Did Mercutio Deserve To Die

In William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the character Mercutio is a foil for Romeo. They are both young men who enjoy each other's company and meet their death in this tragedy. Romeo is an impulsive, hopelessly dramatic romantic who overreacts to most life events. While Mercutio is more realistic, grounded, carefree and serious, although he can be impulsive. With Mercutio being a foil for Romeo, it is easy to see Romeo's dramatic and tragic life story as compared to the more calmer tragic ending for Mercitio.

Tybalt intended to fight Romeo because he disliked his presence at the Capulet’s party but after Romeo refuses to fight Mercutio feels the need to fight for him instead. This is not the only time Mercutio is a display of masculinity in the play. As Romeo’s friend he likes to mock him, calling him an petrarchan lover and joking about his version of love. The difference to Romeo is also found when juxtaposing how Romeo and Mercutio speak. For instance, when Romeo talks about the girls he is in love with or has a crush on he talks in poetic sentences. In comparision, Mercutios:” Laura was a kitchen slave. Surely she has a better love to make rhymes for her. Dido was shabbily dressed. Cleopatra was a gypsy girl. Helen and Hero were sluts and harlots.

. Firstly, Tybalt is to blame for Mercutio’s death as he actually gave him the wound that killed him. Also, Tybalt provokes Mercutio by insulting Romeo, ‘Thou art a villain.’ This is one of the biggest insults that Tybalt can give and would usually be followed by a duel. However, Romeo calmly replies by saying ‘Villain I am none / Therefore farewell. I see thou know’st me not.’ Because Romeo is not defending his honour, Mercutio is provoked by Tybalt’s insults and starts insulting Tybalt himself. This is what leads to the two of them fighting and Mercutio getting his fatal wound. So, if Tybalt didn’t insult Romeo or fight Mercutio, Mercutio wouldn’t have been killed.

To begin with, Mercutio is a good friend to Romeo in that he stands up for Romeo when in need. In Act III, Scene I, there is a scene in which Tybalt, Mercutio, and Romeo are conversing. In lines 59-60, Tybalt says, “Romeo, the love I bear thee can afford no better term than this: thou art a villain.” This

The Role of Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet In William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, each character plays a specific role in driving the action forward and shaping the play's theme. One secondary character, Mercutio, is essential to the play. Mercutio is the Prince's kinsman, but more importantly, he is Romeo's friend and confidant. Mercutio's concern is always for Romeo and for peace between the two families, the Capulets and the Montagues. Mercutio is the first to see that Romeo is deeply in love.

Many people can be put to blame for these two young people, including their parents, by keeping the feud between the two families going. Mercutio can be blamed, to some degree. He was the one who got Romeo to go to the ball. When Mercutio was killed, Romeo avenged his death, and ended up having to leave Verona instead of staying with Juliet.

Mercutio, while in neither of the houses, dislikes Tybalt. While it may have something to do with the fact that Romeo dislikes Tybalt as well, Mercutio—without reason to—still stands faithfully by Romeo’s side and closer to the house of Montague. From his first entrance, and his last exit, Mercutio stays a stable character by being a constant right hand man to Romeo.

Mercutio is what his name stands to be, Mercurial. Though known as a joyful and intense character, he is in fact partially to blame for the tragic death of the two young lovers. It is in fact Mercutio who convinces a young Romeo to forget about

They have made worms meat of me,” (3.1, 68-69). This quote exemplifies that although Mercutio is neither a Montague nor a Capulet he still dies in a battle fought between the families. This incident heightens Romeo’s fatal flaw, as his reckless act of heroism turned out to be a burden as it caused the death of Mercutio. Moreover, Mercutio’s plague towards the families also foreshadows further tragedy, as Romeo then gets banished from the Verona, along with additional events which later on result to his death. Last, even after his death, Mercutio acts as a foil character to Romeo by causing a shift in Romeo’s gentle character. For example, after Tybalt slays Mercutio, Romeo avenges his friend by killing Tybalt. This act shows his alteration in character, as he was never seen as a ferocious character in any previous scenes. This is evident in the play when Romeo says, “Away to Heaven, respective lenity, and fire-eyed fury be my conduct now,” (3.1, 125-126). This quote exemplifies Romeo’s new perception, as he claims he is finished with sympathy and gentleness. This change in Romeo’s personality is significant because not only is he going to attack Tybalt, but also he is going to kill him, which then entitles him a murderer. This is significant because it further leads to his banishment, which in all leads to his death. The transition in the persona of Romeo is highlighted by the character Mercutio, which leads to the

In contrast, Mercutio attempts to stop Tybalt’s thirst for vengeance when he tries to duel Romeo but ultimately gets killed in the process of trying to save his good friend from being killed by Tybalt which causes Romeo to take vengeance upon Tybalt by killing him.

In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio, one of Romeo’s friends and a kinsman to the Prince, is killed. He is fun-loving but can be very intense at times, and he has a very wild imagination. Many things can be determined as the cause of Mercutio’s death, such as pride, confidence, and carelessness.

Mercutio was Romeo’s best friend and a kinsman of Prince Escalus. He played a role on Romeo and Juliet’s deaths for two main reasons. The first reason was that he persuaded Romeo crash the Capulet masquerade where he met Juliet, and the second was that he got into a fight with Tybalt and was killed. Toward the beginning of the play, a Capulet servant, Peter, is tasked with delivering invitations for the annual Capulet masquerade. He did not know how to read so when he stumbled across Romeo and his cousin Benvolio, he asked them for help not knowing that they were Montagues.

Even though Tybalt, who came from the Capulets, was the one who killed Mercutio, both families were responsible for the death. Mercutio’s last words portray that his death was Romeo’s fault, as much as Tybalt’s fault, for closing the gap between the two rival families. In Act 3 Scene 1, Tybalt called Romeo a villain, “No better term than this: thou art a villain” (3.1.57.) During that time, being called a villain was a terrible insult which could have started a fight. Romeo decided to ignore this comment, from Tybalt because of his relationship with Juliet. Mercutio on the other hand

As a friend of Romeo’s, Mercutio supports the Montague’s in the ancient feud. An example of Mercutio defending the Montague’s is when Tybalt, a member of the loathed Capulet family, abuses Romeo and Mercutio intervenes on Romeo’s behalf. Attempting to restore peace, Romeo gets between the two combatants and Mercutio “hath got his mortal hurt” (Page 149; Act 3, Scene 1) on Romeo’s account. In spite of his “life shall pay the forfeit of peace” (page 17; Act 1, Scene 1), Romeo seeks revenge on Tybalt as he loves his murdered friend. As Romeo kills Tybalt out of love for Mercutio, Shakespeare suggests that love conquered the thought of being penalized with death.

Mercutio is a relative of the prince and friend to Romeo. He is an eloquent man and becomes the center of attention whenever he appears in the play. It seems like he dominates Romeo with his teasing and irony. He mocks Romeo as he thinks he is too sentimental and tells him how foolish he is; he turns all of Romeo’s thought about love into sexual metaphors.