Mercutio - M

• "You are a lover; borrow Cupids wings '- Act1

  • his tone is deterministic in the way that he labels Romeo as a 'lover' which sounds rather cynical, as though people are set and have no free will to be something else
  • Cupid was actually blind in Roman mythology, making the arrows of love that he shoots random and ruled by chance which is a pessimistic view of something traditionally romantic
  • "Borrow" also diminishes cupids power, as though anyone might "borrow Cupid's wings" - can deduce from Mercutio's language that he is pessimistic about love.
• "madman, passion, lover!' - Act 2 - love

  • His grouping of these words makes them sound as though they are semantics
  • speaks as though "madman" and "lover" are synonymous - he is mocking Romeo and shows his distaste for love
• "prick love for pricking" - Act 1 - duality

  • Mercutio is a loyal friend who jests a lot but also has moments where he is serious - malevolent
  • His repetition of "prick" reminds us that while he is giving advice to Romeo, he is also using violent language to convey a deeper, more serious point - love can be violent as well as idyllic
• 'raise a spirit in his mistress' circle' - Act 2 - duality

  • His language boarders offensive now - melted from comical, into offensive
  • Mercutio always seems to ride the line between being humorous and being serious, such is his dichotomy
  • Perhaps, Shakespeare uses him to demonstrate that humans are complex and contain multitudes and often people are not what they seem
• "A plague o'both/ your houses" - Act 3 - violence

  • his death represents his impulsivity and Shakespeare uses this quality to demonstrate the consequences of the folly of youth, that being haste can lead to death as such in Romeo and Juliet's case
  • Romeo and Juliet - hasty and that quality ultimate leads them to their death as well
• Mercutio thinks love is superficial

  • he personifies the chauvinistic male view of the era
  • Romeo juxtaposes this in his tenderness, yet his ceaseless objectification and oppression of women in his speech shows that he is the epitome of an egotistical man of the patriarchy
• reduces Rosaline to her "foot", her "straight leg", her "quivering tights"

  • attempts to lure Romeo out by speaking of Rosaline in a a bawdy and objectifying way by listing only the parts of her body that might be considered sexual
• Mercutio is pessimistic and cynical about love, and he mocks Romeo for feeling the emotion so deeply. In this way he is a foil to Romeo
• Mercutio is a complex character who provides comic relief, but often his comedy has serious undertones, and his lines go from humorous to sobering rapidly.
• Mercutio is punished for his impulsive nature and Shakespeare uses his death to demonstrat he folly of youth, which is their impetuosity (hastiness / impulsivity