In the very beginning of Romeo and Juliet, Tybalt jests with an absolutely glorious pun! Of course, the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets is in full fire, as members of both families fight in the streets. Suddenly, Tybalt appears and spouts his first line:
What, art thou drawn among these heartless hinds? / Turn thee, Benvolio! look upon thy death. (1.1.65-66)
In Tybalt's very first sentence, he utters both a threat, an insult, and a pun! (LOVE it!) Generally, Tybalt is trying to provoke Benvolio into fighting by calling the Montagues "heartless hinds." On the surface, "heartless hinds" simply means "timid servants" (an insult in itself); however, if one looks closer and discovers the etymology of the word "hart" and "hind," one discovers and even deeper grating comment in Tybalt's pun. The word "heart" is a play on the word "hart" which means "a male deer." The word "hind" in addition to meaning "servant" can also mean "a female deer." Therefore, Tybalt is basically throwing the ultimate insult at the Montagues in that Tybalt is insulting their manhood: "What, art thou drawn among these man-less women!?!" Whew! Does Tybalt know how to throw them, or what!?!
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