Compare And Contrast Romeo And Mercutio

Romeo v. Mercutio

In the play The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo is one of the main characters. He is a teenage boy that is impulsive, a dreamer, emotional, and dramatic. His friend Mercutio is a relative to the Prince. Mercutio is witty, realistic, and a skeptic of love. Romeo and Mercutio are very good foils to one another because they contrast in thoughts of love, emotions, and dreams.

Romeo’s obsession with being in love shows when he “falls in love” with Juliet the same day that he was heartbroken over Rosaline. (Shakespeare 381-396). Usually, it takes quite a bit longer to get over a heartbreak than a few hours. Romeo is also emotional and dramatic as seen in Act III Scene iii when he says “And sayers thou yet exile is not death?/ Hadst no poison mixed, no sharp-grounded knife,/ No sudden mean of death, though ne’er so mean,/ But “banishèd to kill me— “banishèd”?/ O friar, the damnèd use that word in hell…” (Shakespeare 435). Most would be relieved to hear that they are only banished from a town rather than facing execution, but not Romeo.

Mercutio is very realistic as seen in Act I Scene iv when he says “True, I talk of dreams;/ Which are the children of an idle brain,/ Begot of nothing but vain fantasy;/ Which is as thin of substance as the air,/ And more inconstant than the wind…” (Shakespeare 391).

He is voicing his opinion that dreams are imaginary and misleading. Mercutio expresses his annoyance towards love when he tells Romeo that he is more fun and like himself when he isn’t groaning about love (Shakespeare 413). Lovestruck Romeo irritates Mercutio, and Mercutio would rather just have Romeo be lighthearted and

playful.

Romeo and Mercutio especially oppose each other on their views of love. Mercutio only sees women useful for physical touch and not emotionally, as seen in Act 1, Scene iv when he tells Romeo “If love be rough with you, be rough with love.” (Shakespeare 389). Romeo, however, thinks he is deeply in love with Juliet as seen in Act II Scene ii when he compares seeing her to seeing an angel (Shakespeare 404). Mercutio serves as a foil to Romeo by contrasting Romeo’s passionate thoughts about love. These guys also contradict each other about dreaming, Mercutio against it, and Romeo for it. An example of Mercutio and Romeo arguing over whether dreams are genuine or not is in Act I Scene iv (Shakespeare 390-391).

One foil of the play The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is the main character Romeo versus his close friend Mercutio. They are foils of one another by countering each other’s position on dreaming and love. Mercutio is appalled by love and dreaming, whereas Romeo is passionate about his feelings and hope. Mercutio serves as a great foil to emphasize the intensity of Romeo’s emotions. Even though they challenge each other in their opinions, Mercutio really just wants the best for Romeo and for Romeo to be happy. But in the end, they both end up facing the same tragic fate.