Benvolio

Benvolio

Benvolio Montague is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's drama "Romeo and Juliet".

He is Lord Montague's nephew and Romeo's cousin. He and Romeo are both close friends with Mercutio, a kinsman to the Prince. Benvolio seems to have little sympathy with the feud, attempting to prevent the initial brawl (fighting off Tybalt to do so) and the duels that end in Mercutio and Tybalt's death. Benvolio spends most of Act I attempting to distract his cousin from his infatuation with Rosaline, but following the first appearance of Mercutio in I.iv, he and Mercutio become more closely aligned until III.i. In that scene, he drags the fatally wounded Mercutio offstage, before returning to inform Romeo of Mercutio's death and the Prince of the course of Mercutio's and Tybalt's deaths. Benvolio then disappears from the play (though, as a Montague, he may implicitly be included in the stage direction in the final scene "Enter Lord Montague and others", and he is sometimes doubled with Balthasar).

Etymology

The name "Benvolio" means "good-will" or "well-wisher" or "Peacemaker" which is a role he fills, to some degree, as a peace-maker and Romeo's friend. It is also worth noting that Benvolio's name may possibly be from the word "benevolent", meaning, "Having a disposition to do good; possessing or manifesting love to mankind, and a desire to promote their prosperity and happiness; disposed to give to good objects; kind; charitable" which is a fairly accurate description of Benvolio's personality. (For comparison, see the derivation of Malvolio - ill-will - in "Twelfth Night".)


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • BENVOLIO —    a cantankerous, disputatious gentleman in Romeo and Juliet …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Roméo et Juliette, de la haine à l'amour — Roméo et Juliette De la haine à l amour Lyrics Gérard Presgurvic Musique Gérard Presgurvic Mise en scène Redha Chorégraphie Redha Décors Petrika Ionesco Costumes …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Characters in Romeo and Juliet — Woodcut of fair Verona, where we lay our scene from the 1847 edition of The Illustrated Shakespeare The following is a list of characters in William Shakespeare s Romeo and Juliet sorted by family allegiance …   Wikipedia

  • Romeo et Juliette, de la haine a l'amour — Roméo et Juliette, de la haine à l amour Roméo et Juliette De la haine à l amour Lyrics Gérard Presgurvic Musique Gérard Presgurvic Mise en scène Redha Chorégraphie Redha Décors Petrika Ionesco Costumes Do …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Roméo et Juliette - De La Haine À L'Amour — Roméo et Juliette, de la haine à l amour Roméo et Juliette De la haine à l amour Lyrics Gérard Presgurvic Musique Gérard Presgurvic Mise en scène Redha Chorégraphie Redha Décors Petrika Ionesco Costumes Do …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Roméo et juliette, de la haine à l'amour — Roméo et Juliette De la haine à l amour Lyrics Gérard Presgurvic Musique Gérard Presgurvic Mise en scène Redha Chorégraphie Redha Décors Petrika Ionesco Costumes Do …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Ромео и Джульетта (мюзикл) — Эта статья или раздел может содержать материал неэнциклопедичного характера. Пожалуйста, улучшите её в соответствии с правилами написания статей …   Википедия

  • Romeo and Juliet (1968 film) — Infobox Movie name = Romeo and Juliet caption = original movie poster director = Franco Zeffirelli producer = John Brabourne Anthony Havelock Allen writer = Screenplay: Franco Brusati Masolino D Amico Franco Zeffirelli Play: William Shakespeare… …   Wikipedia

  • Romeo und Julia — Daten des Dramas Titel: Romeo und Julia Originaltitel: The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet Gattung: Tragödie Originalsprache: Englisch …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Roméo et Juliette, de la Haine à l’Amour — Musicaldaten Titel: Romeo und Julia Originaltitel: Roméo et Juliette, de la Haine à l Amour Originalsprache: Französisch Musik: Gérard Presgurvic Buch: Gérard Presgurvic Liedtexte: Gérard Pres …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”