The Memorable Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet

903 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Shakespeares perception of love

The Memorable Mercutio
Shakespeare created many incredible plays during his lifetime: tragedies, comedies and histories. One of Shakespeare's most famous plays is the tragedy Romeo and Juliet. Furthermore, one of his greatest creations, as well as most memorable character, lies within the pages of this tale. Although he died early on, Mercutio spent his time entertaining the audience with every act and word. Throughout Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio displays notable acts of witty humor, loyalty and devotion to Romeo, as well as hot-headed rash behavior, which stick with the reader, even after his death.
Whether it is crude humor or a witty remark, Mercutio amuses readers over the course of the play. Towards the beginning of the play, Benvolio and Mercutio are taking Romeo with them to a Capulet party. While trying to cheer Romeo up about his one sided love, Mercutio tells him that, “If love be rough with you, be rough with love; Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down“ (1.4 26-28). At first glance, this could be seen simply Mercutio trying to motivate his friend, saying that Romeo should not give in to love. However, the word choice as well as phrasing of these lines is more suggestive.

Later on into the night, while Benvolio and Mercutio look for Romeo, some rather innocent humor is added in, by Mercutio. Instead of simply calling out Romeo’s name, like Benvolio does, Mercutio proceeds to say,”Romeo! Humours! Madman! Passion! Lover!” (2.1 7). Mercutio’s friendly teasing captures Romeo’s personality thus far in the play, making it more enjoyable to read. A few days later, after receiving a deadly blow from Tybalt, he assures his clueless friends that his wound is “… not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church-door; bu...

... middle of paper ...

...hereafter, drybeat the rest of the eight. Will you pluck your sword out of his pitcher by the ears? Make haste, lest mine be about your ears ere it be out” (3.1 73-77). Not only does Mercutio want to fight, but he will even resort to making fun of Tybalt’s name, because it sounds like Tibbles, which was a popular name for a cat. Sadly, Mercutio’s hot tempered personality and arrogance led to his unfortunate demise.
Mercutio’s unique personality, consisting of unspeakable amounts of humor, everlasting devotion to Romeo, and his explosive attitude, make him a scene stealer and one of the most memorable characters in all of Shakespeare’s works. Some say Shakespeare was forced to kill Mercutio "lest he steal the show from the major figures of the plot". However, for as long as Shakespeare’s plays are still read, Mercutio’s character will live on in any reader’s mind.

Show More
Related

  • Mercutio Queen Mab Monologue

    565 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the speech, he frequently adds a sort of flare to the way he speaks; for example, he uses over ten lines(in the text)to simply describe the size of Queen Mab. The manner in which he speaks is loud, confident, and stylish; therefore, he attracts attention. He also manages to subtly mock Romeo when speaking about how those who are in love dream of love; this is to add a comedic flare, even though that is what he is. Mercutio’s entertainer like personality is due to the fact that he is amusing. In this tragic and serious play, he is the obnoxious character that breaks the seriousness for a while with a witty remark.It also explains why he is the dramatic foil to Romeo. This goes along with his flamboyant attitude. Nevertheless, he is also vulgar at times, which adds to his loud personality. Now, brown represents Earth and reliability, and Mercutio, in his own way, represents

    Read More

  • The Complex Mercutio In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

    676 Words  | 2 Pages

    He is often up and happy, which immediately turns to serious brooding. The best example of this comes at his death. He has been stabbed through by Tybalt’s cruel blade and the killer has flown. All his fellows gather around laughing when Mercutio yells that he is injured. After sending for a surgeon he stumbles about saying, “No, ‘tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church door; but ‘tis enough, twill serve: ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man. I am peppered I warrant for this world. A plague o’ both your houses! Zounds, a dog, a rat, a mouse, a cat to scratch a man to death” (III.i.94-99). In this quote Mercutio seems to go from cracking jokes and making puns to all seriousness, screaming plague upon the quarrel between the two houses. This was very serious considering the plague was running rampant at that time, killing thousands of people. To wish plague on someone is to wish the most feared thing of their age on them and their family. This is not the only example of such emotional instability as he often ranges from very high to very low, creating quite the dramatic and loud character. Mercutio’s characteristics are wide and varied, making him into an extremely complex, extremely prominent character. Shakespeare places this persona of varying emotions who may not be thinking exactly what he seems to be into the story of Romeo and Juliet, a stage full of such

    Read More

  • Mercutio Responsible For The Deaths In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

    887 Words  | 2 Pages

    While reading Shakespeare's play “Romeo and Juliet” it is easy to see that everybody in the story is at fault for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Personally however, I believe that three of the main characters are more at fault then the other characters. First is Mercutio, Romeo’s best friend. Next is Benvolio, nephew of Lord Montague and Romeo’s other friend. Last is Friar Lawrence, Romeo and Juliet Franciscan Priest. In a story of unorthodox love, family feuding, and violence, many are at blame for the deaths.

