Examples Of Foils In Romeo And Juliet

Character foils are important to any story or play as they compare and contrast character traits as the story unfolds. The use of character foils allows the audience to understand a characters way of thought and the actions that they take. Character foils show the moral behaviour and can help the audience see contradictory factors that help advance the plot. Although characters may seem similar, the use of character foils can show their differences. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the use of character foils proves Fortinbras is a stronger political leader over Hamlet, the contrasting view of Laertes as a son in comparison to Hamlet and Horatio being thought of as the better man in contradiction to Hamlet.

Tybalt is a very vengeful character. When tybalt and Mercutio fight, Mercutio gets stabbed and dies which will cause Romeo go crazy. “Why the devil come you between us? I was hurt under your arm.”(3.1.70) with these words, Romeo feels guilty about his best friend's death, that was mainly caused because Romeo denied fighting Tybalt.

One conflict is between ‘Tybalt’ and ‘Romeo’. This conflict is interesting because it is between two contrasting characters. Tybalt is very arrogant and has an aggressive attitude. While Romeo is quiet

. 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

Tybalt addresses Mercutio and Benvolio and asks to have a word with them. Mercutio challenges Tybalt to fight “Make is a word and a blow.”(pg 116) Tybalt believes that Mercutio’s offer to fight does not include a reason. Tybalt asks Mercutio if he is an associate of Romeo. Benvolio attempts to calm the men because they are in a public place. Romeo enters, causing Tybalt to forget the fight because Romeo is the man he was waiting for. Tybalt expresses his abhorrence for Romeo when he says “Thou art a villain”(pg 116) Romeo states that he admires Tybalt for reasons that could end their feud and that Tybalt obviously must not know who he truly is because he is not a villain. Tybalt says “Boy, this shall not excuse the injuries that thou hast done me” (pg 116) This statement confuses Romeo because he believes he never injured Tybalt “I do protest I never injured thee”(pg 116) Mercutio draws his sword on Tybalt and reveals he wants to take his life. Tybalt draws his sword and him and Mercutio begin to fight. In an attempt to stop the fighting, Romeo reminds the men about the Prince’s warning and reaches his arm between the fighting

Throughout Romeo and Juliet the theme of conflict is conveyed in many forms, mostly through physical violence; reflected in the era of the Renaissance where there was political turmoil and many European nations were at war. Shakespeare presents the theme in other forms as well; family versus family, sacred versus profane, parent versus child and language versus inner conflict. Conflict is a key in the structure of the play; it is highlighted in the beginning, middle and end. As an audience we are constantly being reminded of conflict which is reflected within the era the play was written in. The Renaissance was the 'rebirth ' of classical learning and was also the time when Science challenged many traditional Christian beliefs which resulted in Catholics fighting Protestants; the Gunpowder plot and the Spanish Armada. Shakespeare chose to dramatise conflict as it was the context in which he was writing plays. It is therefore arguable that this period was characterised by irreconcilable opposites in politics, religion and art. Nothing in the world can exist without its opposite- just as love cannot exist without hate, violence cannot exist without peace.

In “Romeo and Juliet,” Shakespeare uses foils for characterization. A foil is used to emphasize and clarify qualities of characters. Foils show contrast between characters. For example, Romeo and Mercutio are best friends and foils for each other. Romeo is the son of Lord Montague and Mercutio is the cousin of the Prince. The foil between these two paragraphs is evident when Romeo is depressed and Mercutio is determined to cheer his friend up with his witty humor. More contrast is shown when Romeo is passionately in love with his new found soul mate, Juliet, and Mercutio mocks the concept of romantic love.

In Shakespeare’s critically acclaimed play Romeo and Juliet, the Nurse and Lady Capulet are foil characters. Shakespeare uses the Nurse and Lady Capulet to portray that the morals of a person, can affect another person’s actions.

A foil character contrasts the personalities of another character, which particularly enlightens certain characteristics of the individual. This element portrays these characteristics in an obvious manner, as it benefits the reader or audience. By showing the characteristics of one, it directly heightens the character traits of the other, creating a foil illustration of an individual. Nowhere is this element of literature more prudent than in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, as he effectively engages the use of foil characters. In the play, two lovers from opposing, and hateful families fall in love, but the hatred between households lead to their downfall. Characters in the immoral city of Verona are set to represent key themes and

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.

Foil characters are defined as characters that are used to contrast another character. This character in most cases is the protagonist. Moreover, foil characters tend to be based on the protagonist’s hubris, wherein contrasting the fatal flaw shows how it has ballooned out of control. Foil characters further themes by highlighting the characteristics of certain characters that will help enhance the theme. The role of foil characters in Shakespearean tragedies is to show what could have happened if the protagonist made a different choice. Likewise, this idea is prevalent within Romeo and Juliet. Furthermore, this play portrays two children from warring families who meet and fall in love, but eventually kill themselves as their love is not

A foil is a minor character that helps the audience better understand a major character. A foil may exist as a comparison character, with similarities between the two, as well as differences that bring to light an important contrast between the foil and the main character. A foil may also just be someone for the main character to talk to, so we can know and understand their thoughts and feelings. Foils help us understand the obvious as well as the arcane. In the classic tragedy Hamlet, we see William Shakespeare employ foils to illustrate both examples. They become important literary tools that help the reader rationalize the concurrent theme of the play -

He does this to show what could have happened to the main character if he made a different choice. In the story, Romeo is in love with Juliet, but cannot be with her because of their families fighting. The Montagues and Capulets have been fighting for a very long time. The foil character is technically there to make the main character look better or to show off some

When Tybalt first enters the scene, Mercutio denounced, “By my heel, I care not” (38). This quote shows that Mercutio does not care what he says and whom he says it around. Making him seem even more careless and immature. While Mercutio was speaking with Tybalt, his tone seemed to change from calm to offended and aggressive. The change in tone happened after Tybalt mentioned that Mercutio consorts with Romeo, causing Mercutio to grow upset and reply, “An thou make minstrels of us, look to hear nothing but discords. Here’s my fiddlestick; here’s that shall make you dance” (49-51). The challenge that is expressed in this quote demonstrates how quickly Mercutio can become aggressive, and hotheaded. Mercutio demonstrates how careless he can be by engaging Tybalt into a fight, that was unadvised by