Mercutio and Friar Lawrence - character study
"The Most Interesting Characters in the play are not Romeo and Juliet" I believe that the above statement is true and I agree with it entirely. If it wasn't for the other characters the play would go something like this: "Romeo met Juliet, they fell in love, and lived happily ever after." How boring! You need other characters to complicate matters a bit. For this essay, I shall write about two other characters in the play that have a great influence on the chain of events in it: Mercutio and Friar Lawrence. Mercutio Mercutio is one of the most unique characters in Romeo and Juliet. His language is always powerful and imaginative. He represents all that is funny, youthful and playful in the play and has an important role. First of all, Mercutio is Romeo's friend. He is neither a Montague, nor a Capulet. Therefore, he has not been born into the family feud, but his friendship with Romeo does make him associated with the Montagues. Mercutio's character stands out from the rest because of the energy in everything he says. He is very fun loving and has a genuine love for life. He lives life on the edge and is always looking for something new and exciting to do. He is constantly playing on words, using metaphors and words with two or more meanings. Romeo describes him as "a gentleman...who loves to hear himself talk." As displayed in his famous "Queen Mab speech" in Act I
Notes on Mercutio. Romeo and Juliet
. Mercutio is a class clown. He will mock Romeo's views on love and do anything to make people laugh. Think of him as a Benvolio without a filter for his words. If you take a look at the Queen Mab speech in act one scene four, he is mocking Romeo's dream by saying a little fairy is responsible for dreams and that they don't mean anything. He is a word master as well. He is the source of many puns in the play and is not afaid to use them. Romeo remarks to the nurse that Mercutio "A gentleman, nurse, that loves to hear himself talk; and will speak more in a minute than he will stand to in a month" (act II, scene iv, 140-42). With a personality like this, it no wonder that his friends thought he was acting as he realized the seriousness of his wound from the fight in act three scene one. As he is dying, he uses another pun. He tells the group that if they "ask for me to-morrow, and you shall find me a grave man" (act III, scene i, 96-97). He needs to have the last word to point out to us the fact that it is the feud between the Montague and Capulet that have killed him. Mercutio is often considered a comic foil. (A foil is a character who by strong contract underscores or enhances the distinctive qualities of another character.) To his friend Romeo, Mercutio commands attention when he speaks, but comes across as likable during his witty and light-hearted banter with Romeo;
The Character of Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet.
The Character of Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet Romeo's best friend. Mercutio shows many different qualities before he is killed. When we see Mercutio using one of his best qualities, be humorous is when he has his major soliloquy about Queen Nab. Mercutio second quality is being arrogant to Tybalt when he wants to fight Romeo for being at the Capulet ball. Mercutio shows devotion to Romeo by being there when Romeo was down about Rosaline. One of the qualities Mercutio shows is being humorous. Mercutio in his long soliloquy to Romeo and Benvolio shows this. He is trying to explain to Romeo that there are other "fish in the sea", and not to be down about the one that doesn't love you. When Romeo says, "I dreamed a dream tonight," Mercutio came back to say, "Oh then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you. She is the fairies' midwife, and she comes in shape no bigger than an agate stone." Mercutio goes on to say that the fairy is drawn by a team of horses of little tiny creatures. After explaining what her coach and what she look like he fools around by exclaiming, "And in this state she gallops night by night through lovers' brains, and then they dream on curtseys straight." Romeo was getting irritated with Mercutio's little speech so by the next couple lines Romeo basically tells him to shut up! The soliloquy shows how he can fool around. Mercutio is close to
What 30 years have done to Mercutio & Tybalt?