    Read More

  • Mercutio Is To Blame In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

    801 Words  | 2 Pages

    ​It is human nature to place blame and point fingers at someone, but it is a lot less common to take responsibility for your own actions. Sometimes, we put ourselves in positions that are detrimental to our lives or well-being. Even though we are responsible, it is likely that we will place the blame elsewhere. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio found himself with a similar conflict. Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, killed Mercutio during a fight in the town square. It would be easy to say that Tybalt caused Mercutio’s death since it was his sword that killed him, but that is simply false. Mercutio ignored many warnings and continued to antagonize the fight that lead to his death. The character ultimately responsible for Mercutio’s death is

    Read More

  • Masculine Space In Romeo And Juliet

    595 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Mercutio, a friend of Romeo plays a deep role within the play. Many characters in Romeo and Juliet can represent the masculine or feminine spaces. The masculine space is chaotic and more towards the sexual and material side of the play, which have more of a tragic potential. While the feminine space is peaceful, more romantic and spiritual in giving a better chance for the comic potential. Mercutio represents the masculine space while Romeo prefers the peacefulness of the feminine space. Mercutio tells Romeo to be rough with love, he tries to keep him within the masculine space after the ball, and he fools with the Juliet’s nurse because of his actions he pushes Romeo towards tragedy.

    Read More

  • Essay On Mercutio In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

    1082 Words  | 3 Pages

    Because he is Romeo’s friend, he stands on the Montague’s side. In fact, Mercutio simply appears in four scenes in Romeo and Juliet, in other words, he is not the main character in the play. Nevertheless, I think he is an attractive and memorable character in the play. Actually, Mercutio’s name is related to the word “mercurial,” meaning “having an unpredictable and fast changing mood,” an accurate description of Mercutio’s personality. Moreover, he also plays a vital

    Read More

  • Romeo A Tragic Hero Essay

    855 Words  | 2 Pages

    The excerpt shows how even Mercutio recognizes the feud between the Montagues and Capulets being destructive, and how it is now gotten so out of hand he has been dragged into it. Mercutio tries to open Romeo’s eyes on how if this feud continues there will be a demise for both families; but by Romeo choosing to ignore this advice and killing Tybalt he is setting himself up for his failure/downfall. Thus, Romeo is shown as a tragic hero because his demise is partly his fault and not an accident.

    Read More

  • Mercutio

    1388 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this context, Romeo's last words in this scene are tremendously significant. His sense of dread, after Mercutio's strange behavior, has deepened rather than diminished, and for the first time he actually defines what it is he feels: he senses that the events which are about to unfold will result in his death-the ultimate dreamless sleep. He is, of course, right. The violence which Queen Mab will set in motion that night are no dreams, but real. And yet Romeo seems to realize that there is nothing to be done except face the future squarely; there is no running from it. "But he, that hath the steerage of my course, / Direct my sail!" (I, iv, 112-13). His final words, "On, lusty gentlemen!", are to Mercutio and their other friends, but they might have been addressed to himself as well. It is his passion, his impetuosity, his lust, which will spell his doom-all of it foreshadowed in Mercutio's "talk of dreams."

    Read More

  • Three People, Two Deaths, One Great Tragedy

    737 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mercutio, though a minor character, had and enormous impact on the outcome of the play. Before the Capulet Ball, Romeo had been debating whether to go or not. Mercutio persuaded him to go by giving a big speech to him about a dream he had. This makes him partially responsible because the Ball is where Romeo first met Juliet. Mercutio also caused Romeo to be banished from Verona. Mercutio got in a fight with Tybalt and ended up dead. His death enraged Romeo enough to make him kill Tybalt in revenge. When the Prince saw what happened, he sent Romeo into exile. Romeo's banishment to Mantua made it near impossible for Romeo and Juliet to see each other. Mercutio was to blame, though only partially for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.

