Benvolio: Part, fools!
Put up your swords; you know not what you do. [Beats down their swords.]
Enter TYBALT.
Tybalt: What! art thou drawn among these heartless hinds?
Turn thee, Benvolio, look upon thy death.
Benvolio: I do but keep the peace: put up thy sword,
Or manage it to part these men with me.
Tybalt: What! drawn, and talk of peace? I hate the word,
As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee.
Have at thee, coward! [They fight.]
—Romeo and Juliet,
William Shakespeare
Make an inference about the motivation behind each character’s actions in this earlier scene from the play.
Why does Benvolio beat down their swords?
Why does Tybalt draw his sword and fight?
Benvolio beats down their swords because he wants to stop the fight and maintain peace.
Tybalt draws his sword and fights because he hates the word peace and holds a personal grudge against all Montagues, including Benvolio. He is motivated by anger, hatred, and a desire to confront and defeat his enemies.