Question

read the excerpt from act i, scene i of romeo and juliet. benvolio: here were the servants of your adversary and yours close fighting ere i did approach; i drew to part them; in the instant came the fiery tybalt, with his sword prepard, which, as he breathd defiance to my ears, he swung about his head, and cut the winds, who, nothing hurt withal hissd him in scorn. according to benvolio, who caused the fight? the servants of both houses the capulet servants and tybalt the montagues and benvolio the people of verona

Explanation:

To determine who caused the fight according to Benvolio, we analyze his lines: "Here were the servants of your adversary And yours close fighting ere I did approach;... in the instant came The fiery Tybalt, with his sword prepar'd...". First, the servants of both houses (adversary's and his own, i.e., Montague and Capulet) were fighting, and then Tybalt (a Capulet) joined with his sword. So the fight was caused by the Capulet servants (from the initial fight) and Tybalt (who escalated it).

• Option 1: The servants of both houses were fighting initially, but Benvolio's account shows Tybalt also caused it, so this is not the full cause.
• Option 2: The Capulet servants (from the initial fight) and Tybalt (who came with his sword and escalated) match Benvolio's description.
• Option 3: Benvolio was trying to part the fight, not causing it, and the Montagues' servants were fighting, not the Montagues themselves.
• Option 4: The people of Verona are not mentioned as causing the fight.

Answer:

B. the Capulet servants and Tybalt