Jan 11 - 04:02 PM

Inbreeding?

Subject: RE: BS: Romeo & Juliet: just noticed
From: GUEST,Eliza
Date: 04 Jan 11 - 04:22 PM

I've just re-read it, and I really think that the Capulet servants are provoking a fight having seen FROM AFAR the approach of Tybalt, their master's kinsman. They taunt the Montague servants in front of the newly-arrived Benvolio, who they know will get involved in trying to calm things down. The scene is made to show the animosity and bad feeling between the two houses and even between the servants. On stage, Benvolio AND Tybalt can approach one ahead of the other. The servants' exchanges do not take more than a couple of seconds to deliver.

Subject: RE: BS: Romeo & Juliet: just noticed
From: meself
Date: 04 Jan 11 - 04:24 PM

Actually, I thought about that - after all, 'the Prince' turns out to be related to both Paris and Mercutio, and Mercutio seems to be on good enough terms with the Capulets to warrant an invitation to their big bash (or am I making that up?), even though, when push comes to swashing blow, he allies himself with the Montagues. However, I don't think there is any (other?) hint that Benvolio is related to the Capulets.

Subject: RE: BS: Romeo & Juliet: just noticed
From: meself
Date: 04 Jan 11 - 04:46 PM

My last was in response to Rapparee's post.

-----------------------------

Eliza: I would agree that your interpretation is about the only way to make sense of that part of the scene - although I would suggest that the servants may not even be aware of Benvolio's entrance, and that there is nothing in the text to suggest that they expect Benvolio to intervene in an impending fight. Further, in the copy I've just pulled off the shelf, the stage direction does not have Tybalt "enter" until Benvolio has already begun trying to separate the servants, which "delayed" entry is necessary in order for Tybalt to plausibly pretend that he is unaware of Benvolio's actual reason for having his sword drawn.