Essay on Mercutio of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

In Act 2, Scene 1 of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” Mercutio states, “He (Romeo) heareth not, he stirreth not, be moveth not; the ape is dead, and I must conjure him. I conjure thee by Rosaline’s bright eyes. By her high forehead and her scarlet lip, by her fine foot, straight leg, and quivering thigh” (2. 1. 16-21). This quote shows that Mercutio still thinks Romeo is hung up on Rosaline, and he is being obnoxious and joking around by saying the only way they’ll find Romeo or summon him is by Rosaline. However, the dramatic irony in this is that we, the audience, know that Romeo is now in love with Juliet, not Rosaline. Romeo overhears Mercutio joking around and states, “He jests at scars that never felt a wound” (2. 2. 1). What Romeo means by this is that Mercutio shouldn’t be poking fun at him when he’s never felt his pain or been in his position of pain when it came to love.

In wanting to double up his conversation with Tybalt with a sword fight, Mercutio possibly risks his life. This suggests Mercutio’s impulsive nature because it shows his aggressiveness and his ability to act in a spontaneous manner.

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.

Romeo is a melodramatic 16-year old that lets his downheartedness over Rosaline take over when he sees Juliet. Romeo is unhappy, as Rosaline decided to stay chaste, and then he meets Juliet and he sees that she is looks attractive and wants to make irresponsible decisions. Romeo gives a perfect example of his irresponsible, lustful identity when he says this, “Did my heart love till now? / Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night”(Shakespeare,

Romeo is portrayed as an emotional and reckless character. His friend Mercutio and Fr. Lawrence comment on Romeo’s fickle attitude when he immediately falls in love with Juliet completely forgetting about Rosaline, his first love. Romeo quotes,” Did my heart love until now? Foreswear it sight, for I never saw true beauty until this night”. His love for Rosaline was superficial. Juliet transforms Romeo’s immature and erotic infatuation to true and constant love. After meeting Juliet he matures very quickly. Maybe Romeo’s love for Juliet is so intense because unlike Rosaline, Juliet reciprocates his

" Mercutio was correct in his predictions. The love between Romeo and Juliet ends up a tragedy for both families. Mercutio's character is essential in driving the action forward in this play. He foreshadows the devastating events, serves as Romeo's friend, and gives the audience important information throughout the play. Mercutio's death is the turning point in the play.

Furthermore, Romeo starts the whole tragedy. True, Juliet acts naïve, nonetheless Romeo acts hastily by encouraging the relationship. Prior to Romeo and Juliet’s encounter, Romeo is in an infatuation with Rosaline. In Act 1.1, Romeo depicts Rosaline's beauty and says, "She is too fair, too wise, wisely too fair." Romeo’s love for Rosaline is only skin deep and

The relationship that Mercutio has with Romeo is sturdy in all areas except love. This opposition can clearly be seen when Montague talks about Romeo’s depression over Roseline. “And private in his chamber pens himself, shuts up his windows,

P.688-Mercutio is the type of person who knows a lot about love. He does have good advice for Romeo. Mercutio can be Romeo’s foil because Romeo has just have a different perspective than Mercutio about love.

Mercutio can also portray the jester because he is humorous. He always steals the show, he doesn’t believe in true love and then mocks Romeo about it. These are just some examples. William Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet” Mercutio is humorous because he sais Tybalt is going to be dead with his “nine lives”:

As one of the most complex characters in the play, Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio’s purpose is to act as a static catalyst for the death of most of the characters. Shakespeare uses Mercutio’s character cleverly as the kind of character that stays in the background, but influences the rest of the cast in the utmost amount. Mercutio’s light and occasionally sardonic humor at inapt times relieves the play from being a complete tragedy and allows the audience a false sense of security before calamity strikes, such as the death of his character. Mercutio also stands as a consistent character to prove that despite the fact that the majority of Shakespeare’s characters are unpredictable and impulsive, there has to be at least one character to steady

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

This results in Romeo’s fate to be darkened. Second, Mercutio shows how Romeo is constantly dreaming. Mercutio’s realism contrasts Romeo’s head in the clouds. This is revealed when Mercutio says “True, I talk of dreams, which [is] the [child] of an [inactive] brain,” (1.4, 96-97). This quote exemplifies that dreaming cannot be a portent, and that it can change just like the wind. This also shows that Mercutio has a flamboyant imagination, while demonstrating his mocking side. This quote also acts as foreshadowing in which shows that if Romeo keeps his head in the clouds he will make mistakes in life, such as him quickly marring Juliet. Moreover, this quote reveals that Mercutio is an important foil character because his view on love contrasts that of Romeo. Mercutio’s view on love is that it is futile, however Romeo thinks of it as a key component to life. Mercutio’s mocking of the hopeless love, makes Romeo’s view look stronger and more passionate. Third, Mercutio shows how serious Romeo is. Mercutio always talks in a witting and light-hearted way, in which contrasts to Romeo’s seriousness. Mercutio always uses clever wordplay and puns to mock people and bring comic relief into the play. This is emphasized when Mercutio says “And but one word with one of us? ... Make it a word and a blow,” (3.1, 40-41). This quote illustrates the comedy that Mercutio brings. At the edgy moment when Tybalt was about to fight, Mercutio still made a mockery of him.

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.