Mercutio
Mercutio is arguably one if the most important charters as he didn’t exist on the source poem
that Shakespeare based Romeo and Juliet showing that Shakespeare invested a bit of
himself into his character. He is also arguably the true tragic hero.
‘ this is the hag, when maids lie on their back, that presses them and learns them first to bear
This Queen Mary speech develops into a crescendo as Mercutio gets angrier about all the
things that Queen Mab does to the ‘courtier... the soldier... the lawyer' and so everybody is
increasingly corrupt, but the most corrupt thing Queen Mab does is train maids to ‘lie on their
back'
One the one hand the phrase ‘lie on their back’ means taking virgins and teaching them how
to have sex however on the next line to ‘bear’ which both conveys suffering yet also to give
birth. Mercutio may hold anger towards this as in the Elizabethan era mothers died in
childbirth about 1 in 25 births yet at the same time it wasn’t unusual for a woman to have
between 6 and 10 children. Therefore, there is almost a feminist perspective here where
Mercutio is equating sexual freedom with danger of death.
Alternatively, this can convey that Mercutio holds a disgust fir heterosexual sex which is why
he is so critical of Queen Mab and the women who enjoy sex despite the obvious risks.
When the Queen Mab speech starts off it is like a childish fantasy that brings out Mercutio's
imagination and wits. Mercutio's name co.es from mercury, the quickest of metals and also
the quickest of God’s furthering his quick-witted mature. This contrasts the previous
darkness of his worldview. Also, Mercury is the God who leads souls into the underworld
foreshadowing his ‘plague speech whereby he prophecies the deaths of Romeo and Juliet
who both commit suicide- a sin worthy of hellfire.
They hyphen after ‘she' conveys this built-up anger as it suggests that Mercutio is becoming
increasingly loud and violent.
, ‘Rosaline's bright eyes..high forehead, scarlet lip..fine foot..straight leg... quivering thigh’
Before every single noun is an adjective- Shakespeare may have done this to reveal that
every single feature a woman had was being judges and people had already formed
opinions of them.
‘Thou wilt quarrel with a man for cracking nuts, having no other reason but because thou
hast hazel eyes'
Here, Mercutio is attempting to persuade Benvolio to stay so that he can convince Romeo to
fight and there can be a duel with Tybalt. Shakespeare does this to show how all of this male
bravado and feuding was rather futile which is through Mercutio keenness to engage in
conflict , making him as though a counterpart to Tybalt yet we are encouraged to empathize
with Mercutio unlike Tybalt : here Shakespeare is stating that regardless of this, both sides
of the male personality are equally dangerous and far too attached to duelling.
However, we can also infer that Benvolio motivates Mercutio to use his wits- they are
extremely friendly. The Roman God, Mercury was thought to have a staff made of hazel
which bestowed him great wisdom. Not only does Mercutio share a similar name to this God
but they share similarities in other ways too. The God, Mercury is known for his fast wit just
like Mercutio and he also known as the God who leads souls into the underworld linking with
Mercutio’s dialogue ‘plague’ just before the tragedy occurs. Therefore, as Benvolio is
referred to as having ‘hazel eyes it implies that not only is he himself a wise and prophetic
character but that in his presence Mercutio can be himself and like Mercury was with his
hazel staff- they are inseparable.
Furthermore, this quote gives us an insight into the foil set up between Mercutio who is keen
to fight and Benvolio who wants to ‘keep the peace’. This can be illustrated through the
symbolism of ‘nut' itself towards the Goddess Nut known for her protection of others.
Therefore, Mercutio states that when this protection, hence peace is cracked, implying
violently disrupted Benvolio will quarrel. Furthermore, ‘hazel eyes' have a well-known
symbolism of wisdom to delineate that Benvolio will ‘quarrel’ due to his desire of peace –
Benvolio is everything that Shakespeare thinks the world should be. As a result, Mercutio
uses witty language to mock this and foreshadow how Benvolio will attempt to tell Mercutio
to ‘withdraw’ when he demands to fight Tybalt and by Mercutio ignoring this, he is rejecting
wise words.
