This opening scene in Romeo and Juliet is important, as it is such a contrast to Romeo and Juliet’s love.
The play starts in prose to reflect the casual, informal way the boys speak and the way they behave. This is a scene of violence and comedy.
When Romeo enters later on, and when he falls in love with Juliet, Shakespeare changes this style of writing, and uses poetry as it is sophisticated, more formal and emotional. He often uses rhyming couplets for example, when Romeo expresses his emotions. Such as ‘O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright . It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night.
Mercutio
Mercutio is one of my favourite characters, because of his larger-than-life personality, and the funny but crude jokes he makes. His name comes from ‘Mercurial’ which means lively and unpredictable. Throughout the play we can see that his name reflects his personality. When he speaks his Queen Mab speech it is imaginative and Mercutio seems to lose touch with reality.
Another character whose name has been chosen to suit his character is Benvolio. His name comes from ‘benevolent’ which means kind, and the inclination to do good. Benvolio is a Montague, and a good friend of Romeo’s. These two characters, Mercutio and Benvolio, are both different. Mercutio is very confident, outspoken and extrovert, prepared to fight, whereas Benvolio is a peacemaker who is not interested in fighting or aggression, saying…
‘ Part fools, put up your swords, you know not what you do.’
Benvolio is very cautious, unlike Romeo. The Montagues and the Prince can trust his word. Benvolio seems to be used as a contrast to the other characters in order to emphasize their aggression.
I think Baz Luhrmann’s film is the best production of Romeo and Juliet, because he manages to transpose the action into the 21st century with his use of guns, drugs, cars, and a modern set. However I feel that he portrays Benvolio as too trendy, with an open shirt and baggy trousers, as if he is not kind or good natured. When Benvolio tries to part the Capulets with Gregory and Sampson, he draws out his gun and uses it as a weapon of intimidation, which is not how I picture Benvolio behaving. It seems aggressive and out of character.
Mercutio is neither a Capulet nor a Montague, but is close friends with Romeo. He is first introduced to us in Act one scene four, when they are on the street outside Capulets’ mansion. They are carrying masks and torches, preparing to visit the Capulets’ party. Mercutio, with his lively personality and crude jokes, tries to cheer Romeo out of his sadness:
‘Nay, gentle Romeo, we must have you dance.’ He also says, ‘If love be rough with you, be rough with love: Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down,’ which is typically sexually suggestive.
When Romeo refuses to be cheered up, and has no wish to join the dance, Mercutio begins to tell the tale of Queen Mab. Mercutio is funny, and very descriptive, going into the finest detail about the ‘chariot’, and the ‘fairies midwife.’ Mercutio starts his speech with ‘O then I see Queen Mab hath been with you,’ which sounds comical and magical.
In Luhrmann’s production, the Queen Mab speech is delivered very well, with the idea that Mercutio has lost touch with reality, because he has taken drink and drugs. This makes Mercutio feel relaxed, unconcerned about what people think of him, or what he is saying.
Mercutio continues his speech with the finest detail saying; ‘She comes in shape no bigger than an agate-stone on the forefinger of an alderman, drawn with a team of little atomi.’
‘Her chariot is an empty hazel-nut,’ and ‘ Her wagon spokes made of long spinners’ legs.’
From this we can see that Shakespeare develops Mercutio’s language to emphasize Mercutio’s lively personality. This detailed description builds up an image in my head of Mercutio’s perception of Queen Mab: she is a fragile, beautiful, magical fairy.
However his magical description becomes violent and disturbing, talking about how, ‘She driveth o’er a soldier’s neck, and then dreams he of cutting foreign throats’.
Romeo and his friends, who are listening to Mercutio’s speech become very disturbed and anxious, and Romeo replies ‘Peace, peace, Mercutio, peace!’. They do not want to hear any more disturbing or unpleasant thoughts from Mercutio.
Mercutio is next shown, mocking Romeo’s love for Rosaline, when they are outside the Capulets’ mansion. He pretends to be a magician saying, ‘ Romeo! Humors! Madam! Passion! Lover! Appear thou in the likeness if a sigh’. Mercutio also seizes every opportunity to make sexual puns, such as ‘demesnes’, ‘stand’, ‘spirit’, and ‘medlar.’ At this point Mercutio does not know about Romeo’s undying love for Juliet, and still thinks Romeo is in love with Rosaline.
I found this scene very funny and entertaining at the theatre, where Mercutio was extremely extrovert and larger than life.
