mercutio

Question 1

“A plague o’ both
your houses.
They have made
worms’ meat of
me.”
Act 3 Scene 1

Answer 1

The first sentence is repeated twice within Act 3 Scene 1. Thus, the
repetition of this phrase enforces the impression that Mercutio, unlike
the majority of characters within the play, completely disregards fate.
Rather, he instils his opinion that it was the pointless feud between the
two families that had caused his death.
Mercutio describes his death in euphemistic terms (a euphemism
being a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one
considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something
unpleasant) as he does not actually say that Tybalt had murdered him
but rather suggests that he had made a “worms’ meat” of him.

Question 2

“If love be rough
with you, be rough
with love.
Prick love for
pricking, and you
beat love down”
Act 1 Scene 3

Answer 2

The plosive lexis (lexis being a fancy word for ‘group of words’ in this
case the words “be”, “prick”, “pricking” and “beat” agglomerate to
create a succession of harsh sounds) reinforces the impression of
Mercutio’s harsh, and raw perception of love because this almost
suggests that he views love making as a violent action.
The violent verbs “prick” and “pricking” create phallic imagery,
which shows Shakespeare’s audience how he views love as purely
sexual, whilst this also depicts the dominance that men were supposed
to have over women within an Elizabethan relationship.
The symmetry of the sentence structure here, as both sentences
are split in half by the implementation of a comma, contrasts Mercutio’s
opinion of love. This is because the symmetry makes it seem as if
love is very complete and perfect, which is not what Mercutio believes.
Yet, his harsh opinions completely contrast Romeo and Juliet’s pure
and tender expression of love.

Question 3

“I conjure thee by
Rosaline's bright
eyes,
By her high
forehead and her
scarlet lip,
By her fine foot,

Answer 3

Mercutio’s listing of Rosaline’s body parts alludes to the popular
poetic ‘blazon’ technique. This listing of body parts reinforces the
impression of Mercutio’s sexual and primitive view of love as he again
creates sexual imagery through his speec

Question 4

“O Romeo, that she
were, O, that she
were
An open-arse, thou
a poperin pear!”
Act 2 Scene 1

Answer 4

Again, the plosive lexis created through the mentioning of “poperin
pear!” reinforces the impression that Mercutio views love in a harsh
and rough way.
To build upon this, the mention of “poperin pear!” creates more
sexual imagery (not surprising from Mercutio) as this was a fruit that
was often at the time compared to a woman’s genitalia. Thus, Mercutio
believes that love is based on sexual desire and not true affection.