Similarities Between Romeo And Mercutio

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.

Love has already overcome him and controls all of his thoughts and actions. This love prevents Mercutio from saving Romeo and keeping peace between the families. In Act 3, scene 1, Mercutio fights Tybalt on behalf of Romeo and his relationship with Romeo. Romeo attempts to break up the fight, but Tybalt stabs Mercutio. As he is dying, Mercutio says, "A plague o' both your houses!

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet discusses the many challenges the ‘star crossed lovers’ face. It is their own deceptive actions that ultimately lead them to their untimely end. However Romeo and Juliet are forced to be deceptive due to their fate and misfortune, the ongoing feud in Verona, and the misleading guidance they receive from others; which also contribute to their deaths. Romeo and Juliet focuses on the theme of love and hate, this theme is interweaved throughout the play.

eye, / Shot through the ear with a love song.” Early on in the play,

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.

This demonstrates the needless sacrifice of Mercutio from Tybalt’s hatred. Another character that develops this theme is Romeo. Shakespeare states that after Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeo becomes enraged in hatred and when Tybalt returns, Romeo forgets that Tybalt is his cousin-in-law and fights Tybalt and eventually kills him. Romeo says, “Away to heaven, respective lenity, and editorial fire-eyed fury be my conduct now. Now, Tybalt, take the “villain” back again that late thou gavest me, for Mercutio’s soul is but a little way above our heads, staying for thine to keep him company.

Though Romeo has two very close friends, Mercutio is evidently shown to be the better friend by fighting for him, advising Romeo, and enlightening his attitude. Essentially, in Act three of Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio and Benvolio come across Tybalt, who is trying to pursue Romeo to challenge him for a duel. However, Mercutio recognizes that Romeo is being cowardly towards Tybalt. As Mercutio is a truly loyal friend to Romeo, he offers to duel with Tybalt alternatively.

Mercutio and Romeo have a loving friendship. Mercutio genuinely cares for Romeo’s wellness, which is communicated by his attempts to pull Romeo out of his depression. In addition to being a loyal companion, Mercutio is Romeo’s foil character or is his exact opposite. While Romeo is poetic, serious, and emotionally driven, Mercutio is silly and cynical, and believes love is as frivolous as a fairy. Romeo expresses his sadness over his loss of Rosaline to Mercutio,

In the play Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare tells the story of two star-crossed lovers and their family feud. Shakespeare features Romeo, who believes dreams hold irrefutable meaning and thus allows them to dictate his actions. On the other hand, Shakespeare also features Mercutio, who believes that dreams are simply figments of the imagination and hence should be disregarded. As the story follows this narrative, it becomes clear that Mercutio and Romeo’s view of dreams differ when it comes to interpreting the significance of dreams and the causation of dreams. Keeping this evidence in mind, Romeo and Juliet makes a striking comment on human life: those who seek more guidance in their life often turn to the idea of fate for comfort, while those who hold a more cynical outlook on life often believe fate to

he play focuses on romantic love, specifically the intense passion that springs up at first sight between Romeo and Juliet. Mercutio is an important character in the play, as he is a kinsman to the Prince and Romeo's close friend. He has a big effect on both Romeo and Juliet's lives. His actions cause the death of Tybalt and he also indirectly causes Romeo and Juliet to meet. Mercutio's first effect on Romeo and Juliet's lives was the fact he caused them to met one another.

Romeo and Juliet's relationship was already doomed from the beginning but Mercutio helped the tragic events happen much faster. Mercutio showed us what was going on in the lives of the Capulet and Montague through humor and laughs. Mercutio's mood and behavior throughout the three acts that he is in reflects upon the relationship between Romeo and Juliet, and the two families as a whole. The more relaxed he was the better things were in the city of Verona but as soon as he started becoming more serious, so did Romeo and Juliet's relationship. Mercutio’s behavior and moods mirror the state of Romeo and Juliet’s relationship throughout the play.

An essential element which leads to the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet’s deaths is the pressure that Romeo feels to please his peers. This desire to please his friends causes him to not want to tell them of his love for Juliet. Mercutio, one of Romeo’s comrades, is constantly referring to love in a sexual sense rather than a romantic one. Romeo adjusts his speech and actions accordingly so he still fits in with his peers. When the Nurse is looking for Romeo so she can bring news back to Juliet, Romeo allows Mercutio to make inappropriate jokes at her expense, such as; “No hare, sir, unless a hare, sir, in a Lenten pie—that is, something stale and hoar ere it be spent.” (Shakespeare, II.iv.68-69). This intense contrast between Mercutio and Romeo’s

Mercury, the Roman god of merchants, tricksters, and thieves, shares more than a similar name with Shakespeare’s famous character Mercutio. They both have quirks and creative personalities, and strange yet endearing qualities which make Mercutio a more fascinating and memorable character than the tedious and somber-faced Romeo. As Joseph Porter quips, “Mercutio is essentially active and Romeo reactive or passive” (13). With that he portrays Romeo as acting in response to the waves of turbulence that Mercutio causes. Mercutio outshines Romeo in every aspect of language and character, and not only does his death allow Romeo take the spotlight as Shakespeare’s leading man, but his death spins the play onto the tragic track it takes for the rest

This was a contrast to Zeffirelli’s scene as it was shown as being a ‘joke’ between both sets of men. In this version, Mercutio and Tybalt were basically putting on a show, which gave Tybalt a playful, jokey, personality which was only briefly shredded when he is being made fun of. Mercutio was portrayed as being a complete joker, a trait which lead to his death as Tybalt stabbed him after being he was made fun of. However in Shakespeare’s time honour was extremely important as was loyalty, making it unlikely Mercutio would take his best friends honour being ruined lightly. Luhrmann developed the characters in a way that was truer to the original, Tybalt was shown to be aggressive and very concerned with honour, although not so concerned as to want to kill a man as he looked very regretful when he saw what he had done. Romeo and Benvolio are made to be cowardly as they run away from Mercutio, sort of washing their hands of a needless death that they second-handedly caused. Mercutio is also very concerned about honour, but more so is loyal to his best friend, going to the grave to defend him and his reputation. He is also shown as being a joker, fooling around and making light of his own demise. However, he shows he is a two dimensional character when he gets enraged at Tybalt and attempts to fight him twice, with the