Nina Rodrigues Mrs. Lubbers ENG 2D Friday, October 22, 2017 Character Analysis: Mercutio The loud and the obnoxious Mercutio from the famous play “The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” by the great, Shakespeare. Mercutio is a very cynical because of the fact that he doesn't really believe in love, but also he’s hostile about women in general. More about that a little bit later. Mercutio can also be very dirty from a lot of things he says during the play. Although, Mercutio can be a very a funny and witty man most of the time. He doesn't really believe in love, but not only that he is very vicious towards women. During the play, he was very rude towards Romeo’s first love, Rosaline. He made a vicious comment towards Rosaline’s body at the beginning of the play, “I conjure thee by Rosaline's bright eyes, by her high forehead, and her scarlet lip, by her fine foot, straight leg, and quivering thigh and the demesnes that there adjacent lie, that in thy likeness thou appear to us.” (I.II.20-24) So in this quote, Mercutio is actually insulting Rosaline’s body parts but in a dirty way. This is a really important trait to understand about Mercutio throughout the play because we get to actually understand who Mercutio really is, and what impact he makes on the play. His actions really do make a change in the way Romeo thinks towards the rest of the play. Next, Mercutio is extremely cynical about love. Mercutio can get a bit rude but honest when he talks about love “If love is rough with you, be rough with love; prick love for pricking, and you beat love down.” (I.IV.27-28) In this quote Mercutio is trying to say if love plays rough with you, you should play rough with love. When he says if you prick love when it pricks you, that you’ll beat love down. Mercutio told this quote to Romeo when Romeo said that love pricks him all the time, so what this quote means and what Mercutio is trying to say is that when love treats you badly, you should treat it badly. Then once it pricks you, prick it back and you will win. The importance of this quote is that Mercutio is showing his cynical voice about love, and his opinion about how you shouldn’t mess with love. He’s saying all of this and that’s why he always makes fun of Romeo, and his love because Mercutio thinks it’s dumb. Lastly, Mercutio is funny, outgoing, go lucky guy, like them all. For the duration of the play he was a really funny guy, but again in a dirty way. “O, then I see Queen Mab hath been with you, she is the fairies’ midwife, and she comes in shape no bigger than an agate stone on the forefinger of an alderman, drawn with a team of little atomi Athwart men’s noses as they lie asleep.” (I.IV.53-59) This quote was said the night before Romeo’s dream about Rosaline, and Mercutio said this quote to Romeo when Romeo was going on about how much he loves Rosaline and Mercutio was explaining his dream about Queen Mab and how she brings dreams to those sleepy humans. Well, what Mercutio was trying to say was he was tired of all the mopey lovesick Romeo and is trying to get at the fact that Romeo sounds like an idiot and his dreams about Rosaline are dumb. He’s trying to help Romeo and telling him about Queen Mab and how she brings dreams to the sleepy humans, like Romeo. This is a major important quote because this quote really led Romeo to the Capulet’s feast. Once Romeo was at the feast he completely forgot about Rosaline and was suddenly in love with Juliet, so the fact that Mercutio made Romeo go to the party made Romeo fall in love with a completely different woman. And that was obviously a big influence in the play. In Conclusion, Mercutio is a very cynical, dirty, but funny man in many ways. Through this play Mercutio made a giant effect on the play, I mean Mercutio is the one who made the star-crossed lovers meet. Works Cited Study.com, Study.com, study.com/academy/lesson/mercutio-in-romeo-and-juliet-character-analysis-personality-traits.html. “In Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio Says, ''If Love Be Rough with You, Be Rough with Love. Prick Love for Pricking, and You Beat Love down.'' How Does the Language in This Quote Develop Mercutio's...” Enotes.com, Enotes.com, www.enotes.com/homework-help/romeo-juliet-mercutio-says-love-rough-you-rough-746381. “Romeo and Juliet.” SparkNotes, SparkNotes, www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/romeojuliet/quotes.html#CHDCHEDJ. Shmoop Editorial Team. “Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet.” Shmoop, Shmoop University, 11 Nov. 2008, www.shmoop.com/romeo-and-juliet/mercutio.html. Shmoop Editorial Team. “Romeo and Juliet Foolishness and Folly Quotes Page 1.” Shmoop, Shmoop University, 11 Nov. 2008, www.shmoop.com/romeo-and-juliet/foolishness-folly-quotes-1.html. Shmoop Editorial Team. “Romeo and Juliet Mercutio Quotes Page 2.” Shmoop, Shmoop University, 11 Nov. 2008, www.shmoop.com/romeo-and-juliet/mercutio-quotes-2.html.

nina rodrigues