Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" and Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo + Juliet"

Mercutio may seem to be a character that just adds humor and acts a jokester in the play but he served a stronger purpose as he was the catalyst that ended six people’s lives. Mercutio played a big part in how the story of Romeo and Juliet played out as he pushed the story forward. Mercutio is much more than just a supporting character in Shakespeare's play “Romeo and Juliet” because his character was a close friend of Romeo and had a large effect on Romeo’s life. He started a fight with Tybalt to defend Romeo, but was killed during the duel which then caused Romeo to avenge him by killing Tybalt. The death of Tybalt causes the exile of Romeo which is then followed by a the death of 4 more characters.

Romeo’s dear friend, Mercutio, greatly affects the events that lead up to the death of Romeo and Juliet. Although he is a loyal friend to Romeo,

In William Shakespeare's play, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio is a friend of Romeo and Benvolio. Mercutio is best known for being a party animal. Sometimes he acts without thinking, and he makes impulsive and immature decisions that lead to his death. Some of the things to blame for his death is The Feud, Romeo’s submissiveness, and himself. One blame of Mercutio’s death is The Feud of the Capulet’s and Montague’s.

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 Act 2 of the play, Mercutio & Romeo encounter Tybalt; conflict escalates until both Mercutio & Tybalt engage in a swordfight, which kills Mercutio. An enraged Romeo engages, killing Tybalt. Tybalt seems to blame in this situation, however, Mercutio’s death was only caused by accident when Romeo intervened in the fight that Mercutio started. His cockieness led to his & Tybalt’s deaths, as well as the banishment of Romeo, allowing the rest of the play to take place.

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

Mercutio’s death works as a catalyst for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. From the moment that Mercutio is stabbed by Tybalt, the actual tragedy aspect of the play begins. Up to Mercutio’s death, the play follows a rather light-hearted, dramatized tone, but once his death plays out, the plot turns to focus on the misfortunes of the rest of the characters. Following Mercutio’s death, Romeo hints at the disasters to come by saying, “This day’s black fate on more days doth depend. This but begins the woe others must end (3.1.124-125)”. Moments after Mercutio’s death, Romeo is already aware of what troubles will arise. As Mercutio is held as Romeo’s stability, Romeo knows that something will begin from the end of Mercutio. As Mercutio’s death plays out, both Mercutio and Romeo are correct in the sense of their knowledge of Mercutio’s death being held as a catalyst, even if no one else does. If Romeo had died in the fight rather than Mercutio, the tragedy would not have happened, as Mercutio is more levelheaded than Romeo, and would have made sure the situation

The 1996 film, Romeo and Juliet, is Baz Luhrmann’s interpretation of William Shakespeare’s play by the same name. This film is part of Baz Luhrmann’s Red Curtain Trilogy where Luhrmann uses a theatre motif in each, with poetry and language being the motif used in Romeo and Juliet. This play was originally written by William Shakespeare who was an English poet, playwright, actor and a man who is considered one of the greatest contributors to English literature as he invented over 1700 now common words and wrote some of the world’s most famous plays. Romeo and Juliet was written in 1595 so Luhrmann had to give the film a contemporary twist but keeps the original themes of forbidden love and young romance to appeal to a modern audience. In the

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

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.

" 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.

In conclusion, Romeo and Juliet is the most common love story written by Shakespeare. It was played in Renaissance Theatre and we can see a lot of violent actions, we can see young boys were playing female act without masks, many scenes, and time changes throughout the play. However, the Renaissance is very different theatre style from Greek Theatre. If the Romeo and Juliet were played in Greek theater, then we would have no violent actions and the narrator would tell the story about the fight instead of showing violent actions. Also, in Greek Theatre we would have men characters to play women parts by pretending that they are women and covering their faces through masks. At Greek Theatre we wouldn’t have time change, instead it would play continuously and the setting would be shown in one

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.

Discuss the appropriation of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by William Shakespeare and ‘Romeo+Juliet’ by Baz Luhrmann

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.