Mercutio Essay

All stories, plays, and literary arts, have characters that propel the plot forward with their actions and decisions, and in William Shakespeare's play, “Romeo and Juliet”, Mercutio is that character. He plays an extremely important and essential role in the play. Without him, Romeo wouldn't have met his love, and also enemy, Juliet Capulet. Mercutio was also the one that provoked a fight with Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, and as a result, Tybalt killed Mercuito and this is where and when Romeo and Juliet’s love story starts to collapse.

Mercutio is an optimistic, loyal, and comedic character, also the kinsman of Prince Escalus. One of Mercutio's crucial roles is to move the story forward by influencing Romeo's decisions. For example, Mercutio

This is because he is a victim of one of the violent conflicts included in the play. In Act 3, Mercuito, a friend of Romeo, on the Montagues side, and Tybalt, a Capulet, also the cousin of Juliet, had a sword fight which then led to Mercutio's death. This is important because it marks the start of where and how things started to escalate behind Romeo and Juliet's "happy marriage". After Romeo finds out about Mercutio's death, he yells "Alive in triumph and Mercutio slain! Away to heaven lenity, And fire-eyed fury be my conduct now. Now, Tybalt, take the ‘villain’ back again, That late thou gavest me; for Mercutio's soul Is but a little way above our heads, Staying for thine to keep him company. Either thou or I, or both, must go with him." (3.1.127-134) Romeo is furious that Tybalt killed his good friend that he let his emotions take over which results in Romeo killing Tyablt for revenge. When Romeo comes to his senses, he realizes what he's done and says "O, I am Fortune's fool!"(3.1.146). And instead of blaming himself for the death of Tybalt, he blames fate. After the deaths of these two people, Romeo and Juliet's problems start to escalate because after Tybalt's death, Romeo is banished from Verona as a consequence. All in all, one of the ways Mercutio moves the plot forward is by contributing to the fight scene with

What Mercutio and Benvolio had in mind was to make Romeo see that there are other beauties in the world and forget about Rosaline, "By giving liberty unto thine eyes. Examine other beauties" (1.1.235-236), and it worked. Romeo originally was sad and frustrated because Rosaline, the girl he liked, rejected him because she swore to chastity “Well, in that hit you miss: she’ll not be hit With Cupid’s arrow, she hath Dian’s wit; And in strong proof of chastity well arm’d, From Love’s weak childish bow she lives uncharm’d. She will not stay in the siege of loving terms, Nor bide th’ encounter of assailing eyes, Nor open her lap to saint-seducing gold. O, she is rich in beauty, only poor That, when she dies, with beauty dies her store.”(1.1.216-224). But shortly after, he meets Juliet and falls in love with her at first sight. This is important because it marks the start of their "love story". By adding Mercutio in this scene, it moves the plot a lot. Without Mercutio, the two lovers wouldn't have met and there wouldn't have been as many