of Montague. Gregory then sees two Montague servants approaching and discusses with Sampson the best way to provoke them into a fight without breaking the law. Sampson responds by biting his thumb at the two Montague servants, which is a rude hand gesture that sparks a verbal confrontation between the servants of both houses. The verbal confrontation quickly escalates into a full-scale brawl and members of the Capulet and Montague family quickly arrive on the scene. WhenBenvolio arrives, he attempts to stop the quarrel while Tybalt attempts to fight him. After Lord Capulet and Montague enter the fight, Prince Escalus and his retinue appear and put a stop to the quarrel. Prince Escalus then offers a severe warning that if anyone from either house disturbs the peace again, they will be killed.

Sampson and Gregory, who appear in Act 1, Scene 1, are, according to the italicized introduction to the chapter, "of the house of Capulet."  They are not family members; rather, they are servants of Juliet's family.  The play opens as they are discussing the "dogs" that comprise the house of Montague.  Shortly thereafter, Abram (a Montague) arrives and Sampson promptly starts a fight by biting his thumb at Abram.  This was considered an insult at the time.

Aside from getting the audience's attention at the outset of the play, Act 1, Scene 1's skirmish serves as an early introduction to the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets.  This provides context, so that when Romeo and Juliet meet later within the same act, the audience understands why a love between the daughter of Lord Capulet and the son of Lord Montague would be such an impossibility.