Mercutio To Blame In Romeo And Juliet

The classic play “Romeo and Juliet” evokes, in most, feelings of excitement, romance, and conflict–however, the play is most notable for its great tragedy. The Shakespeare story depicts a senseless feud with unknown origins; only its present day effects matter in this tale. The Montague and Capulet families of Verona are sworn enemies, but their spat becomes more and more complicated as Romeo and Juliet, two of their teenage children, have a secret relationship, and eventually die. But from whose hands does this tragedy strike? All evidence points to Mercutio being the character most to blame for the tragic events in Romeo and Juliet, because he does not take responsibility, encourages reckless behavior in Romeo, and exercises reckless behavior

Although the main emphasis of this letter is that Rosaline will be attending, he also reads “Mercutio and his brother Valentine” as one of the lines of the guest list (Shakespeare 1.2.73). The fact that Mercutio is invited to this party implies that he is on good terms with, and respected by, the heads of this family. This only raises further questions, though–why must Mercutio only reap the outright benefits of being acquainted with the Capulets, instead of using his association to help his friend in times of need? Mercutio cannot be seen speaking with the Capulet family or any of their associates in any meaningful sense–however, as a member of the nobility and neither Montague nor Capulet, has the ability to associate with both families and presumably exact some sort of legal influence over them. However, he instead elects to participate in senseless foolery with Romeo and Benvolio, and barely speak to the Capulets. Because Mercutio does not utilize his connections to the Capulet family to help end their feud, and thus assist his friend in thwarting death, he has created an issue while sitting idly

In the start of Act 3, the last where Mercutio appears, Benvolio says to him “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” (Shakespeare 3.1.1-3). He is specifically warned and advised not to let himself be seen, but immediately dismisses Benvolio’s concerns–going to far as to say “By my heel, I care not,” (Shakespeare 3.1.38) when Benvolio exclaims “By my head, here comes the Capulets” (Shakespeare 3.1.37). Directly after this, because Mercutio is acting contrary to Benvolio’s advice, Tybalt comes along, sees him, and starts a fight. This leads to Mercutio’s death, and it is the first that can be attributed to him. He then confusingly blames the Capulet and Montague families, although without his reckless behavior, the brawl could have been averted. Romeo and Tybalt, both caught up in this fight, spar with one another, and Tybalt dies–a second death that can be attributed to him. Mercutio’s immature street fight then leads to Romeo’s exile, which in turn leads to deaths three, four, and five–Paris, Romeo, and Juliet. Is the fight an inevitability, because of Tybalt’s hot-headed tendencies? Perhaps, but if Mercutio had conceded to his friend’s argument, then he would not be seen by Tybalt, at least delaying this event. Shifting