In Act 3, scene 1, Tybalt goes searching for Romeo, angry that he had come to the Capulets' big party the night before. He challenges Romeo to fight him, but Romeo declines to do it because he is now married to Juliet, which makes Tybalt his relative as well. After Romeo repeatedly refuses to engage violently with his new cousin, Mercutio steps in because he feels that Romeo is behaving submissively and dishonorably. Mercutio and Tybalt fight, and Tybalt kills Mercutio. Then, in anger, Romeo kills Tybalt. After this, Romeo cries, "O, I am Fortune's fool!" (3.1.142). Here, he alludes to the Roman goddess, Fortuna, who was considered to be the personification of luck. She was believed to control the fates of human beings in a whimsical way. When Romeo says this, he means that he is the goddess's fool, her plaything, that cursing him with terrible luck is a source of entertainment for her.
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