Mercutio

Question 1

Mercutio description

Answer 1

Unpreditable
Loyal
Filthy / provocative
Witty / Unserious

Comic character, foil to benvolio, his death sends play into tragic trajectory
Typifies elizabethan masculinity:
Men friends seen more important than love relations, sexual humour + violence = typically masculine
Very masculine character dying midway = meaning?

Question 2

Provocative / filthy mercutio

Answer 2

“Romeo!humours!madman!passion!lover!”
Provoking romeo by mocking, suggesting romeo is overemotional, provoking him to locate him, deriving romantic tendencies

“I conjure thee by Rosaline by… her fine foot, straight leg, and quivering thigh” listing = alluding to poetic blazon technique, sexual primitive view on love

“O calm, dishonourable, vile submission” tricolon = cresting lexicon of fragility

“Farewell ancient lady, farewell”

Question 3

Witty/ unserious mercutio

Answer 3

“If love be rough with you, be rough with ypu. Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down” antimetabole, double meaning, romeo rejected + sexual intercourse, plosive lexis (pricking, beat) = harsh sounds = violent

“O, the I see Queen Mab harg been with you. She is the fairies’ midwife” homophome for “quean” = female sex workers, sexual conmotations, mab = promiscuous woman of time. Joke being unserious of Romeos dream, mock friend?

“Maids lie on their backs…making them woman of good carriage” sexual, filthy?

“Romeo! Humors! Madman! Passio! Lover!” Mocking romeo

Question 4

Unpredictable mercutio

Answer 4

“A plague o’both your houses. They have made worms’ meat of me” euphemism, feud violence unimportant?

Question 5

Loyal friend mercution

Answer 5

“Nay, gentle Romeo, we must have you dance” modal verb + adjective

“Romeo! Humours! Madman! Passion! Lover!”