The most intimate and heartbreaking scene of the act takes place in Juliet’s bedroom at dawn. After their one and only night together as a married couple, Romeo must leave for Mantua. Juliet tries to convince him the bird outside is the nightingale (symbolizing night, safety), not the lark (symbolizing morning, danger). Romeo agrees to stay and die, but Juliet, realizing the truth, begs him to flee.
, still simmering over the Capulet party, was looking for a fight. He spat insults at Romeo, calling him a villain. But Romeo, thinking of his new bride, refused to draw his sword. "I love thee better than thou canst devise," he told a baffled Tybalt. Mercutio couldn't stand it. Seeing Romeo’s "vile submission," he drew his blade to defend his friend’s honor. In the chaotic scuffle that followed, Romeo tried to beat down their weapons. Under Romeo’s arm, Tybalt delivered a cowardly, fatal thrust into Mercutio’s chest. As Mercutio died, cursing both families— "A plague o' both your houses!" romeo and juliet act 3