Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare Essay

Paragraph 1 Topic Sentence: Mercutio’s spontaneous remarks and instinctive actions while interacting with others reflect his impulsive character. Evidence 1: When Romeo tells Mercutio that Rosaline’s vow of chastity is “Too rough,/ Too rude, too boisterous, and it pricks like a thorn” (1.4. 25-26), Mercutio responds, “If love be rough with you, be rough with love;/ Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down” (1.4. 27-28).

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.

. Firstly, Tybalt is to blame for Mercutio’s death as he actually gave him the wound that killed him. Also, Tybalt provokes Mercutio by insulting Romeo, ‘Thou art a villain.’ This is one of the biggest insults that Tybalt can give and would usually be followed by a duel. However, Romeo calmly replies by saying ‘Villain I am none / Therefore farewell. I see thou know’st me not.’ Because Romeo is not defending his honour, Mercutio is provoked by Tybalt’s insults and starts insulting Tybalt himself. This is what leads to the two of them fighting and Mercutio getting his fatal wound. So, if Tybalt didn’t insult Romeo or fight Mercutio, Mercutio wouldn’t have been killed.

best friend it is his duty to defend him now he is too feeble to

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 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.

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

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 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.

In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio, one of Romeo’s friends and a kinsman to the Prince, is killed. He is fun-loving but can be very intense at times, and he has a very wild imagination. Many things can be determined as the cause of Mercutio’s death, such as pride, confidence, and carelessness.

Another role that Mercutio plays in determining the outcome of the play is Mercutio dies in the figth with Tybolt. In act 3, scene 1, lines 127-130, Romeo says "; for Mercutio soul is but a little ways above our heads, staying for thine to keep him company. Either thou or I, or both, must go with him." Romeo is saying that Mercutio is dead and that one of us, or both has to go keep Mercutio company. When Romeo knows that Mercutio is dead because of Tybolt he goes after him. This then leads to Romeo killing Tybolt, which gets him banished from Verona by the Prince.

As a friend of Romeo’s, Mercutio supports the Montague’s in the ancient feud. An example of Mercutio defending the Montague’s is when Tybalt, a member of the loathed Capulet family, abuses Romeo and Mercutio intervenes on Romeo’s behalf. Attempting to restore peace, Romeo gets between the two combatants and Mercutio “hath got his mortal hurt” (Page 149; Act 3, Scene 1) on Romeo’s account. In spite of his “life shall pay the forfeit of peace” (page 17; Act 1, Scene 1), Romeo seeks revenge on Tybalt as he loves his murdered friend. As Romeo kills Tybalt out of love for Mercutio, Shakespeare suggests that love conquered the thought of being penalized with death.

As a consequence of the brawl between Tybalt and Mercutio, Mercutio ends up dead which then develops the theme because of the pain Romeo feels after hearing about his friend’s death.

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.

These lines allow Shakespeare to tell the story of Romeo and Juliet, by subtly introducing the idea of death and the tragedy that comes along with it, to the reader. Shakespeare introduces the concept of death, through Mercutio’s accidental death, “Tybalt under Romeo’s arm thrusts Mercutio in” (3.1, ?-?). In this act, Tybalt was aiming to fight Romeo, but Romeo steps in between Tybalt and Mercutio’s fight. This causes Tybalt to kill Mercutio, accidentally. Mercutio’s death is the first death in the book. Mercutio’s death brings tragedy along with it, because his death was portrayed as unintentional. Furthermore, Mercutio’s death causes Romeo to avenge him by killing Tybalt. Feeling remorse for his actions, “O, I am fortune’s fool” (3.1, 132).