What 30 years have done to Mercutio & Tybalt In Baz Luhrmann's 'Romeo and Juliet' the opening fight scene starts off with a shot of some yob like people listening to heavy music. You can tell that think they are above the rest by the way they are all messing around in the car. These are the Montagues They pull up at a petrol station nearly running over one of the garage workers and Benvolio Goes inside the building. As he walks into the building you see the Capulet car pull up very smoothly. You can tell which car is which because it says on the number plate. Now the camera angle is from the bottom of the car door. When it opens you see a leg come out of the door with smart black trousers on and black leather boots with a metal heal. A cigar drops to the floor and he treads it out, all of this is introducing you to the smart smooth style of the Capulets. Still only looking at the lower part of this mans leg he goes into the garage, as he does some nuns exit the garage. The punk like Montagues are rude to the nuns as they drive off by licking their nipples etc. As they are so involved in this they do not notice that some Capulets have pulled up and as they see them there facial expressions change dramatically to one of fear and they become very panicky. The Montague in the car shows his holstered gun and says "quarrel I will back thee". The Capulet smoothly shows his gun and
Evaluate the Significance of Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet
Evaluate the Significance of Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet is about two lovers whose families are at war and how the two overcome the family feud for their love for each other. Mercutio is one of the central characters in the play; he is one of the prince's kinsmen and is best friend to Romeo of the Montague household. The name Mercutio is derived for the word mercurial which means eloquent, active and changeable; Mercutio is all three because through out the play he changes his mood from a light-hearted joking to fiery insults in a short time. Mercutio is very persistent and is always ready to do things which again show the relevance of his name because of his activity. Mercutio is also very eloquent using a very good choice of words to humiliate the target for instance he uses an oxymoron to insult Tybalt by calling him "the very butcher of a silk button", when saying this Mercutio uses the vicious word "butcher" and then contradicts it with a very delicate and soft word of "silk button" thus suggesting he is very effeminate and that he is better at sewing than fighting. Mercutio has many major impacts on the play and the characters, for example, Mercutio influences Romeo greatly and in many ways, he also provides a lot of drama and humour to the play. Mercutio in addition provides an alternative view of love to Romeo's very thoughtful view, Mercutio
Evaluate Shakespeares Presentation of Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet
Evaluate Shakespeare's Presentation of Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet Mercutio's name derives from the adjective Mercurial which is also known as 'changeable' The variations of his name give a relevant insight into the complicated character of Mercutio. Other names such as Mercury - the Roman messenger God suggest the quick paced humour and witty character. All these many names speak a lot about his personality and big influence in Romeo and Juliet. Some of Mercutio's many contributions to the play are as a comic foil to Romeo, contrasting with Romeo's more softly spoken, humourless character or as guidance about love. Mercutio is first introduce in Act 1 Scene 4. "Nay, gentle Romeo, we must have you dance." This immediately suggests his lively cheerful personality. Shakespeare introduces Mercutio at this point in time as a way to break up the tension of the previous happenings. "If love be rough with you, be rough with love." Shows his jovial, positive view towards anything. Another similar idea is when Mercutio says "Prick love for pricking." This portrays Mercutio as a joker and the use of puns 'pricks/prick' shows his quick witted comedy. Throughout the first scene Mercutio displays many different views of love. "You are a lover, borrow Cupid's wings/ Too great oppression for a tender thing." This shows that Mercutio is a person who is acquainted with love as may have
What part in the play is taken by Mercutio
What part in the play is taken by Mercutio? What is the relationship between him and Romeo? The character of Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet plays an important role in providing humour. He can draw a number of comparisons and contrasts to other characters with his quick wit and upbeat attitude. His relationship with Romeo is made interesting by the fact that he is neither a Montague nor Capulet, but a neutral in the rivalry of the two houses. Mercutio is a spontaneous, wild and energetic character, "Nay gentle Romeo, we must have you dance." Mercutio is determined to persuade both Benvolio and Romeo to sneak into the Capulet's ball. After Romeo says he is too "heavy" hearted to dance, Mercutio is filled with energy and tries to dismiss Romeo's love problems, more evidence of Mercutio being full of life. His character is considered to be the "joker" of the play. This is evident in all of the scenes he is in. "Good Peter, to hide her face, for her fan's the fairer face." Act 2, Scene 4 is the scene that most emphasises his very coarse sense of humour. A character in the play that could be compared to Mercutio is the Nurse. Both provide a lot of comedy in the play with their crude sense of humour, however they are also good people to turn to in the event of a serious matter. This is illustrated by Mercutio's defense of Romeo in Act 3, Scene 1, resulting in his death and the
As a director I would portray Mercutio as...
