Mercutio

Mercutio
Creator	William Shakespeare
Play	Romeo and Juliet
Family	Valentine (brother), Count Paris, The Prince
Associates	Romeo, Benvolio

Mercutio a fictional character in William Shakespeare's 1597 tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. He is a relative of the Prince and Paris, and is a close friend of Romeo, and Romeo's cousin Benvolio. He is neither a Montague nor a Capulet; he is one of the few in Verona with the ability to freely float around both houses. The invitation to the Capulet's party states that he has a brother named Valentine. He is witty, fun-loving and good-natured, but is also moody and given to sudden outbursts of temper, one of which sets a key plot development in motion.

Role in the play

One of Romeo's best friends and confidant, Mercutio entreats him to forget about his unrequited love for a woman named Rosaline and come with him to a masked ball at Lord Capulet's estate. There, Mercutio and his friends become the life of the party, but Romeo steals away to woo Juliet, Capulet's daughter, with whom he has fallen in love. When Mercutio sees Romeo the next day, he is glad to see that his friend is his old self again, and encourages Romeo to meet again with Juliet, all the while making ribald jokes at her Nurse's expense.

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 at his friend's "vile submission", and decides to fight Tybalt himself. Romeo, not wanting his friend or his relative to get hurt, intervenes, causing Mercutio to be killed by Tybalt stabbing "under [Romeo's] arm."

Before he dies, Mercutio curses both the Montagues and Capulets, crying "a plague o' both your houses!" He makes one final pun before he dies: "Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man...." A grief-stricken and enraged Romeo kills Tybalt, thus leading to Romeo's banishment from Verona and beginning the tragic turn of events that make up the rest of the play.

Name origins

The name Mercutio was present in Shakespeare's sources for Romeo and Juliet, but his character was not well-established, and he was even presented as a romantic rival for Juliet.^[1] 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).

Appearance in The Tragic History of Romeus and Juliet

In Shakespeare's source, Arthur Brooke's 1562 The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet, Mercutio is briefly mentioned as a suitor of Juliet.

At th' one side of her chair her lover Romeo,
And on the other side there sat one called Mercutio;
A courtier that each where was highly had in price,
For he was courteous of his speech, and pleasant of device.
Even as a lion would among the lambs be bold,
Such was among the bashful maids Mercutio to behold.
With friendly gripe he seized fair Juliet's snowish hand:
A gift he had that Nature gave him in his swathing band,
That frozen mountain ice was never half so cold,
As were his hands, though ne'er so near the fire he did them hold.
As soon as had the knight the virgin's right hand raught,
Within his trembling hand her right hath loving Romeus caught.

-Brooke, 253-264

Mercutio's death

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 to defend himself. He is then banished rather than executed because the killing was provoked. In 1672, English poet John Dryden wrote, "Shakespeare show'd the best of his skill in his Mercutio, and he said himself, that he was forc'd to kill him in the third Act, to prevent being killed by him."^[2]

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 quarrel with Romeo, when Romeo is trying to bring peace between them. Mercutio hurls insults and taunts at Tybalt, and draws the sword first, in reaction to Tybalt's insults, which are directed to Romeo.

Mercutio's death in Act III, scene I is the pivotal turning point of the play, which up to this point is relatively light-hearted.^[3] Mercutio's death is sudden, and makes death a dark reality for several characters, causing a domino effect of tragic fate that leads ultimately to the tragic climax.

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 London stage production directed by Gielgud.
  • Ralph Richardson made his Broadway debut as Mercutio opposite the Romeo of Maurice Evans and the Juliet of Katharine Cornell in 1935. Killed by Benvolio.
  • Paul Scofield memorably played the role in a production directed by Peter Brook in 1947.
  • Alec McCowen enjoyed a major success as Mercutio in London in 1958.
  • Dioggo Pereira played the role of Mercutio in a small stage production of Romeo and Juliet in Brazil, in 2011.
  • Keanu Reeves played the character when he was 15.

• 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.
  • Tetsuya Kakihara and Christopher Bevins voice Mercutio in the 2007 anime series Romeo x Juliet.
  • Russ Tamblyn played the role of Riff Lorton, the Mercutio character in the 1961 film adaptain of West Side Story, the musical modernized version of Romeo and Juliet.

See also

• William Shakespeare
• Romeo and Juliet
• Complete list of Shakespearean characters

References

1. ^ Draper, John. W. 1939. "Shakespeare's 'Star-Crossed Lovers' ". The Review of English Studies 15 (57).
2. ^ Scott, Mark W.; Schoenbaum, S. (1987). Shakespearean Criticism. 5. Detroit: Gale Research Inc.. p. 415. ISBN 0810361299. 
3. ^ Maxwell, Jennifer. The Catalytic Function of Mercutio. (doc)

External links

• Complete listing of all of Mercutio's lines
• Mercutio Character Analysis