Mercutio: Where the devil should this Romeo be?

Came he not home to-night?

Benvolio: Not to his father's; I spoke with his man.

Mercutio: Why that same pale hard-hearted wench, that Rosaline,
Torments him so, that he will sure run mad.

Benvolio: Tybalt, the kinsman of old Capulet,
Hath sent a letter to his father's house.

Mercutio: A challenge, on my life.

Benvolio: Romeo will answer it.

Mercutio: Any man that can write may answer a letter.

Benvolio: Nay, he will answer the letter's master, how he dares, being dared.

—Romeo and Juliet,
William Shakespeare

Which word best describes the mood of this passage?

1 answer

The word that best describes the mood of this passage is tense.