Discuss Mercutio’s dramatic function in ‘Romeo and Juliet’
...her key scenes. In Act 2 scene 4, we again see the happier, more fun-loving side to his character, as he pokes fun at the nurse while she converses with Romeo. In the build up to the scene we see Mercutio and Benvolio talking about Tybalt and his challenge to Romeo, throughout this build up and the scene with the nurse I believe we see Mercutio at his most diverse, leading me to believe he is not as ‘flat’ a character as one might believe. We see him for the ‘joker’ that the other character see him as, I feel that we may also see some of his anger come through as some of the jokes that he makes about the nurse are quite cruel, for example, “the fan’s the fairer face” meaning that she is as ugly and plain as a fan. Most importantly I think, we learn from Mercutio’s conversation with Benvolio earlier in the scene that Mercutio has respect for Tybalt. ‘More than Prince of Cats. O, he’s the courageous captain of compliments’. By this Mercutio means that Tybalt is a good swordsman and duellist. Mercutio is also mocking him with this language, calling him a Cat for example, meaning he is obsessed with looking good and show. The respectful side of Mercutio is tied in with his views regarding honour; we learn this in Mercutio’s final scene, when Tybalt kills him. When Romeo turns down Tybalt's challenge, Mercutio is outraged, ‘O calm, dishonourable, vile submission’. We are shown that for all his mockery, Mercutio thinks highly of honour. Mercutio’s last words are bitter and resentful, ‘A plague a’ both your houses, They have made worms meat of me’. Interestingly the Zefferelli adaptation of the play and the Luhrman adaptation interpret this, Mercutio’s final scene, in different ways. In the original play, Mercutio dies off stage; obviously for dramatical purposes the films have Mercutio die on stage however differently. In the Zefferelli depiction, the rest of the characters present during Mercutio’s death still think he is joking, right up until the moment he dies. In the Luhrman version, the death is taken very seriously by the characters, who seem to know immediately that he is not joking, and he finally dies in Romeo’s arms, spitting out his last bitter resentful words. I believe that he blames his death almost entirely on Romeo, ‘Why the devil came you (Romeo) between us”. Romeo of course, is changed completely after this scene; I believe that the death of Mercutio develops Romeo as a character hugely. In this scene, before Mercutio dies, I think Romeo knows that Mercutio is disappointed in him for turning down the dual. We already know that Mercutio is a man of honour. This honour may be the result of Mercutio being related to the Prince. After Mercutio is killed by Tybalt, Romeo suddenly becomes very angry, “And fire-ey’d be my conduct now”. As a character, I believe the death of Mercutio matures Romeo and he loses much of his innocence in the next scene by killing Tybalt. Mercutio’s death does not only change Romeo, the event changes the entire tone and direction of the play. As it leads onto a sequence of events, eventually ending in the ultimate, predetermined conclusion. Mercutio’s language and behaviour in the play often contrasts and complements that of Romeo’s. For example, in Act 2 scene 1, Mercutio, thinking that Romeo is still in love with Rosaline, seeks to provoke an answer from him by talking of her “quivering thigh, and the demesnes that there adjacent lie”. This portrays Mercutio as rather misogynistic and this bawdy kind of imagery is a contrast to pure, religious imagery in the next scene, used by Romeo to describe Juliet, “O speak again bright angel, for thou art As glorious to this night, being o’er my head”. The structure of the ...