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Mercutio Monologue

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Mercutio’s introduction in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet establishes himself as a fanciful character. His speech solidifies his character as someone who has zero patience for Romeo’s immaturity in the love department; no patience for any self pity for that matter. Mercutio suggests he and the Montegues crash a Capulet party. Romeo, heartbroken by Rosaline, refuses to join his friends because of uneasiness due to a dream. Mercutio starts to convince him to go by using an allusion to fairy Queen Mab to demonstrate to Romeo his infantile attitude. The purpose of this speech is simple: to knock Romeo out of his piteous state and make him realize his immaturity while developing Mercutio’s personality through imagery, allusion, and wordplay. …show more content…

When Mercutio first starts to describe Queen Mab’s effect on dreamers, he says, “Through lovers’ brains, and then they dream of love; / O'er courtiers’ knees, that dream on court'sies straight; / O'er lawyers’ fingers, who straight dream on fees;” (1.4.76-78). These lines are describing Mercutio’s opinion of each group- he conjectures that lawyers only care about money, romantics about love, and noblemen about courting someone. He then displays his detest to love using a double entendre: “O'er ladies’ lips, who straight on kisses dream, / Which oft the angry Mab with blisters plagues, / Because their breaths with sweetmeats tainted are” (1.4.79-81). This generalization is basically saying that ladies are single-mindedly preoccupied with sexual encounters that they are being cursed with STDs. Mercutio’s impatience for any love is significant as it reduces his patience with Romeo’s heartbreak. However, this section foreshadows Mercutio’s future trouble with violence as well. He explains how a soldier that “dreams he of cutting foreign throats” (1.4.88) can also “start[s] and wake[s], /And being thus frighted, swears a prayer or two /And sleeps again” (1.4.91-93). At this point, Meructio presents a dislike for soldiers cemented when he is murdered by Tybalt, a capulet kinsman. His opinions and animosities being presented in this speech, although directed toward Romeo, match with his loquacious personality this monologue is introducing to the

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444 Words | 2 Pages

There were many violent ends within the play that all began with Romeo and Juliet’s forbidden love, and one was the passing of five characters. Mercutio was a relative to the prince and as such he was untouchable. On the other hand he also subtly chose sides. Being friends with the Montagues was the beginning of the road to his death. He was an extremely witty person within the play constantly making jokes, but he also had a vivid imagination coming up with eloquent stories for the trio to hear.

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848 Words | 4 Pages

Mercutio is making light of Romeo’s deep depressing love for Rosaline, he’s mocking love and making it a joke. This creates an emphasis on Romeo’s utter affixation with love. Mercutio’s playfulness and ability to make a serious subject humorous and reasonable bring out the deep, dark, and depressing side of Romeo, who is completely the opposite when it comes to love. Romeo does not see love as a joke and we see him fall into a depression, Mercutio only makes this sadness more apparent as he talks so jokingly of love. Shakespeare uses Mercutio to lighten Romeo’s depression and make it more

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623 Words | 3 Pages

Mercutio is different from Romeo because he does not believe in love and makes fun of Romeo and falling in love so heavily all the time. When Romeo describes his love for Rosaline using a rose with thorns as a metaphor. Mercutio laughs and says ”If love be rough with you, be rough with love; Prick love for pricking and you beat love down”(I.4.27-28). In another scenario of Romeo and Mercutio’s foils is when Romeo tells his friends about a dream he had about the party and is expecting a disastrous outcome of the party. Mercutio makes fun of Romeo because he does not believe that dreams can become visions of impending danger.

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405 Words | 2 Pages

To start, Mercutio is known as Romeo’s close friend. At the beginning of the story, as he convinced Romeo to go to

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547 Words | 3 Pages

Both pieces of evidence relate to the theme because Romeo interferes with Mercutio’s decision leading to Mercutio's death. Romeo’s interference caused the death of Mercutio, proving that trusting others and letting them make their decisions is the best course of action at

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858 Words | 4 Pages

As Romeo’s complete opposite, or foil, Mercutio often mocks the romance Romeo longs for, focusing instead on the physical aspects of love. For example, when Romeo becomes lovesick for his old flame, Mercutio teases the idea with, “If love be rough with you, be rough with love; / Prick love for pricking and you beat love down” (Rom.I.4.27,28). Sarcastic and carefree jokes such as this one

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349 Words | 2 Pages

He is effective in bringing about his desires, although his desires aren't always for the best. Mercutio gets his way when he is teasing Romeo about his love for Rosaline. Mercutio calls him a “madman”(2. 1. 8) and a “lover” (2. 1. 8).

