Mercutio, Romeo's best friend, is a similar sort of hotheaded
character. However, Mercutio is also known for his sense of humor and
great wit, which we really don't see much of from Tybalt. Mercutio hates
Tybalt and gives him the 'catty' nickname The Prince of Cats because Tybalt always seems to walking around looking for a fight.
Tybalt,
true to his nickname, does find a fight at the Capulet's masked ball.
Romeo, Mercutio and Benvolio decide to crash the party in order to try
and get Romeo out of the dumps after his love for Rosaline goes
unrequited. While the men are walking around the ball in masks, Tybalt
recognizes Romeo's voice and of course wants to beat him up for being a
party crasher. However, Tybalt's uncle stops him, not wanting to make a
scene at the party. This enrages Tybalt to no end, but he listens to his
uncle and steps off, for the time being. In his classic snarl, and his
typical rhymed couplets, he vows to meet up with Romeo later on:
'Patience perforce with willful choler meeting
Makes my flesh tremble in their different greeting.
I will withdraw: but this intrusion shall
Now seeming sweet convert to bitter gall.'
One
of the most interesting aspects to draw from here is that Tybalt's
uncle, an older man with a longer history, is not even upset that young
Romeo is at the masked ball. Like it's really no big deal, he says:
