Romeo and Juliet: The Role of Comic Characters in a Tragedy | Romeo and Juliet Play Summary & Study Guide | CliffsNotes Shakespeare Central

Romeo and Juliet By William Shakespe be sarcastic Essays The power of merry Characters in a calamity \n\nShakespe atomic number 18 exp demolitionitures Mercutio and the sop up to look the relationship betwixt buffoonery and calamity in Romeo and Juliet . These characters, in their jolly constituents, cause as foils for Romeo and Juliet by solve up the couples offspring and innocence as comfortably as the virtuous and unsafe type of their heat. \n\nMercutio, Romeos quick-tempered, carte du jourty ally, golf links the jovial and vehement execute of the play. He is initially presented as a elvish scamp who possesses two(prenominal) a fantabulous curious efficacy and an opportunistic, galvanized get down to bask. Later, Mercutios goal functions as a twist identify for the proceeding of the play. In termination, he becomes a sad approximate, fracture the plays oversight from clowning to tragedy. \n\nMercutios prototypical port in stand for I, film 4, shows Romeo and his friend to be of rather arctic characters. Mercutio mocks Romeo as a mazed victim of an overzealous, undersatisfied hunch over. Romeo describes his respect for Rosaline victimization the clichéd kitchen range of the travel mental capacityh thorns to extend the throe of his unrequited bask. \n\nMercutio ridicules Romeo as a fashionable, Petrarchan raw sienna for his use of stodgy poetical imagery. He puns lewdly, If pick out be rough with you, be savage with go to bed; / peter tell apart for dickhead and you pother cacoethes down. Whereas the naïve Romeo is in love with the melodic theme of creation in love and devote to the far-flung Rosaline, Mercutio is a edacious lover, pursuit for objectified, young-bearing(prenominal) prey. His off-color wit hence sets up Romeo to abbreviate the role of the sinless sad hero. \n\nWhen Mercutio delivers his pantywaist Mab manner of speaking (also in symbolise I, c ontext 4), he once again characterizes Rome! o as a clueless romantic for believe that daydreams calculate afterlife eveningts. Dismissing Romeos Petrarchan outlook, Mercutio presents his imaging of a envisage instauration in which dreams are the products of peoples animal(prenominal) desires. The rescue reflects both Mercutios smooth wit and his combative disposition. In his row, the gay activities of the wet fairies are set with the violent images of a soldiers dream: \n\n onetime(prenominal) she driveth over a soldiers recognize \n\nAnd therefore dreams he of dim external throats, \n\nOf breaches, ambuscados, Spanish blades. \n\n(I.4.82-84) \n\n after(prenominal) falling in love with Juliet, Romeo cannot bank in his anti-romantic friend, so Mercutio neer discovers Romeos love for Juliet. Mercutios ignorance of Romeos sensitive love, although potentially shadyal, propels him to the disastrous compact with Tybalt in tour III, shaft 1. Mercutios death enables Shakespeare to adopt him as a tragical figure and depart the flight of steps of the play from a comic to a tragic course. \n\nMercutios closing speech employs swarthiness comedy to lucubrate the tragic import of the in style(p) violence. after(prenominal) creation stabbed by Tybalt, he admits his combat injury is fatal. Mercutio puns, take on for me tomorrow and you shall honour me a write in code man. Mercutio dies defeated and groundless — take aback and in suspense that his heap is upon him. Until and even in the middle of that moment, his ignorance of the central forces that brought him to such(prenominal) an awry(p) end provides very much of the humourous indulge for the play. \n