... excuse the appertaining rage to such a greeting; villain am I none, Therefore farewell; I see thou know'st me not". Romeo lets Tybalt know that he is enraged by the accusation of "villain", but that he wishes not to fight with him because he has a reason to love him far beyond that which he possesses to physically quarrel with him. Romeo says this and refuses to fight Tybalt because he has recently been married to Tybalt's cousin, Juliet. This is the reason he has to love him despite feuding between his and Tybalt's houses. However Mercutio (his best friend) and Tybalt see this not as an act triggered by an unlikely love, but as weakness. They (unaware that Romeo is married to Juliet) think that Romeo is displaying embarrassing levels of feeble behaviour and that he is opposing the 'honour code' of the time. At the time of the composure ...

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