- Benvolio
Benvolio Montague is a fictional character in
William Shakespeare 'sdrama "Romeo and Juliet ".He is Lord Montague's nephew and
Romeo 's cousin. He and Romeo are both close friends withMercutio , 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 withRosaline , 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 ".)
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