What happens in Act 3 of Romeo and Juliet?

Tybalt challenges Romeo, who refuses to fight because Tybalt is now his cousin by marriage. Mercutio fights instead and is killed under Romeo's arm, cursing both families. Romeo kills Tybalt in revenge and the Prince banishes him. Juliet learns the news and is torn between grief for her cousin and love for her husband. Romeo spends the night with Juliet before fleeing to Mantua, and at dawn her father announces she must marry Paris on Thursday, threatening to disown her when she refuses.

Why does Mercutio say 'a plague o' both your houses'?

Mercutio is dying from a wound received while fighting Tybalt on Romeo's behalf, and he blames the Montague–Capulet feud for his death. He is a relative of the Prince and belongs to neither family, so he curses both of them equally. The line proves prophetic: the feud goes on to destroy Tybalt, Paris, Romeo, Juliet, and Lady Montague.

Why does Romeo kill Tybalt?

Romeo initially refuses to fight Tybalt, since his secret marriage to Juliet has made Tybalt his cousin. But when Tybalt kills Mercutio while Romeo is trying to separate them, Romeo blames himself and gives in to rage, declaring 'fire-eyed fury be my conduct now.' He kills Tybalt in revenge and is immediately banished, calling himself 'fortune's fool.'

Was that the nightingale or the lark in Romeo and Juliet?

In Act 3 Scene 5, Juliet insists the bird they hear is the nightingale, which sings at night, so Romeo can stay longer. Romeo knows it is the lark, which sings at dawn, meaning he must flee or be executed. The exchange dramatises their desperation: Juliet argues against the evidence of daybreak because leaving means losing him.

Shakespeare in Plain English

Romeo & Juliet · Tragedy · c. 1595

Act Three

The hinge of the whole play. Within a single hot afternoon Mercutio is killed, Tybalt is killed, and Romeo is exiled — and by nightfall Juliet's own father is threatening to throw her into the street. All five scenes.

Romeo & Juliet

The Original · First Folio

Plain Modern English

Hover or tap any line — its translation glows across the gutter.