MERCUTIO

'Mercutio' is a character in William Shakespeare's famous tragedy, ''Romeo and Juliet''. He is a relative of the Prince and a close friend of Romeo, and Romeo's cousin Benvolio. Mercutio is apt to make long, drawn out speeches (the most famous of which is the Queen Mab speech), and is generally thought to be reckless, a jokester, and a free spirit. Due to his quick wit and flamboyant, affable personality, Mercutio is one of Shakespeare's most popular characters.
Though one of Romeo's best friends, Mercutio's facetious attitude tends to try Romeo's patience on occasion; Conversely, Mercutio is frustrated with Romeo's depression that comes from Rosaline's denial of Romeo's love. After Romeo has fallen for Juliet, Mercutio is pleased to see Romeo back to his normal, congenial state.
After Romeo receives a death threat from Tybalt, Mercutio expects Romeo to engage Tybalt in a duel. However, Romeo refuses to fight Tybalt, as Tybalt is Juliet's cousin and therefore his kinsman. Not knowing this, Mercutio is incensed, and decides to fight Tybalt himself. Romeo, not wanting his best friend or his relative to get hurt, intervenes, causing Mercutio to be by Tybalt "under [Romeo's] arm."
Before he dies, Mercutio casts a plague o' both [Romeo and Tybalt]'s houses!" He makes one final pun before he dies: "Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man...." In revenge for the murder of his best friend, Romeo slays Tybalt, thus leading to Romeo's banishment from Verona and the increasingly tragic turn of events that follows.

Contents

Name origins

The death of Mercutio

Alleged homosexuality

Performers

See also

References

External Links

Name origins

Mercutio's name is related to the word "mercurial," meaning "having an unpredictable and fast changing mood," an accurate description of Mercutio's personality. The word "mercurial" itself derives from the ancient Roman messenger god Mercury (Greek: Hermes) whose other namesakes include the fast-moving planet Mercury, and the metal mercury, which is a liquid at room temperature and often called quicksilver for this reason.

The death of Mercutio

Earlier versions of the story painted a different picture of the chain of events leading to Tybalt's death, leaving Mercutio out of the picture completely. Arthur Brooke's ''The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet'', as well as William Painter's 1567 version of the story both left the entire episode solely to Romeo and Tybalt. In both stories, Tybalt attacks the peace-pleading Romeo with such force that he is forced to take up the sword for the sake of his own life. He is then banished rather than executed because the killing was done in self-defense.
The addition of Mercutio into the fray increases the tension, and Tybalt is seen as a slightly more peaceful character than in previous versions, as Mercutio is disgusted by the fact that Tybalt continues to search for a quarrell with Romeo, when Romeo is trying the bring peace between them. Because of his rashness, Mercutio hurls insults and taunts Tybalt, and draws the sword first, in reaction to Tybalt's insults, which are directed to Romeo. Mercutio is, at this point, seen as though he wants to fight, even though is neither Montague nor Capulet. His curse "a plague on both your houses", is foreboding, but the blame for his death lies largely on his own impulsiveness, not the feud.Utterback, Raymond V. "The Death of Mercutio." ''Shakespeare Quarterly''. (April 1973) 24.2 pgs. 105-116
Like Patroclus in The Iliad, Mercutio's death in Act III, scene I is the pivotal turning point of the play.^[1] Before his death, ''Romeo and Juliet'' is essentially a comedy, revolving around references to doom and fate that seem far away. Mercutio's death is sudden, and makes death a dark reality for several characters causing a domino effect of tragic fate that ultimately takes the lives of Tybalt, Paris, Romeo, Juliet, and Lady Montague.
Because Mercutio's death signals the shift from comedy to tragedy (and also because his death occurs roughly halfway through the play), many productions of Romeo and Juliet place an intermission right after this scene.

Alleged homosexuality

A common interpretation of the play is that Mercutio has homosexual tendencies. While there is no explicit proof of his sexual preferences, a considerable amount of what Mercutio says to Romeo, Benvolio, and even Tybalt, can be easily interpreted as sexual innuendo. He also uses blatant innuendo when speaking to the Nurse, but this is probably in jest, as she is an older woman, and he once comments that she looks like the sails of a ship, which is generally considered to be an insult. Mercutio's friendship with Romeo is such that Mercutio is willing to put his life on the line to defend his honour. However, this could simply be a result of Mercutio's reckless impulsivity and testosterone-fueled bravado, rather than a feeling of physical desire for Romeo.

Performers

A number of famous actors have played the role of Mercutio. A small sampling follows.

★ Stage

★
★ Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud alternated the roles of Romeo and Mercutio in a 1935 stage version.

★ Film

★
★ John Barrymore portrayed Mercutio in George Cukor's 1936 film ''Romeo and Juliet'' opposite Leslie Howard as Romeo.

★
★ John McEnery portrayed Mercutio in Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film ''Romeo and Juliet''.

★
★ Harold Perrineau Jr. portrayed Mercutio in Baz Luhrmann's modernized 1996 version, ''William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet''.

★
★ Ben Affleck portrayed actor Edward Alleyn in the 1998 romantic comedy ''Shakespeare in Love''. In the film, Alleyn serves as history's first Mercutio.

★ Television

★
★ Tetsuya Kakihara voices Mercutio in the fantasized, loosely adapted animated series Romeo x Juliet by the Japanese animation studio GONZO.

See also

★ William Shakespeare

★ ''Romeo and Juliet''

★ Complete list of Shakespearean characters

References

1. Maxwell, Jennifer. ''The Catalytic Function of Mercutio.'' (doc)

External Links

★ Complete listing of all of Mercutio's lines