From the outset of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, it is evident that the contrast between Tybalt and Benvolio is stark. Tybalt is the nephew of Lady Capulet and is arrogant. He is hot-tempered and quick to start fights, which he enjoys immensely. His egotistical approach toward other characters is bolstered by the fact that he is an excellent swordsman.

Contrarily, Benvolio is Romeo’s cousin and Montague’s nephew. Unlike Tybalt, he is an easy-going peacemaker, prone to resolving disputes to avoid violence. Benvolio is a humble, unassuming, and good-natured man, who is readily identified as the opposite of Tybalt and his explosive personality.

The Montagues and Capulets are sworn enemies. As demonstrated in act 1 of the play, servants of the feuding families begin fighting in the city square in Verona over exchanged insults. When Benvolio draws his sword in a good-faith attempt to prevent the dispute, Tybalt immediately attacks him, sparking a violent riot.

Another example of contrast between the characters takes place when Romeo, Benvolio, and their quick-witted friend Mercutio disguise themselves at the Capulet ball. When Tybalt recognizes Romeo’s voice, his first impulse is to draw his sword and attack, but he is restrained by Lord Capulet.

In act 3, a chance meeting in the public square finds Tybalt insulting Romeo and challenging him to a duel. Romeo refuses the duel and instead shows kindness and respect for Tybalt. When Mercutio takes up the challenge on Romeo’s behalf, Tybalt kills him. Romeo feels honor-bound to avenge his friend’s death, challenges Tybalt, and kills him.

Tybalt’s fiery personality, coupled with his rash and impulsive actions, not only results in his own death: the slaying of Juliet’s cousin by Romeo also catapults the genre from a comedy to a tragedy. Shakespeare makes it obvious that Benvolio's pacifistic approach toward his enemies and other characters could have prevented tragedy for the warring families.

There could scarcely be two more contrasting characters than Benvolio and Tybalt. Benvolio, whose name appropriately means “goodwill,” is a peacemaker, a young man who wants nothing to do with the violence and bloodshed caused by the bitter, long-standing feud between the Montagues and the Capulets.

Tybalt, on the other hand, is a hot-headed hooligan with a hair-trigger temper who not only fights at the drop of a hat, but actually enjoys it, too. The epic feud between the Montagues and the Capulets only issues in bloodshed because of violent young men like Tybalt. It's simply not in his interests for peace to break out between the two sides.

There's a sense of inevitability, then, about the violent manner of Tybalt's death, struck down by Romeo as revenge for his earlier killing of Romeo's friend Mercutio. Benvolio, in keeping with his character, tried to break things up between Mercutio and Tybalt, but to no effect.

In Benvolio's failure to bring a peaceful resolution, we see just how much power the Montague-Capulet feud exerts over its partisans. That feud has developed a terrible momentum all of its own—so much so that all attempts at peacemaking, no matter how earnest, come to nothing.

In Romeo and Juliet, Benvolio and Tybalt occupy parallel positions as cousins to the two main characters. Benvolio, a Montague, is Romeo’s cousin, while Tybalt is a Capulet and Juliet’s cousin. Their diametrically opposed personalities play key roles in the fights. One difference is that Benvolio also functions as his cousin’s close friend, while Tybalt has limited direct interaction with Juliet. Because Tybalt is bellicose and disregards Benvolio’s pleas for peace, Tybalt not only kills Mercutio, but ultimately ends up dead at Romeo’s hand.

Benvolio is a calm, reasonable young man who constantly tries to act as the peacemaker, saying things like “put up your swords” when he sees a fight about to break out. Tybalt is presented as closer in temperament to the volatile Mercutio. Their similarities lead to the fight that proves fatal to Mercutio. When the feuding Capulets and Montagues meet in the street, at first it looks like Romeo will fight Tybalt, but Romeo steers clear. When it then seems that violence between other youths is unavoidable, Benvolio still tries to be the diplomatic negotiator between Mercutio and Tybalt.

Shakespeare does not imply that Benvolio’s failures cause the escalating violence in the feud. Instead, the hot-headed Tybalt seems to bear more responsibility. Wherever he goes, he seems to be spoiling for a fight. He takes upon himself the role of defending his clan’s honor. On each occasion that Benvolio advocates for peace, Tybalt is all too ready to use his sword. He declares his intent to kill the “villain” Romeo, but the opposite ends up happening. Benvolio’s futile efforts to help Romeo continue after he kills Tybalt. He encourages his cousin to flee, but Romeo later returns to join Juliet.

The most obvious difference between Benvolio and Tybalt is their temperaments. Benvolio is calm and rational, whereas Tybalt is prone to flights of fury. In Act I, Tybalt wants to continue the fight begun by the servants of the Capulet and Montague households, and Benvolio is trying his best to keep the peace. Because of this rational behavior, people, even the Prince, tend to trust Benvolio’s word. He is the one who explains what happened in both the fight at the beginning of the play and in the deadly duel concerning Mercutio, Tybalt, and Romeo.

