Which type of external conflict is reflected in this excerpt from act v of romeo and juliet?

How are key ideas refined with clear and concise language in the selection “what are our demands? ” what purpose does this selection serve?

Even the insistent cough of the woman next to him wasn't enough to draw his eyes away from the tiny type of the ancient book its pages were brittle and felt like they could crumble at the slightest disturbance he noticed the musty odor if each page as he carefully it over.

Changing the sentence structure and how quickly events unfold in a story can affect which literally element?