The most disturbing and upsetting scene is in Verona, in a public place when Mercutio is laughing at Benvolio’s fears of meeting the Capulets, as Benvolio knows a fight will surely break out,
‘I pray thee, good Mercutio, let’s retire: The day is hot, the Capels are abroad, and if we meet we shall not scape a brawl, For now these hot days, is the mad blood stirring.’
This means that, as the day is hot, and people become very tired and touchy, if any Capulet insults or infuriates any one, a challenge to a fight would not be turned down. When Tybalt enters, Mercutio taunts Tybalt, but Tybalt ignores his insults, because he is seeking Romeo. However Romeo refuses to accept Tybalt’s challenge to fight, and tries to placate him saying,
‘I do protest I never injured thee, But love thee better than thou canst devise, Till thou shalt know the reason of my love; and so good Capulet , which name I tender as dearly as mine own, be satisfied.’
The reason why Romeo is against a fight with the Capulets is because he has fallen deeply in love with Juliet and married her. It is already hard enough that they are from different families who are enemies, but becoming engaged in a physical fight would certainly make their relationship even more difficult.
Mercutio is angered by Romeo’s refusal to fight, and challenges Tybalt to a fight himself. Romeo who was against the fight in the first place, tries to make peace. However his intervention is fatal to Mercutio, who becomes mortally wounded when stabbed by Tybalt under Romeo’s arm.
Even when Mercutio is dying he continues to play on words, and he is very comical. He persists with his light-hearted jokes saying, ‘ Ay ay, a scratch, scratch, marry, tis enough’. Because of this none of his friends realize or believe that he is fatally wounded. In fact they laugh at the act that they think Mercutio is putting on. Mercutio curses both the Montagues and the Capulets saying ‘A plague a’ both houses! I am sped. Is he gone and hath nothing?’
In Zefirelli’s production I feel that this scene was made too comical and funny and light-hearted, as I pictured Mercutio to be aggressive and violent.
After Mercutio (and Tybalt) die, there are no funny, comical or crude scenes. This happens so that more emphasis can be directed towards Romeo and Juliet. After Mercutio has said those words ‘ a plague a’ both houses!’ the whole story seems to go down hill, becoming very much more serious and solemn. At the theatre production, the audience seemed frustrated and upset that Mercutio, the life of the play had died. This increases people’s hatred of Tybalt, the murderer.
The Nurse
In Act one, Scene three, we are introduced to the Nurse when she is in conversation with Lady Capulet and Juliet. The Nurse’s position in the Capulet household is rather different to that of a normal servant. She was once Juliet’s wet nurse, and from then on they have been close, just like a mother daughter relationship. Juliet has taken the place of the daughter that the nurse once had, and everything the Nurse does, she does for Juliet. She has been totally devoted to Juliet like a mother.
The Nurse immediately comes across as an enthusiastic, very confident and down to earth character, and quite crude as she says, …
‘Now by my maidenhead at twelve year old, I bade her come. What lamb! What, ladybird! God forbid, where’s this girl? What, Juliet!’.
I was quite surprised that the Nurse was admitting she lost her virginity when she was twelve. I would expect the Nurse to be polite and courteous, as her job is dependent on Lady Capulet. Juliet’s nurse is very talkative and relates a story from Juliet’s childhood until she is interrupted. She uses sexual references when talking such as, ‘Thou wilt fall backward when thou hast more wit’ and ‘ A bump as big as a young cock’rel’s stone’!
After watching two different versions of Romeo and Juliet on video, which showed the Nurse as being crude and dramatic, I felt that the Nurse was portrayed as too sophisticated and formal in the theatre production to make any of her crude jokes entertaining or funny.
Lady Capulet and Juliet are very reserved with each other, not like the Nurse and her now dead husband. Juliet refers to her own mother as ‘madam’ and Lady Capulet relies greatly on the Nurse’s support when it comes to making decisions for Juliet as she says;
‘This is the matter. Nurse, give leave a while, We must talk in secret. Nurse come back again, I have remembered me, thou s’ hear our counsel.’
This shows that Lady Capulet is too scared to talk to Juliet in private without the Nurse present as she feels that they are not very close, and the Nurse can deal with the situation better.
To show that the Nurse is not very well educated she does not speak in poetry. Instead she speaks in prose, which shows she is not very sophisticated.
Shakespeare used language to give his characters different personalities and to make them come to life. He also changed the tone of the play by altering the way different characters spoke. He uses language to set a crude and bawdy scene and then changes the tone of the play into a romantic and emotional scene again, by using more sophisticated poetry.
He also uses language to establish a character’s intellect, and to emphasize their position in society, for example the Nurse’s crude references, as opposed to the Friar’s.
