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Literary analysis on romeo and juliet
Character analysis for romeo and juliet essay
Literary analysis on romeo and juliet
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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)
Mercutio quickly calls him out, claiming “dreamers often lie” (I.4.56) and dreams are “nothing but vain fantasy” (I.4.105-107). Mercutio suggests his beliefs are skeptical and dreams do not show fate, aren’t genuine, and don’t pertain to the real world. Finally, Romeo, who sulks over love, is told by Mercutio to “borrow Cupid’s wings” and “soar with them above a common bound” (I.4.17-18). Mercutio tries to get Romeo over love, and Romeo responds negatively, saying he is too sore to fly due to the shot of Cupid’s arrow. This displays Mercutio’s optimistic and Romeo’s pessimistic personalities.
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
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.
To start things off, let us look at how Mercutio’s actions and advice led Romeo to be abhorred by almost everyone in Verona. At the Capulets’ party, Romeo infuriates Tybalt, after Tybalt discovers that a Montague (Romeo) is at the Capulet’s feast. Mercutio was there, and in fact, he led Romeo to be disliked by Tybalt. Mercutio told Romeo he should find love and pursue it even if it does not work out for him.
Romeo allows his thirst for revenge to cloud his logical reasoning when he kills Tybalt who has just murdered Mercutio, Romeo’s best friend. Mercutio defends Romeo against Tybalt’s insults with comebacks and later his sword. As Romeo attempts to intervene, Mercutio is stabbed by Tybalt and Romeo is enraged. Once he finds out from Benvolio that the wound had killed him, Romeo,”Who had but newly entertained revenge,” (III.i.173), kills Tybalt and flees the scene. Romeo declined to
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.
Mercutio is a highly unique character in William Shakespears Romeo and Juliet. His complex, dynamic personality as well as the blend of comedy, and tragedy, does not solely impact the characters in the play, but he audience as well. Mercutio helps reveal & develop Romeo's personality significantly throughout the play. Being that these two characters' personalities differ so greatly, Mercutio's energetic and humorous personality trait tends to rub off on Romeo directly (through his advice) and indirectly (through his actions). A prime example of this is when Mercutio says to Romeo `` If love be rough with you, be rough with love: Prick love for pricking and you beat love down.
Mercutio says that dreams mean nothing, and pressures him into going to the party anyways. Romeo agrees, and begins the chain of events that lead to his and Juliet’s deaths. He shows how reluctant he is to go by stating,
Dreams can be an escape from reality, but dreamers must guard themselves against becoming trapped in that fantasy. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is the tragic love story of two lovers who are fated to doom. Mercutio’s “Queen Mab” speech explores the idea of how dreams can be deceiving which relates to Romeo and Juliet’s deceptive love for one another. By examining Shakespeare’s use of diction and imagery, the motif of dreams becomes evident. In the exposition, Shakespeare operates the use of imagery in Mercutio’s “Queen Mab” speech.
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
Romeo has a very bad feeling about going and even dreams about something terrible happening. He starts to explain this dream to Mercutio who Romeo is traveling to the party with, “Well what was yours? “That dreamers often lie” (1.4.41-47). Mercutio and Romeo have a very close bond and they are able to talk about anything. Mercutio thinks that Romeo is being a coward by trying to get out of going to the party.
Shakespeare uses the accuracy and inaccuracy of dreams to make the reader question, whether are dreams true. The simple answer is yes and no. Shakespeare is claiming that dreams in Romeo and Juliet aren’t completely true or untrue, but rather something in between. He does this through the continuous examples of these mercurial dreams as well, as making the main spokesperson for dreams Mercutio whose name literally means mercurial or always changing.
After all, Romeo was young, he had the rest of his life to find love. Earlier in the play is another example of Romeo reacting without through thought, “Alive in triumph—and Mercutio slain! Away to heaven, respective 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...”(III.i.84-91). If Romeo recalled what the Prince stated after the servants fight [for know on, fighters will be killed or
In the play, Romeo says, “You’re this poor and wretched and still afraid to die? Your cheeks are thin because of hunger. I can see in your eyes that you’re starving. Anyone can see that you’re a beggar” (Shakespeare) As Romeo was insulting this man it can be seen how he was acting out and truly not thinking on what he was actually about to do.
