Romeo and Juliet
Sampson
Capulet servant
A boastful Capulet servant who starts the opening fight by biting his thumb at the Montagues.
Sampson works for the Capulets and spends the first scene bragging about how he will deal with any Montague. He is loud and eager for a fight, though he is careful to make sure the law stays on his side. He calls on Gregory to draw and promises to back him up.
He is a comic figure who nevertheless sets off a series of deadly events. Sampson's thumb-biting is the smallest gesture in the story, and it leads straight to the Prince's decree that makes every later fight a matter of life and death.
“I will bite my thumb at them; which is a disgrace to them, if they bear it.”
In the story
Contains spoilers.
Sampson and Gregory walk through the Verona square, spoiling for a quarrel. When two Montague servants appear, Sampson announces that he will bite his thumb at them, calling it a disgrace if they bear it.
Abram asks if he is biting his thumb at him, and Sampson says only that he bites his thumb. This is enough to start a brawl, and Benvolio and Tybalt join the fray before the Prince arrives and ends it. Sampson plays no further part.
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