Compare the personalities of Benvolio and Tybalt in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

Since you have asked three questions, the first one is the one that I have addressed:  Find a line that illustrates Benvolio's personality.  (It is the policy of enotes that only one question can be asked at a time.)

With a name that denotes goodness in Italian, Benvolio attempts to end the street fight that begins with the insults of Abraham and Sampson and Gregory.  When the choleric Tybalt enters with his sword drawn and tells Benvolio to turn and fight, Benvolio replies with common sense,

I do but keep the peace.  Put up thy sword,

Or manage it to part these men with me. (1.1.63-64)

Towards his cousin, Romeo, Benvolio is a beneficient friend.  For, he tells Romeo when he learns that Romeo is "out of love" that he weeps at Romeo's "good heart's oppression."  He even commiserates with Romeo,

Alas that love so gentle in his view,

Should be so tyrannous and rough in proof (1.1.168)

In his efforts to cheer Romeo, Benvolio tells his cousin to look at other pretty girls in order to forget Rosalind, but Romeo is not easily swayed; he tells Benvolio pretty girls will only remind him of her that he has lost:  "Thou canst not teach me to forget" (1.1.240)  Still, the concerned Benvolio declares, "I'll pay that doctrine, or else die in debt" (1.1.241), vowing to prove Romeo wrong or die trying.  Ironically, of course, Benvolio does prove Romeo wrong, but Romeo dies trying instead despite the other good advice of Benvolio.

Compare the personalities of Benvolio and Tybalt in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

With a name that denotes goodness in Italian, Benvolio attempts to end the street fight that begins with the insults of Abraham and Sampson and Gregory.  When the choleric Tybalt enters with his sword drawn and tells Benvolio to turn and fight, Benvolio replies with common sense,

I do but keep the peace.  Put up thy sword,

Or manage it to part these men with me. (1.1.63-64)

Towards his cousin, Romeo, Benvolio is a beneficient friend.  For, he tells Romeo when he learns that Romeo is "out of love" that he weeps at Romeo's "good heart's oppression."  He even commiserates with Romeo,

Alas that love so gentle in his view,

Should be so tyrannous and rough in proof (1.1.168)

In his efforts to cheer Romeo, Benvolio tells his cousin to look at other pretty girls in order to forget Rosalind, but Romeo is not easily swayed; he tells Benvolio pretty girls will only remind him of her that he has lost:  "Thou canst not teach me to forget" (1.1.240)  Still, the concerned Benvolio declares, "I'll pay that doctrine, or else die in debt" (1.1.241), vowing to prove Romeo wrong or die trying.  Ironically, of course, Benvolio does prove Romeo wrong, but Romeo dies trying instead despite the other good advice of Benvolio.

Compare the personalities of Benvolio and Tybalt in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

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In Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet, Tybalt and Benvolio are very different characters. Tybalt is a hot head. He is always looking for a fight. Mercutio refers to him as the King of the Cats, inferring that he has nine lives—perhaps that he is lucky that his poor disposition has not cost him is life. However, comparing him to a cat also infers that Tybalt is sly and sneaky, which proves to be the case when Mercutio and Tybalt fight.

Tybalt is also something of a spoiled child. At the masquerade where Romeo and Juliet meet, Tybalt recognizes Romeo's voice, and because the two families are feuding, Tybalt goes to Capulet, expecting the older man to throw Romeo out. Surprisingly, Capulet does not. Tybalt starts to have a tantrum, but Capulet cautions him:

Content thee, gentle coz, let him alone, / A bears him like a portly gentleman; / And, to say truth, Verona brags of him / To be a virtuous and well-governed youth. / I would not for the wealth of all this town / Here in my house do him disparagement.

Capulet goes on to tell Tybalt to be patient and calm down. He also says that if Tybalt honors Capulet, he will do as he asks, or he will leave the party. And so Tybalt, showing himself to be rash and uncontrollably disdainful of Romeo, leaves.

Benvolio, on the other hand, is the great peacemaker of the play. He is forever trying to keep others from fighting. Whereas Tybalt is always ready for a fight, it is Benvolio that hopes to lead others to quiet resolution. At the start of the play, Benvolio tries to stop an altercation between Capulet and Montague servants. He places himself between them, when Tybalt appears, accusing Benvolio of fighting. Benvolio denies this and tries to explain:

I do but keep peace; put up thy sword, / Or manage it to part these men with me.

Benvolio says that his is trying to break up a fight. He tells Tybalt to put his sword away or use it to break up the confrontation. Instead, Tybalt calls Benvolio a coward and attacks him; Bevolio defends himself.

By comparison, we see that Tybalt is an angry young man, always looking for a fight, while Benvolio is a young man who does his best to promote peace.