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Mercutio's Allusion

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When Romeo does not return home for an entire night after attending the feast at the Capulet’s house, Mercutio makes a remark that includes a number of allusions. Among them is the tragic love story of Cleopatra and Antony. Similar to Romeo and Juliet, the affections between Cleopatra and Antony were formed at an instant when they first encountered each other in Anatolia. In addition, according to the account of historian Brian Haughton from the University of Birmingham, “...he [Antony] was forced to conclude a temporary settlement with Octavian [Antony’s rival in Rome]… It was to be three years before he and Cleopatra were to meet again, at the city of Antioch…” (Haughton 1) Cleopatra and Antony are not able to stay together because they came …show more content…

He brings up the story of Cleopatra and Antony in a conversation with Benvolio while suspecting that Romeo’s absence from the previous night is a result of spending time with whom he thought would be Rosaline, Romeo’s old lover, however, he has already fallen in love another woman named Juliet. Based on the discoveries mentioned in advance, Mercutio conveys that since the way Romeo interacts with his loved one shows many parallels to the experiences of Cleopatra and Antony, the two star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet are bound to encounter a tragic ending, like the abrupt termination of the lives of Cleopatra and Antony. In reference to history encyclopedia, Antony commits suicide by falling on a sword because of a false news that announces the death of Cleopatra. As a result of this sudden loss and pressures from her enemy Octavian, Cleopatra also gives up her life voluntarily by receiving a bite from an asp and dies from poisoning. Coincidentally, Romeo kills himself by ingesting poison as well, thinking that Juliet is dead. However, in reality, Juliet is only in an unconscious state due to drug effects. When she eventually wakes up, the unwanted has already taken place. She stabs herself to death in response to the heart-breaking figure of Romeo’s dead body lying beside her. Not surprisingly, they are another unfortunate couple who are compelled to express their love through

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Finally, he kisses her for the last time before he enters his eternal slumber. Romeo makes this decision with his heart affirming that the heart rules over the head. Furthermore, Juliet soon wakes up and realizes that Romeo is dead. Juliet takes his dagger and kills herself, the after-effects of the previous foreshadow when she showed Friar Lawrence her dagger. Juliet says, "Yea noise?

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Mercutios relationship with Romeo is a foil because their beliefs are extremely controversial with each other's. Fates, dreams and love are few of the thoughts where they disagree, and there opinions on each matter were shown a myriad throughout the play , this is shown to be true when Romeo states, "In bed asleep, while they do dreams come true" (1.4, lns 52). This quote supports my answer because Romeo is stating that your dream are prophecies where Mercutio, "...nothing but fantasy" (1.4, lns 98) believes that they mean nothing and are just childish thought. Another quote from the text that supports my answer is between Romeo and Mercutio, "And, to sink in it, should you burden love- too great oppression for a tender thing" (1.4, lns 23-24)

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Mercutio’s Long Shadow Quick-witted, loyal, and funny, Mercutio belongs in the list of Shakespeare’s most memorable and well written characters. Mercutio’s lines portray a man always ready and willing to laugh, a man who puts a friend’s honor over his own safety. Notwithstanding all of this, his role includes a much greater one; the character of Mercutio provides a key to understanding ‘The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.’

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True love is a concept perceived as achievable by many and a myth to some. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio’s purpose is to foreshadow an important aspect of the play, be a foil for Romeo, and lead to the woeful turning point of the comedy turned tragedy. Mercutio is used to foreshadow Romeo and Juliet’s tragic fate. After being stabbed by Tybalt under Romeo’s arm, Mercutio manages to tell Romeo that he wishes a “plague curse both your families” (III,1,94). After Mercutio’s death, only tragedy ensues- Tybalt dies, Romeo is banished, the Friar does not deliver a message, and Romeo and Juliet end their lives.

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Mercutio is one of the most intelligent characters is this play. In this quote Mercutio is telling Romeo that he shouldn't let a dream he had keep him from doing what he wants. "True I talk of dreams which are children of an idle brain. Begot from nothing but vain fantasy; Which is thin of substance as the air, and more inconsistent than the air. Who woos even now the frozen bosom of the north and being angered puffs away from thence turning his face to the dew dropping south.

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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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In the morning, the nurse discovers her and pronounces her dead. Of all the things the Friar has done so far, giving Juliet the poison is the worst of his actions. As the Friar’s plan goes, Romeo did not receive the letter from the servant describing the situation of how Juliet is not dead, only sleeping. Romeo then kills himself when he sees his ‘dead’ wife, and when Juliet rises only to see her dead husband, she ends her life with a

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Connor Flanigan Mr. Zamanis English 9 6 March 2024 Romeo & Juliet Few characters are capable of bringing comedy and truth into a play like Mercutio can. Mercutio is one of the key characters in Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. This play is a tragedy of two young starstruck lovers, in the midst of a family rivalry that causes them to inevitably die together. Mercutio, Romeo's best friend, is viewed by many as one of Shakespeare’s greatest characters. He is one of Shakespeare’s greatest characters because of his loyalty, humor, and confidence.

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Not only did he bring Romeo to the party, he brought him into his own death. By intending to make Romeo less depressed about his heartbreak with Rosaline, Mercutio caused another heartbreak later on in the story. Also, a few seconds before Mercutio’s death, he uttered a curse upon the two families with a strong hate for each other; The Capulets and The Montagues. This curse emerged quickly within the members of the

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Juliet then fakes her death so that when Romeo is done with his sentence they can “run away” and live a free life together. Throughout the play it is consistently shown that Romeo and Juliet overreact about how they must be together or that if one dies the other shall die as well.

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This is very different from what happened when Romeo died. When Romeo died he gave a dramatic speech about love. These death scenes highlight the differences between them. The main thing Mercutio does throughout the play is make jokes. This highlights how dramatic Romeo’s character is sometimes, which highlights the characterization of Romeo.

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Their final fight with their roman enemies was deadly since Antony hears rumors that She has committed suicide he then does the same thing, all while Cleopatra surrenders to Octavian who she was unable to charm into loving her. Cleopatra poisons herself and her sons are murdered bringing an end to the

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When Cleopatra heard of this she killed herself. Some say she was dumb for it, others would believe that she would not have lived much longer since her love for Antony was so strong and the pain would have been too much to bear. This love scandal had resulted in the playwright of the brilliant William Shakespeare called “Antony and Cleopatra”. This tragic romance should be used to show what love can do to a person no matter how low they are regarded

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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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