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875 Words | 4 Pages

This quote clearly demonstrates Romeo and Mercutio’s fighting taste differences because of how Romeo tries to prevent the fight. This shows two things regarding the

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627 Words | 3 Pages

Mercutio tries to persuade Romeo to join them in going to the Capulet's feast. Romeo takes love very seriously and yearning for Rosaline, while Mercutio treats love as a joke. He makes fun of Romeo when he talks about Queen Mab (Act 1, Scene 4, Line 53). When Romeo says he cannot join them because he feels too forlorn and disheartened, Mercutio tells Romeo to “Borrow Cupid's wings and soar with them above a common bound” (Act 1, Scene 4, Line 17). Furthermore, when Romeo argues that love is “too rough, rude and boist’rous” and that it "pricks like a thorn," Mercutio instead tells him some clever remarks, “If love be rough with you, be rough with love; Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down”.

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692 Words | 3 Pages

Well, the audience does not know much about Mercutio beyond the facade that he places upon himself towards the other characters of the play, and additionally to the audience themselves. The moment that the audience can most easily see this facade break is when Tybalt, the enemy of the Montagues, confronts Romeo, and Mercutio intervenes. Mercutio’s empathy in this matter does not reach extraordinary lengths, or even somewhat understandable lengths, as when Romeo is pleading to Tybalt that he does not want to fight and instead wants to love Mercutio states, “O calm, dishonourable, vile submission!” (III.i.1571). At this moment, he believes that the act of submission itself is dishonorable.

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914 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout the whole play both Romeo and Mercutio were there for each other when in need of a friend or even just some comforting words. Mercutio always seems to say the right things to put Romeo back on track and in focus. While Romeo was relentlessly weeping over his unrequited love for Rosaline, Mercutio, with his wise and caring words said, “‘Why is not this not better than groaning for love? Now art thou sociable.

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899 Words | 4 Pages

While these start off as humorous and lighthearted, by the end of their search his jokes have become offensive and obscene. Mercutio’s strange performance continued the next morning, when Benvolio and Mercutio were once again looking for Romeo. During their quick-witted banter, they approach the subject of Tybalt, and Mercutio begins bitterly ridiculing him; he mocks Tybalt’s proper upper-class manners and behavior, believing him to be pretentious and conceited. While talking about the way Tybalt fights, Mercutio scoffs at how “he rests his minimum rests, one, two, and the third. a duelist, a duelist,.

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524 Words | 3 Pages

He fights as you sing/pricksong—keeps time, distance, and proportion;” (II.iv.19-21.) Mercutio calls Tybalt the Prince of Cats, a character whose name is also Tybalt, and declares that Romeo is tougher and more attentive than him. This shows how Mercutio supports his friends and expresses what he believes

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633 Words | 3 Pages

Mercutio’s constant thoughtless babbling makes him seem mentally unstable, not trustworthy, and unintelligent. When Romeo even mentions haveing a thought enduced by a dream Mercutio goes on a several minute rant about “Queen Mab”, the evil fairy lady that put dreams in mens’ heads. This Monologue is early on in the audiences meeting of Mercutio so this big, long, somewhat upset rant about a fairy that rides in a hazelnut carriage can make the audience think that Mercutio is a bit crazy. In Mercutio’s case his words don’t quite elad to tradgedy but it shows how if people do not think before they speak that they will not be respected as much as those who

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549 Words | 3 Pages

Gifted in wit, manipulation, and powers of diversion, both Menenius and Mercutio were characters that worked more or less behind the scenes, shrouded in the shadows of their stories’ heroes and left to scheme without interference. For Romeo, Mercutio is a friend, advisor (though his advice is occasionally unscrupulous, at best), and protector, who cares dearly about Romeo and his wellbeing. Mercutio makes it his ultimate goal to keep Romeo “on track”; however, what Romeo sees as his path in life is a very different one than Mercutio sees for him. Romeo has a tendency to walk with his head in the clouds, dreaming of romance and peace, falling in love left and right, paying no attention to the harsh reality he lives in. Mercutio wants to make sure Romeo stays rooted to the ground, so he doesn’t fly off completely and leave Mercutio behind.

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