    Read More

  • The Noble Jester

    697 Words  | 2 Pages

    As life proceeds its slow waltz, and humans live their lives, meeting countless other people in the same predicament of nearing an unavoidable end. In this cycle of monotony and conversation there can be people found that are different. Those who are never bothered by the burdens of death and monotony, and hurry through life to greet death as a lost friend they had encountered many times on their sprees of invincibility. From the handful of people who resemble these characteristics, one can be found in the William Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet. In which the zany character to be found is Mercutio, who is of neither Montague nor Capulet but falls to the hands of Capulet in the defense of Romeo of Montague in a fight of a childish altercation. In which even at his fall in Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare still displays his distinct characteristics that greatly define him such as: humor and impulsiveness.

    Read More

  • Romeo And Juliet Choices

    1615 Words  | 4 Pages

    (CLOSING STATEMENTS) With his audacious nature, Romeo kills Tybalt in a challenge and later kills himself, which causes significant problems in the plot. Unfortunately, as a result of Romeo’s actions, Juliet stabs herself with his dagger because she no longer wants to live in a world without him. Along with Romeo, Mercutio is another character who makes poor decisions based on his overdramatic personality and tendency to disagree with Benvolio's way of thinking. These two choices cause characters around Mercutio to not take him seriously, and for this reason, he later dies in the play. Although Mercutio’s actions impact the storyline, Friar Laurence’s choices primarily cause the play to become such a tragedy. For instance, his poor decisions to marry Romeo and Juliet and flee Juliet’s tomb eventually cause the couple’s love for one another to become inseparable, and they take their lives at the end of the plot. (CLINCHER) As the readers delve deeper into Romeo and Juliet and unravel what went wrong, they will begin to realize that the decisions made by the characters created catastrophic

    Read More

  • Riff Vs Mercutio

    612 Words  | 2 Pages

    The plot for Romeo and Juliet stems from a love story based on Romeo meeting Juliet at a ball where Tybalt from the Capulet family attends. Friction begins when Tybalt voices his dislike for Romeo of the Montague family. This sets the stage for a confrontation between Tybalt and Romeo. Mercutio's character takes on importance as the confrontation takes form. If there were no Mercutio than Juliet would still be alive. Unfortunately, Romeo would not be alive because Tybalt would have surely killed

    Read More

  • Foil Characters In Romeo And Juliet

    579 Words  | 2 Pages

    The most famous foil character in ''Romeo and Juliet'' is Mercutio. He is known for his sharp wit and quick, often ribald, humor and is considered a foil to Romeo. He lacks Romeo's effusive romance, his adoration and almost courtly approach to the idea of love. He often urges Romeo to just find a woman to sleep with and stop worrying about the ephemeral, yet all consuming, love Romeo is desperate to achieve. Mercutio warns Romeo to be skeptical of love and not to rush ahead, but Romeo is all rush, no

    Read More

  • How Is Mercutio Disrespectful

    1169 Words  | 3 Pages

    In William Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet,” Mercutio is introduced as Romeo (the main character) and Benvolio’s (Romeo’s cousin and friend) good friend and relative of the Prince. Mercutio is a very beloved friend to Romeo, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t unkind or disrespectful. He is also very dramatic and perverted, yet somehow laid back and relaxed at the same time. He is very interesting in the way that he can seem kind, but be an awful person and friend at the same time. If Mercutio weren’t as dramatic or such an attention-seeker, he wouldn’t have died and eventually caused Tybalt, Paris, Romeo, and Juliet’s deaths and the sadness that followed each death.

    Read More

  • The Trouble and Pain Associated With Love in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...yalty. The line said by Mercutio: “O calm, dishonourable, vile submission! Alla stoccata carries it away (He draws) Tybalt, you ratcatcher, will you walk” The use of Descriptive triplet in the words ‘vile,’ ‘dishonourable’ and ‘submission’ all have negative connotations which emphasises Mercutio’s anger with Romeo because he won’t defend for himself, thinking Romeo is submissive and cowardly in not wanting to fight.. Mercutio had paid the ultimate price of love, to protect Romeo’s honour and loyalty, his life. Mercutio’s tone of bitterness emphasises his anger with the conflict with the two families taking his life cursing them both (families): “I am hurt. A plague a’ both house! I am sped. Is he gone and hath nothing.”

    Read More

More about The Memorable Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet

Open Document