Mercutio In Romeo And Juliet

In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio functions as an important plot device. He is a teasing, dirty-mouthed, overconfident joker, but he also provides deeper insight into characters’ flaws. He challenges Romeo, encouraging him to repeatedly stop moping and test his wits. Of course, his cockiness and challenging of authority proves to be his downfall - and a tipping point for many later scenes - but not before reminding readers that he’ll never let an opportunity for a joke pass. Mercutio has a carefully approached perspective that represents several roles, and he won’t let it be forgotten. Mercutio’s main purpose in the play is to adjust the main character’s point of view. At first, he’s attempting to get Romeo out of an angsty

In fact, he’s mostly the comedic relief. For example, he has a tendency to sing or to hop around while miming fencing motions. He’s clearly well-versed in this field, saying, “Ah, the immortal passado, the punto reverso, the hay!” (II.iv.26-17). The mere mental image of him jumping around and stabbing air is hilarious on its own. He also seems to believe that humor can be found anywhere, even in the grimmest of situations. He especially expresses this with his comedic remark, “Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man” (III.i.101-102). This line is from shortly after he was lethally stabbed. Anyone who has the audacity to make a pun while dying is someone who can be joviant while

It, quite plainly, is to hurt readers. A lot of time is spent on his lovability, so his sudden death is much more shocking and painful. It’s even worse when you realize that he doesn’t want to be gone. This was illustrated by when he says, “I/ am peppered, I warrant, for this world. A plague o’/ both your houses!” (III.i.102-104). He is wishing his murderer (Tybalt) and the one he was fighting for (Romeo) to be plagued. These are not the words of a contented man. He’s full of rage and despair, traumatized by the fact that he’s in a situation he can’t win through a battle of wits. And it hurts the readers, it hurts the audience to watch a beloved character lose so easily, especially when his death only leads to a cascade of other deaths from both the Capulets and the