As a director I would portray Mercutio as... As a director I would cast Mercutio as a very dramatic and vibrant character. This is because many of the things that he says are very outrageous and I imagine that they come from a similar kind of character. As Romeo and Juliet is play not a novel, we do not get a written description of any of the characters. This means that we have to make one up for ourselves in our minds. In the Baz Lehreman production of the play Mercutio is played as a black transvestite. I like this idea and I can imagine him as this character but I think that it might be slightly over the top. I think that even though Mercutio is a very extrovert character, I think that he is too refined and too influenced by society to be a transvestite. He would appear on the outside in bright, flamboyant dress but still in the style of the age. He might move and act slightly homosexual but he must speak very confidently to go with his personality. His lines could be slightly overacted so that he stands out as a character. In Mercutio's first appearance, where he performs the queen Mab speech he talks about a fairy and a whole magical world "she is the fairies midwife...no bigger than an agate stone". He carries on like this describing more and more of this magical world and gets quite carried away. This makes us feel like he might get quite carried away as a person, who
A Character Study on Mercutio - Romeo And Juliet
A Character Study on Mercutio. "Romeo And Juliet" William Shakespeare wrote "Romeo and Juliet" in the "Elizabethan" Period. It is about two lovers who commit suicide when their feuding families prevent them from being together. There are many characters, each keeping the same plot but with different roles. One of these characters is Mercutio; he is the best friend of Romeo Montague and kin of the Prince Escalus. He is neither Montague, nor Capulet. Therefore, he has not been born into a feud and really has no side. However, his friendship with Romeo associates him with the Montagues. He is always living his life on the edge and always looking for something new and exciting to do. He is constantly playing on words, using two or more meanings. Romeo once describes him as, "A gentlemen...who loves to hear himself talk." As displayed in his Queen Mab speech in Act I Scene IV, he is very imaginative. Mercutio believes that you should chase after what you yearn for. "If love be rough with you, then be rough with love." Mercutio teases Romeo, in Act I Scene IV: "Romeo! Humours! Madman! Passion! Lover! Appear though in the likeness of a sigh." This demonstrates how he misunderstands Romeo's love for the Capulet, Juliet. Mercutio is a generally free and independent character and doesn't realize how anyone can be so dependant or want a person so much. Mercutio wants to live
Themes introduced my Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet In-Class Essay By Christiaan Hind Question 2: When Mercutio is fatally wounded by Tybalt, he cries, "A plague on both your houses!" What do you think this means? What themes in the context of the play, can be linked to his exclamation? In little more than five words, the Kinsman of the Prince, Mercutio, manages to transform the story of Romeo and Juliet from a comedy, to a tragedy. Many would call it the pivotal act, or the turning point of the story. As Mercutio lays dieing in a pool of his own blood, he utters the fateful words, "A plague o' both houses". While the underlying theme of the play is love, the line subverts the idea of love by introducing its polar opposite, death. To cry, "A plague on both your houses!" in that day and age was an extreme insult, and considered as a curse on not just ones self, but on an entire family (or "house"). The black plague was extremely prominent, burned into the minds of the English. It had wiped out more than a third of Europe's population, and had crippled many prominent families. To utter such words was to curse ones family to suffer from the plague, effectively resulting in the death of various people. Up to that point, death had not come up as a theme, and the play would have been considered a comedy. You see, the story up until this point is somewhat happy and whimsical. Romeo had found a new love in Juliet,
