Romeo and Juliet: Mercutio

In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare Mercutio seems like an interesting character. Mercutio is Romeo's best friend and ally. I can see them being friends and they seem to need each other. Mercutio seems to lift Romeo's spirits and encourages him to take risks. Without him there would not be no storyline and Romeo wouldn't do many of the things that end up driving the plot. Mercutio's interesting personality keeps the story going

I observe that Mercutio is somewhat bold and outgoing. He seems to be perfectly willing to take risks. Doing things like deciding to crash the Capulet's party. The Capulets, who are Romeo's rival family. Tybalt would have Romeo dead for trespassing on something that is capulets only. This is an important part in the story because this is the place where Romeo will meet his Star-crossed lover: Juliet Capulet. The girl in which he will fall in love with and ,eventually, die with. The idea to go to the ball was all Mercutio's idea and it is an important plot point in the Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.

Mercutio also seems to cheer up Romeo when he is self-conscious or just sad. For example after Romeo says "I have a soul of lead. So stakes me to the ground I cannot move." feeling depressed that Rosaline didn't love him back Mercutio responds with "You are a lover. Borrow Cupid's wings, And soar with them above a common bound.". Mercutio seems to be the ying to Romeo's Yang and will say the opposite of what Romeo is thinking. While Romeo broods over having a heavy soul due to his sadness over Rosaline, Mercutio thinks that Romeo can soar to new highs and fall in love with someone greater that Rosaline. Romeo thinks that he is never going to get someone to love him, Mercutio counters with "You are a lover." a blunt and forthright statement about how he thinks that Romeo isn't quite hopeless.

I think that Mercutio's perspective on love is interesting. It's not as one-track-minded and slightly cynical as Romeo's perspective on love, it certainly is different. He seems to think that love is something to be rough with. Something that won't quite treat you nice and you have to be tough to be in love because it's not all going to be joys and happiness. I get this idea from this quote "If love be rough with you, be rough with love. Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down". The fact that he considers the fact that love could be possibly uncomfortable makes me think that he likes to stick to a slightly cynical and realistic view of love. Unlike Romeo who seems to think of love in quite dramatic and always-pleasant ways Mercutio prefers to stick to a more realistic view of love. He knows that it's not really possible to never quarrel with somebody and for everything to be PERFECT.

Mercutio reminds me of another character from another book. While the other book was written centuries later I think that these 2 characters are quite alike. He reminds me of the Comedian from Watchmen. The Comedian is always thinking in a more realistic sense of view. He was supposed to be a reflection or a "parody" of "the true face of the 20th century". Also, Mercutio and The Comedian both seem a little bit mentally unstable. Mercutio's speech about Queen Mab seems a little bit out there. Also, before The Comedian dies, he has a mental breakdown at the house of one of his old rivals. So there, that's how i can relate Mercutio from 1597 to The Comedian from 1985. Besides, Alan Moore (the writer of Watchmen) is often considered the Shakespeare of Comic Book writing.

In conclusion, Mercutio is an important Character that drives the story onward. He is the person that puts Romeo into perspective and encourages him to take chances. He's definatly one of the more interesting characters, at least thats what i think. Mercutio is definitely one of the more interesting characters in the book.


What do you think of Mercutio and his opinions?

Until next time
-Andyroo