Gebraroest
May 16, 2009
Writing Feedback / Mercutio's importance to the plot and theme - Romeo and Juliet [5]
This is an essay I wrote for Romeo and Juliet, I really suck at writing essays. Would really appreciate it if someone can look at it.
Mercutio is not only important to the plot of the play, but also the as theme of haste leads to tragedy as well. Mercutio serves as a foil to people who are supposed to be wise such as Friar Lawrence and Romeo because he is considered to be a fool in the beginning of the book, but in reality he is the wisest. Mercutio is cynical about love, as opposed to Romeo's view on live of being something beautiful and romantic. Mercutio is always uses witty bunter, wordplay and puns to tease people, and for the use of comic relief. Mercutio is hot headed and hasty, his actions would lead to many tragedies throughout the play.
Mercutio views love as something imaginary and he often make sexual jokes about love. His famous Queen Mab speech: "True, I talk of dreams; which are the children of an idle brain, begot of nothing but vain fantasy; which is as thin of substance as the air, and more inconstant than the wind, who wooes, even now the frozen bosom of the north, and, being anger'd, puffs away from thence, turning his face to the dew-dropping south." (Act 1, Scene 4, lines 97 - 103) In this scene, Mercutio argues that love is a dream and dreams are nothing, therefore love is nothing. This is the complete opposite of Romeo's view on love, which is supposed to be real and passionate. Mercutio attempts to cheer Romeo up because of his melancholy by using crude humour. "And, to sink in it, should you burden love; too great oppression for a tender thing." Mercutio is suggesting that if Romeo blames the burden of love, he will only sink into love even more.
Mercutio uses witty puns and wordplay to tease people; he was teasing Tybalt to get him angrier. "Tybalt you rat - catcher." Mercutio kept on using puns using Tybalt's name to provoke him, which will lead to conflict. During the scene where Mercutio harasses the nurse, he reveals what Romeo was like before he was melancholy with love. He gives the audience something to laugh about after many serious scenes. Shakespeare also uses Mercutio as a link between the characters in the play and the audiences watching the play. When Mercutio is telling Romeo that he is foolish, he is almost telling the audience that this play is foolish and it is never going to happen. Mercutio is a pun of the word mercutial, which means unpredictably changeable, this is a clue that Mercutio is very hasty and he does not think of his actions.
Mercutio and Tybalt fought because Mercutio was provoking Tybalt. When he died, it was more tragic because he was relative with the Prince and not part of the feuding families, and an innocent person died, this was also the climax of the play. When Mercutio died, he said "Help me into some house, Benvolio, or I shall faint. A plague o' both your houses!" Mercutio think he is cursing Tybalt and Romeo, little did he know he is also cursing Romeo and Juliet because they were married. He makes the first half of the play seems like a comedy because of his witty jokes. And when he disappears from the play, it turns into tragedy, because the humorous person is gone and people are dieing. Romeo felt responsible for his friend's death. Devastated, he killed Tybalt for revenge, causing the Prince to banish him. Juliet was suicidal when she found out Romeo was banished and she was willing to do anything. Friar Lawrence, who is usually a calm person had to be hasty has well to think of a plan to help the two lovers. He came up with a plan to fake Juliet's death, because everything was moving too fast, the Friar's plan failed to reach Romeo in time. Romeo decided that he couldn't live without Juliet; he bought a poison to plan and kill himself. When Juliet woke up and found Romeo dead, she took his knife and killed herself for she couldn't live without Romeo.
Mercutio is arguably the most important character in the play, He makes the plot more interesting because his view of love, his use of witty jokes and how his hastiness shape the plot.
This is an essay I wrote for Romeo and Juliet, I really suck at writing essays. Would really appreciate it if someone can look at it.
Mercutio is not only important to the plot of the play, but also the as theme of haste leads to tragedy as well. Mercutio serves as a foil to people who are supposed to be wise such as Friar Lawrence and Romeo because he is considered to be a fool in the beginning of the book, but in reality he is the wisest. Mercutio is cynical about love, as opposed to Romeo's view on live of being something beautiful and romantic. Mercutio is always uses witty bunter, wordplay and puns to tease people, and for the use of comic relief. Mercutio is hot headed and hasty, his actions would lead to many tragedies throughout the play.
Mercutio views love as something imaginary and he often make sexual jokes about love. His famous Queen Mab speech: "True, I talk of dreams; which are the children of an idle brain, begot of nothing but vain fantasy; which is as thin of substance as the air, and more inconstant than the wind, who wooes, even now the frozen bosom of the north, and, being anger'd, puffs away from thence, turning his face to the dew-dropping south." (Act 1, Scene 4, lines 97 - 103) In this scene, Mercutio argues that love is a dream and dreams are nothing, therefore love is nothing. This is the complete opposite of Romeo's view on love, which is supposed to be real and passionate. Mercutio attempts to cheer Romeo up because of his melancholy by using crude humour. "And, to sink in it, should you burden love; too great oppression for a tender thing." Mercutio is suggesting that if Romeo blames the burden of love, he will only sink into love even more.
Mercutio uses witty puns and wordplay to tease people; he was teasing Tybalt to get him angrier. "Tybalt you rat - catcher." Mercutio kept on using puns using Tybalt's name to provoke him, which will lead to conflict. During the scene where Mercutio harasses the nurse, he reveals what Romeo was like before he was melancholy with love. He gives the audience something to laugh about after many serious scenes. Shakespeare also uses Mercutio as a link between the characters in the play and the audiences watching the play. When Mercutio is telling Romeo that he is foolish, he is almost telling the audience that this play is foolish and it is never going to happen. Mercutio is a pun of the word mercutial, which means unpredictably changeable, this is a clue that Mercutio is very hasty and he does not think of his actions.
Mercutio and Tybalt fought because Mercutio was provoking Tybalt. When he died, it was more tragic because he was relative with the Prince and not part of the feuding families, and an innocent person died, this was also the climax of the play. When Mercutio died, he said "Help me into some house, Benvolio, or I shall faint. A plague o' both your houses!" Mercutio think he is cursing Tybalt and Romeo, little did he know he is also cursing Romeo and Juliet because they were married. He makes the first half of the play seems like a comedy because of his witty jokes. And when he disappears from the play, it turns into tragedy, because the humorous person is gone and people are dieing. Romeo felt responsible for his friend's death. Devastated, he killed Tybalt for revenge, causing the Prince to banish him. Juliet was suicidal when she found out Romeo was banished and she was willing to do anything. Friar Lawrence, who is usually a calm person had to be hasty has well to think of a plan to help the two lovers. He came up with a plan to fake Juliet's death, because everything was moving too fast, the Friar's plan failed to reach Romeo in time. Romeo decided that he couldn't live without Juliet; he bought a poison to plan and kill himself. When Juliet woke up and found Romeo dead, she took his knife and killed herself for she couldn't live without Romeo.
Mercutio is arguably the most important character in the play, He makes the plot more interesting because his view of love, his use of witty jokes and how his hastiness shape the plot.
