Benvolio
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Benvolio is a character in William Shakespeare's fiction 'Romeo and Juliet', one of the legendary Montagues. He is Romeo's cousin, and Montague's nephew. Throughout the play, he appears mostly in the company of Romeo and Mercutio. All three are good friends and are very close.
One of Benvolio's most important attributes is that he is non-confrontational, always trying to avoid fights and keep the peace. A good example of this attitude is in Act I, he is trying to part two fighting servants of the two houses. However he does not hesitate to fight, if necessary, an example of this is in Act I, Scene one, when he defends himself against Tybalt.
He appears in the play from Act 1 to Act 3, disappearing after Scene one of Act 3, with 156 total lines in the play. His sudden disappearance could be explained by the line "This is the truth, or let Benvolio die." When in fact he was lying to protect Romeo
His name means "well-wisher" which is a role he fills, to some degree, as a peace-maker and Romeo's friend. It is also worth noting that Benvolio's name may possibly be from the word "benevolent", meaning, "Having a disposition to do good; possessing or manifesting love to mankind, and a desire to promote their prosperity and happiness; disposed to give to good objects; kind; charitable" which is a fairly accurate description of Benvolio's personality.
It is worth noting that by the end of the play, Benvolio is the only principal character (from his generation) who has not been consumed by the violence springing from the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets and is thus the only survivor. Romeo, Juliet, Mercutio, Tybalt, and Paris are all killed. Perhaps this is a comment on his "good natured" personality, and attempts in the first half of the play to be a peacemaker.
Benvolio is also a character in Christopher Marlowe's play 'Doctor Faustus'. He appears as the mastermind of a group set to assassinate Doctor Faustus.
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