Act 3, Scene 1: Pawns In A Much Bigger Game

Scene 3.1 - Mercutio says, "I am peppered, I warrant, for this world. A plague o' both your houses! 'Zounds, a dog, a rat, a mouse, a cat, to scratch a man to death. A braggart, a rogue, a villain, that fights by the book of arithmetic! Why the devil came you between us? I was hurt under your arm". These lines really demonstrate how even civilians are being hurt by a feud that lasted for too long. Mercutio blames Romeo for being stabbed underneath his arm because Romeo got in the way of their fight. If it weren't for Romeo's feelings and wishes for peace between the houses for the sake of his relationship with Juliet, Mercutio might not have been stabbed. In some twisted way, Romeo played a part in Mercutio's death. During the play, Mercutio curses both houses for causing his suffering because he was used as a pawn in their feud. This is just another fatal tragedy resulting from the hatred between the Montagues and the Capulets. I think Shakespeare included this scene to show how their selfishness brought on the deaths of their very own, Mercutio and Tybalt. Although each house blames the other, they are one to blame as well. If it weren't for their lasting feud, none of this would have happened. The problem was that both sides did not want to admit their wrongs because of how much pride they had. In the end, Mercutio knew that and in his last words, he wanted to speak the truth of the real problem.