Mercutio Flashcards
(16 cards)
Overview
Shakespeare uses the character of Mercutio as a vehicle to bring attention to the detrimental effects of toxic masculinity. Mercutio, like many men at the time, is largely driven by lust and therefore considers sex and love as readily interchangeable terms. Mercutio’s name may be linked to the term ‘mercurial’ which brings attention to his changeable and often readily influenced persona.
Despite this, Mercutio remains impulsive despite quick witted and is often able to use language to masterfully communicate his observations to others.
Beginning quotes
‘gentle Romeo, we must have you dance’
‘You are a lover, borrow Cupid’s wings’
‘If love be rough with you, be rough with love’
Middle quotes
‘I see Queen Mab hath been with you. She is the fairies’ midwife’
‘madman! passion! lover!’
‘By her fine foot, straight leg, and quivering thigh’
Ending quotes
‘O calm, dishonourable, vile submission!’
‘Why the devil came you between us? I was hurt under your arm.’
‘A plague a’ both your houses!’
Beginning opening
At the beginning of the play, Shakespeare presents Merctuio as the epitome of an egotistical man of the patriarchy, using humour and sexual innuendo to mock romantic ideals
‘gentle Romeo, we must have you dance’
- Mercutio lacks sympathy towards Romeo’s admission of his melancholy due to his unrequited love for Rosaline
- The adjective ‘gentle’ appears affectionate but may also be condescending, implying Romeo’s softness or femininity.
- Mercutio’s insistence that Romeo should dance despite his sadness reflects his desire to suppress emotional expression, reinforcing patriarchal ideals of stoicism in men.
- Alternatively, this could be read as a genuine attempt to cheer Romeo up through distraction and humour.
- Nonetheless, this moment sets up Mercutio as a character who trivialises love and upholds masculine ideals rooted in bravado
‘You are a lover, borrow Cupid’s wings’
- Mercutio again mocks Romeo’s lovesick state by invoking Cupid, the Roman god of love, as something one can simply ‘borrow’ from.
- verb ‘borrow’ diminishes Cupid’s power and undermines the seriousness of Romeo’s feelings and suggests Mercutio sees love as superficial and fleeting.
- despite Romeo’s protestation, Mercutio chooses to ignore his friend’s despair by trivialising his circumstances
- he believes that the experience of love is fleeting as suggested by his advice referring to the god of love
- believes Romeo’s response to be melodramatic
- Alternatively, it could suggest Mercutio’s own unfamiliarity with love and discomfort with emotional vulnerability, masked through humour
‘If love be rough with you, be rough with love’
- This quote reveals Mercutio’s aggressive, even violent approach to love.
- The repetition of ‘rough’ links love with force, perhaps even suggesting domination
- His attitude reflects a toxic masculinity in which emotional pain is to be responded to with aggression.
- This starkly contrasts with Romeo’s more emotional and romantic idealism, casting Mercutio as his foil.
- sex and love seen as readily interchangeable terms to Mercutio so he uses sexual innuendo to allude to physical intimacy
- An alternative reading could view this as a form of comic bravado, exaggerating for effect, though the underlying disdain for emotional expression remains clear.
Middle opening
As the play progresses, Mercutio seems to be changeable, always riding the line between being humorous and serious, such as in his dichotomy. Through this, Shakespeare may be using him to demonstrate that humans are complex and often there is a battle between appearance and reality
‘I see Queen Mab hath been with you. She is the fairies’ midwife’
- Though he initially mocks Romeo’s dreams, he descends into a surreal monologue filled with vivid imagery.
- His familiarity with dreams contradicts his earlier dismissal, revealing Mercutio’s changeable (mercurial) personality.
- The speech could symbolise how Mercutio hides deeper fears or emotions behind a mask of humour and mockery.
- Alternatively, Queen Mab—associated with dreams and illusions—could reflect Mercutio’s view that love is nothing more than a fantasy, unworthy of Romeo’s serious devotion.
‘madman! passion! lover!’
- Mercutio ridicules Romeo with a tricolon of epithets, which are grouped together to make them sound like semantics
- His tone is mocking and he speaks as if madman and lover are synonymous with love resulting in delusion
- The exclamatory structure conveys both amusement and frustration.
- On the surface, this line shows Mercutio’s disgust for the irrationality of love.
- Yet, another interpretation might suggest jealousy or alienation—Mercutio lacks the emotional connection Romeo has, and his teasing could mask feelings of exclusion or loneliness.
‘By her fine foot, straight leg, and quivering thigh’
- Here, Mercutio reduces Rosaline—and by extension all women—to physical parts, which reveals his objectifying view.
- The triplet of body parts and alliterative phrasing intensify the sexualised tone.
- This bawdy language attempts to bring Romeo back to Mercutio’s worldview, one that equates love with lust.
- It also reinforces Mercutio’s place as a product of a patriarchal society that commodifies women.
- While his tone is humorous, the underlying misogyny reflects societal attitudes and his emotional detachment from women.
Ending opening
As the play comes to a close, Shakespeare uses Mercutio’s transformation from a comic to a tragic figure to highlight the destructive impact of honour culture and toxic masculinity, as well as the senselessness of the feud.
‘O calm, dishonourable, vile submission!’
- Enraged by Romeo’s refusal to fight, Mercutio uses a rule of three to scorn what he sees as cowardice.
- The oxymoronic pairing of ‘calm’ and ‘dishonourable’ reflects the patriarchal expectation that men should respond to insults with violence.
- His reaction mirrors Tybalt’s earlier hatred of peace, suggesting how pervasive the pressure to assert masculinity through aggression truly is.
- exclamation mark shows clear frustration with unfolding
- Alternatively, Mercutio’s frustration may stem from confusion—he cannot comprehend Romeo’s rejection of traditional honour, revealing how deeply embedded these ideals are in his worldview.
‘Why the devil came you between us? I was hurt under your arm.’
- He accuses Romeo of intervening, causing his death.
- The phrase ‘under your arm’ evokes a sense of vulnerability and betrayal, suggesting that he was harmed while under the protection of a friend.
- His mercurial nature resurfaces here—he quickly turns against Romeo, showing how unstable and emotionally reactive he can be.
- Alternatively, this could reveal a deeper emotional bond with Romeo, where betrayal feels personal and painful.
‘A plague a’ both your houses!’
- Mercutio’s dying words curse both families, recognising the futility and destructiveness of their feud.
- The metaphor of a plague links their conflict to a contagious disease, spreading and killing indiscriminately.
- The detached pronoun ‘your’ reveals Mercutio no longer associates himself with either side, isolating himself from the tribal loyalty he once seemed to uphold.
- This line presents Mercutio as the first character to fully grasp the tragedy unfolding, elevating him from comic relief to a tragic voice of reason.
