What does Mercutio represent in Romeo and Juliet?

What does Mercutio represent in Romeo and Juliet?

Mercutio is an anti-romantic character who, like Juliet’s Nurse, regards love as an exclusively physical pursuit. He advocates an adversarial concept of love that contrasts sharply with Romeo’s idealized notion of romantic union.

What does Mercutio’s death symbolize?

Mercutio, with his cheerful yet cutting personality, symbolizes the city of Verona, and his death symbolizes what unnecessary wars do to society as a whole. He is broken in this final scene. He tries to make light of his doom with the macabre joke, “Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man” (III.

What are the symbols used in Romeo and Juliet?

  • Fire= overwhelming passion, either love or hate.
  • Stars= fate, doomed love.
  • Poison= death, greed, falseness.
  • Rose= love and death, Juliet.
  • Mask= secrecy, putting up a false front.

How is Mercutio witty?

With a lightning-quick wit and a clever mind, is a scene stealer and one of the most memorable characters in all of Shakespeare’s works. Though he constantly puns, jokes, and teases—sometimes in fun, sometimes with bitterness— is not a mere jester or prankster.

What is Mercutio’s personality?

‘Loyal,’ ‘devoted,’ ‘funny’ and ‘witty’ are just a few of the words that describe Romeo’s best friend, Mercutio, in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. He is neither a Montague nor a Capulet, but he is more than just an interested party in the epic family feud….

What is Mercutio’s famous line?

Mercutio : If love be rough with you, be rough with love. Prick love for pricking and you beat love down.

What were Mercutio’s last words?

Mercutio’s last words were “A plague on both your houses,” which were the famous words he spoke in the original screen play….

What is Mercutio’s last name?

Although he has no known last name, it is a fact that he is related to Count Paris and Prince Escalus; he is also a very close friend to Romeo Montague and Benvolio (who also has no known last name). Mercutio is one of the few characters who can freely “roam” between both the Capulet and Montague houses.

What is Mercutio’s attitude towards love?

Mercutio’s attitude towards love is that it is a joke to him. He does not know the real meaning of love because he has never been in love. He treats women and Rosaline as objects instead of real people. Why is Mercutio’s speech about Romeo and Rosaline ironic?

Does Mercutio love Romeo?

Mercutio is Romeo’s sword-fight loving BFF, and you probably won’t be surprised to find out that his name sounds a lot like the word “mercurial,” i.e. “volatile,” i.e. “touchy.” He never backs down from a duel and, although he’s neither a Montague nor a Capulet, he gets involved in the long-standing family feud on the …

Why is Mercutio the best character?

Mercutio’s role is the most important. He is the kinsman to the prince and Romeo’s closest friend and confidante, and in this role he can be very inluential to Romeo and can influence the decisions made and the directions the play takes. He uses his humour and wit to lead the other characters to the climax.

Who is Mercutio’s family?

Mercutio
Created by William Shakespeare
In-universe information
Affiliation Romeo Benvolio Juliet
Family Valentine (brother) Prince Escalus (uncle) Count Paris

What is Mercutio’s age?

19

What age did Mercutio die?

16

What does Mercutio’s name mean?

mercury

Why did Shakespeare kill Mercutio?

Mercutio’s dying is a pivotal act in the play because it brings an imminent change in mood that has been looming over the play. Tybalt kills Mercutio when Mercutio even thought there was a feud between them he Mercutio had no intent of killing Tybalt He only wished to fight with him.

What is Romeo and Mercutio’s relationship?

Mercutio’s relationship with Romeo is that of Romeo’s best friend, but beyond that, Mercutio also serves as Romeo’s dramatic foil. Mercutio is the exact opposite of Romeo, and his lewd and humorous nature contrasts against Romeo’s serious and devoted nature.

Is Mercutio a good friend?

Mercutio likes to have a good laugh, is optimistic, loyal and a good friend. Later on in the play, when Tybalt arrives to fight Romeo, Mercutio stands in for Romeo as he is loyal towards his best friend. Mercutio cannot believe that Romeo would sacrifice his honour in this way, so he fights Tybalt instead.

What did Romeo say about Rosaline?

He describes her as wonderfully beautiful: “The all-seeing sun / ne’er saw her match since first the world begun.” Rosaline, however, chooses to remain chaste; Romeo says: “She hath forsworn to love, and in that vow / Do I live dead that live to tell it now.” This is the source of his depression, and he makes his …

What is Benvolio’s personality?

Benvolio’s name means Well Wishing which is very reflective throughout the play. Benvolio has many characteristics. He is known as the clear-thinking, reliable, peace- loving ,caring,respectful, trustworthy and responsible young man but will fight if he is pushed to far.

Why did Tybalt and Mercutio fight?

Mercutio is angered by the insults and angered that Romeo isn’t willing to do anything about it. Mercutio eventually gets to the point where he can’t idly stand by and watch anymore. He feels compelled to jump into the fray and fight Tybalt. Unfortunately Mercutio’s actions get himself killed.

What does Benvolio’s name mean?

The name Benvolio means “good-will” or “well-wisher” or “peacemaker” which is a role he fills, to some degree, as a peace-maker and Romeo’s friend.

What is ironic about Benvolio’s name?

In WIlliam Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the name of the character Benvolio probably derives directly from the term “benevolentia”, meaning good will. This is a common Latin word meaning good will or wishes that was used in the context of the elementary Latin education Shakespeare probably received.

Why does Mercutio call Tybalt The Prince of Cats?

Tybalt shares the same name as the character Tibert/Tybalt the “Prince of Cats” in Reynard the Fox, a point of both mockery and compliment to him in the play. Mercutio repeatedly calls Tybalt “Prince of Cats” referring to Tybalt’s expertise with the sword, as he is agile and fast, but also it is an insult.

Why does Capulet not want her husband to fight?

Lady Capulet doesn’t want her husband to get involved in the fight because she is afraid that he will get hurt because he is so old. Romeo is heartsick over a girl (it’s not Juliet) who is not at all interested in Romeo.

Why did Rosaline not like Romeo?

Whereas Romeo had told Benvolio that Rosaline had rejected him because she’d sworn to remain “chaste” forever, Friar Laurence suggests that Rosaline didn’t believe Romeo’s love to be authentic, saying “Oh, she knew well, / Thy love did read by rote that could not spell.” In other words, she knew Romeo was only acting …

Why does Lady Capulet say her husband needs a crutch?

By using the word “crutch,” Lady Capulet not only implies that her husband is old, but also that he is in poor physical condition and, therefore, not at all suited to engage in fighting on the street with fit, young men.

What does Juliet’s father think of the marriage?

Description: Lord Capulet is the patriarch of the Capulet family, the father of Juliet, and uncle of Tybalt. Capulet believes he knows what is best for Juliet. He says that his consent to the marriage depends upon what she wants and tells Paris that if he wants to marry her he should wait a while then ask her.