Mercutio’s’ Queen Mab soliloquy in act one scene four is one of the most famous and inventive in the play. He is presented as a wild, imaginative and comical character throughout the speech. Shakespeare again still trying to grasp the attention of the audience further, still exhibits the dazzling, colourful and powerful mind through a memorable speech of his fantasies of a non-existent character. Shakespeare uses a variety of techniques in the speech mixed in with the rich language producing a text that was sure to shock and overwhelm. “In shape no bigger than an agate-stone” and “Her collars of the moonshine’s wat’ry beams.” This quotation is a metaphor used by Shakespeare to create an image in the audiences’ head of the size and aura of Queen Mab. Shakespeare also uses other living creatures to liken them to Queen Mab. “Joiner squirrel,” “long spinner’s legs,” “wings of grasshoppers,” “Cricket’s bone,” “round little worm.” Shakespeare uses these creatures in the speech to create further imagery and enjoyment for the audience. The speech is also appealing to young children but replete with walnut carriages and insect seeds, its stories are of a fairy bringing dreams to sleeping people. Romeo says to cut Mercutio off from his speech, “Thou talk’st of nothing,” Mercutio replies, “are the children of an idle brain.” By Shakespeare making the speech appealing to young children he himself is putting Mercutio in the same category which best describes the vivid imagination he has. He also says in reply to Romeo, “….true I talk of dreams………” Shakespeare has included this to show that despite the vivid fantasy and imagination of Mercutio he still knows that he living on planet earth and that he understands that he can talk of a dream but whilst he is on earth these dreams are purely just fantasies.
The language used by Mercutio is the disliked factor of his personality; he mocks Romeo and his troubled love life. He thinks love is only a way of having sexual intercourse with someone else, “To raise a spirit in his mistress’ circle.” And, “If love is blind, love cannot hit the mark.” Romeos love life is troubled and Shakespeare presents this by saying it is blind but again the highly sexual Mercutio basically says that if love is troubled where is the sexual intercourse. However, the language does create humour to the audiences’ enjoyment, especially with his double sexual meanings showing his quick-wittedness.
The theme of tragic love in Romeo and Juliet is given a deeper meaning by Mercutio. In Act Two Scene Four he uses language to show this. When Romeo enters the scene, Mercutio begins to insult Romeo about his love as usual but by insulting historic beauties, “Dido a dowdy, Cleopatra a gypsy, Helen and Hero hildings and harlots” are all examples of great beauty back in the past. Mercutio says that they are all ugly compared to Romeo’s supposed love Rosaline and that Romeo should use her to make his “mark”, but the meaning is deeper as there is a twist, all of the women also die in the respective pastime story for their love of a man. This is a strong prefiguration of what is to occur in the play.
Mercutio is left out of the play for the rest of act two, until act three which consequently is his final appearance. Shakespeare uses language, giving a dramatic effect to show how much of a catalyst Mercutio actually is and that he sticks up for himself and believes in his own rights. For instance Benvolio warns Mercutio of the arrival of Tybalt, he says “By my heel I care not”. This shows how little fear Mercutio has for Tybalt and that he is not bothered by his arrival. The lack of care and fear shown provokes and adds to the possibility of a fight. Shakespeare has used this language in the best possible way to create tension. The best example of how the language helps the fight start is in Mercutio’s reply “O calm, dishonourable vile submission” to Romeo. Mercutio seems to think that he has to honour Romeo whilst he is receiving abuse as Mercutio though the “joker” as he is presented earlier on in the play, he is loyal and a serious character always ready to stick up for his friends. Without the loyal heart of Mercutio the fight would not have started. This also gives us an insight into the closeness of their relationship.
Mercutio is stabbed by Tybalt under the eyes of Romeo whilst he falls in his arms. Tybalt flees with the rest of the Capulets. Even though Mercutio is stabbed he tries not to show he is in pain in front of the Capulets showing they have not won. “Ay, ay, a scratch, marry, ‘tis enough. Where is my page? Go villain, fetch a surgeon.” He still manages to maintain the Mercutio the audience has got to know by joking whilst on his last gasps of breath and the brink of death. Probably the turning point of the play is when Mercutio repeatedly says, “A plague a’ both your houses!” The death of the animated and boisterous man seems like a fatal tragedy, but when he is about to die he curses both the households of the ancient grudge. He is the first victim of the rivalry between Capulets and Montagues. Shakespeare uses just this one phrase to give a glimpse at what is to happen later on in the play. This quote and the death of Mercutio helps to keep the focus of play on the tragedy that it is.
Overall Shakespeare presents Mercutio as a very important character in the play. He adds humour of a shocking nature at inappropriate and inconvenient times. However, Shakespeare uses this to his strength to maintain the attention of the audience. Shakespeare does this by using a variety of interesting and exuberant language mostly of a bawdy of sexual nature together with both many techniques both linguistic and dramatic like metaphors. Shakespeare killed Mercutio off at the correct time because there had to be a pivotal part in the play and to kill off such a main character was the start of the climax which is why his death is so important, as it begins a chain of events leading to a dramatic ending.