Mercutio is arguably one if the most important charters as he didn’t exist on the source poem
that Shakespeare based Romeo and Juliet showing that Shakespeare invested a bit of
himself into his character. He is also arguably the true tragic hero.
‘ this is the hag, when maids lie on their back, that presses them and learns them first to bear
This Queen Mary speech develops into a crescendo as Mercutio gets angrier about all the
things that Queen Mab does to the ‘courtier... the soldier... the lawyer' and so everybody is
increasingly corrupt, but the most corrupt thing Queen Mab does is train maids to ‘lie on their
back'
One the one hand the phrase ‘lie on their back’ means taking virgins and teaching them how
to have sex however on the next line to ‘bear’ which both conveys suffering yet also to give
birth. Mercutio may hold anger towards this as in the Elizabethan era mothers died in
childbirth about 1 in 25 births yet at the same time it wasn’t unusual for a woman to have
between 6 and 10 children. Therefore, there is almost a feminist perspective here where
Mercutio is equating sexual freedom with danger of death.
Alternatively, this can convey that Mercutio holds a disgust fir heterosexual sex which is why
he is so critical of Queen Mab and the women who enjoy sex despite the obvious risks.
When the Queen Mab speech starts off it is like a childish fantasy that brings out Mercutio's
imagination and wits. Mercutio's name co.es from mercury, the quickest of metals and also
the quickest of God’s furthering his quick-witted mature. This contrasts the previous
darkness of his worldview. Also, Mercury is the God who leads souls into the underworld
foreshadowing his ‘plague speech whereby he prophecies the deaths of Romeo and Juliet
who both commit suicide- a sin worthy of hellfire.
They hyphen after ‘she' conveys this built-up anger as it suggests that Mercutio is becoming
increasingly loud and violent.
, ‘Rosaline's bright eyes..high forehead, scarlet lip..fine foot..straight leg... quivering thigh’
Before every single noun is an adjective- Shakespeare may have done this to reveal that
every single feature a woman had was being judges and people had already formed
opinions of them.
‘Thou wilt quarrel with a man for cracking nuts, having no other reason but because thou
hast hazel eyes'
Here, Mercutio is attempting to persuade Benvolio to stay so that he can convince Romeo to
fight and there can be a duel with Tybalt. Shakespeare does this to show how all of this male
bravado and feuding was rather futile which is through Mercutio keenness to engage in
conflict , making him as though a counterpart to Tybalt yet we are encouraged to empathize
with Mercutio unlike Tybalt : here Shakespeare is stating that regardless of this, both sides
of the male personality are equally dangerous and far too attached to duelling.
However, we can also infer that Benvolio motivates Mercutio to use his wits- they are
extremely friendly. The Roman God, Mercury was thought to have a staff made of hazel
which bestowed him great wisdom. Not only does Mercutio share a similar name to this God
but they share similarities in other ways too. The God, Mercury is known for his fast wit just
like Mercutio and he also known as the God who leads souls into the underworld linking with
Mercutio’s dialogue ‘plague’ just before the tragedy occurs. Therefore, as Benvolio is
referred to as having ‘hazel eyes it implies that not only is he himself a wise and prophetic
character but that in his presence Mercutio can be himself and like Mercury was with his
hazel staff- they are inseparable.
Furthermore, this quote gives us an insight into the foil set up between Mercutio who is keen
to fight and Benvolio who wants to ‘keep the peace’. This can be illustrated through the
symbolism of ‘nut' itself towards the Goddess Nut known for her protection of others.
Therefore, Mercutio states that when this protection, hence peace is cracked, implying
violently disrupted Benvolio will quarrel. Furthermore, ‘hazel eyes' have a well-known
symbolism of wisdom to delineate that Benvolio will ‘quarrel’ due to his desire of peace –
Benvolio is everything that Shakespeare thinks the world should be. As a result, Mercutio
uses witty language to mock this and foreshadow how Benvolio will attempt to tell Mercutio
to ‘withdraw’ when he demands to fight Tybalt and by Mercutio ignoring this, he is rejecting
wise words.
