R&J - Mercutio Quotes Flashcards
“A plague…”
“…a’both of your houses”
Mercutio, unlike all the other characters, is able to see that the feud is simply a creation of the Montagues and the Capulets. Where others remove all responsivility from themselves and place it on fate, Mercutio acts as a mouthpiece for Shakespeare, and shows the audience that really it is them who creates, then suffers the conflict.
Act 3 Scene 1
“You are a lover…”
“…borrow cupid’s wings”
The stark contrast between “wings” and “lead” shows the difference between Romeo’s petrachan love, and Mercutio’s perseption of love. Where mercutio sees love as lightness and purity as suggested by the symbol of the wings, Romeo is left battling darkness. Furthermore, Shakespeare employs mythological characters to reflect Mercutio’s idea of love - Cupid was known to be blind and this could suggest that Mercutio believes that when in love, you are not overwhelmed by someone’s physical beauty, as Romeo is by Rosaline’s, but you fall in love with someone almost incidentally, in a way in which you cannot control, you are taken by wings to whomever you love hence, he is placing a mirror in front of Romeo, showing him that his love for Rosaline, is in fact, not love at all: it is highly likely that Romeo chose to be in love with Rosaline, not only because she is beautiful, but also because she is a nun. He cannot have sex with her, which creates conflict between his desires and reality, and this allows him to fulfil his role as a Petrachan lover. Moreover, his love does not bring him joy or any lightness, but rather the complete opposite of that - he feels heavy and dull like “lead”. If love is happiness and freedom as Mercutio suggests, then Romeo as a character completely contradicts himself - the entire time we as an audience come to know Romeo, most of his character revolves around his love interest. Well if Shakespeare is telling us that Romeo is in fact far from in love, but rather in love with the idea of love, then we can immediately conclude that Romeo is not a trustworthy or mature character, which in turn allows us to question his journey as a character as a whole. Can we then truly believe that he loves Juliet, or is he once again being a hopeless romantic? Perhaps Shakespeare is questioning the
Act 1 Scene 4
“Dreamers often…”
“…lie”
Mercutio contradicts the popular Elizabethan belief that dreams hold meaning associated with fate and destiny.
Act 1 Scene 4
References to…
Greek mythology in Queen Mab speech - mocks Romeo’s obsession with love by comparing him to tragic love stories such as Helen of Troy and Cleopatra.
Act 1 Scene 4
“Nothing but…”
“…vain fantasy”
Mercutio ridicules the idea that drams are prophetic and is instead an advocate for the idea that dreams show us our desires - they are a reflection of us. He explains that if someone wishes to be kissed, in their dreams they will be, and if someone years to be loved, then your dreams will offer them love. Therefore, since Romeo dreamed that his future is bleak, Mercutio mocks him, subtly hinting that that is exactly what Romeo wants - he enjoys lamenting and being a Petrachan lover - so he dreams of continuing to sink into his despair.
Mercutio labels this as “vain” in order to show how self-indulgent Romeo truly is. Through Mercutio, Shakespeare critiques the overly romanticised, self-indulgent view of love that was popularised by Petrachan poetry. Romeo is simply performing emotions he cannot feel yet.
Act 1 Scene 4
“She gallops night by night through lover’s _____…”
“…and then they dream of love”
Act 1 Scene 4
“O then I see Queen Mab has been with you…” “
“…she is the fairies midwife”
Act 1 Scene 4
“Alas poor Romeo…”
“…he is already dead”
Act 2 Scene 4
“You have made…”
“worms’ meat of me”
It can be interpreted that Mercutio is an athiest, a completely unconventional notion for the Elizabethan era. Once again this is possibly Shakespeare’s own beliefs shining through and raising questions regarding Elizabethan society’s understanding of religion.
This blunt imagery reflects the physical reality of death, stripping it of any romantic or noble associations. This underscores the futility if the feud between the Montagues and Capulets. Mercutio’s death, as an outsider to both families, highlights how innocent lives are consumed by the senseless violence of the feud.
Mercutio’s bitter humour contrasts with the gravity of the moment, emphasising the absurdity of his death and the larger conflict.
Mercutio’s death highlights the senselessness of the violence. His sarcastic commentary reveals his didain for the emptiness of the conflict that ultimately costs him his life.
Mercutio’s demise symbolises the destructive consequences of unchecked hatred - by killing a character beloved for his humour and vitality, Shakespeare underscores the tragedy of wasted potential.
Act 3 Scene 1
“O calm, dishonourable…”
“…vile submission!”
Act 3 Scene 1
“this is the hag, when maids lie on their _____, that _________ them and learns them first to ________”
backs/presses/bear
Mercutio also believes that dreams can make people go after wrong desires - dreams are misguiding.
He uses this image to joke about how if love alone was powerful enough, women would get pregnant simply thinking about love. But it isn’t enough - hints that Romeo only want to have sex with Rosaline, not love her.
