Read the excerpt from act i, scene iii of romeo and juliet.

benvolio: tybalt, the kinsman of old capulet,
hath sent a letter to his father’s house.

mercutio: a challenge, on my life.

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benvolio: romeo will answer it.

mercutio: any man that can write may answer a letter.

benvolio: nay, he will answer the letter’s master, how he dares, being dared.

mercutio: alas! poor romeo, he is already dead; stabbed with a white wench’s black eye; shot through the ear with a love-song; the very pin of his heart cleft with the blind bow-boy’s butt-shaft; and is he a man to encounter tybalt?

why does shakespeare include mercutio’s teasing words?

a to explain the history of the feuding families
b to criticize romeo’s neglect of his duties
c to condemn the established ritual of sword fighting
d to contrast the seriousness of tybalt’s challenge

d. to contrast the seriousness of tybalts challenge

took the test

the right answer is d. to contrast the seriousness of Tybalt's challenge.

Explanation: Tybalt is the son of lady Capulet's brother, Juliet's quick-tempered first cousin and Romeo's rival. Mercutio alludes to Tybalt in a mocking way to claim that he is a serious pretender to Juliet's love.

hey! what was the rest of the question?

the illustration   that would give a reader a clear understanding of the text is a picture of men constructing the frame of a building.the frame is made of iron bars. the text describes the job of blacksmiths'. these were very organised and they had different names: "the driver" and "the heater". the text describes the way in which these men worked ; they worked iron pieces as if they were playing a sport. in fact, the text wants to show the men's skills. the text also puts some emphasis on the use of '' rivets'' in construction. this kind of nails were not always used in the construction of manhattan.

some examples:

"and with an underhand toss he hurled the smoking rivet straight at the catcher, who caught it in mid-air in his catching can." men's skills

"when the driver was ready for a new " the emphasis on the rivet ( special nail used in construction).

" it against a beam to remove any cinders, and jammed it into the waiting hole. " the emphasis on the rivet.