How does Shakespeare present Mercutio and Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet free essay sample

Mercutio and Tybalt are seen in extremely contrasting ways in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and are both incredibly interesting characters. However Shakespeare uses a range of techniques to present them both and this is why they are such memorable secondary characters. Mercutio is very important to the play as he is Romeo’s most trusted friend and also the prince’s kinsman, however he also ads a lot more which makes the audience love him, for example his humor. Right from the offset we see Mercutio as a witty yet bawdy character and Shakespeare use innuendos to create laughs, for example when talking with the nurse he says â€Å"is now upon the prick of noon† this particularly crude way in which he tells the time shows that he is not only quick but hilarious as well which makes the audience love him even more. As well as this Mercutio has an extremely close relationship to Romeo but also has some rather differing views, especially on love. We will write a custom essay sample on How does Shakespeare present Mercutio and Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Romeo has the idea that love is very romantic and should be passionate however Mercutio has almost the completely opposite viewpoint. Shakespeare makes Mercutio have a negative attitude towards love and this is evident in his Queen Mab speech (Act 1, Scene 4) where he says â€Å"true I talk of dreams, which are the children of an idle brain† this implies that Mercutio thinks that love is only a dream and because dreams are not real neither is love. Shakespeare makes him have this view on love because it is far more realistic compared to the two protagonists, their view on love is very superficial and perhaps because Mercutio makes fun of this is why the audience likes him so much. As well as this the speech shows his amazing imagination in which entertains the audience throughout the play. Another way in which Shakespeare presents Mercutio is through the fight scene in which he dies. Mercutio is extremely volatile and hasty similar to his name which sounds like mercurial and he make silly comments such as â€Å"Tybalt you rat-catcher† and â€Å"courageous captain of compliments† which are extremely dangerous things to say especially to Tybalt, and it is perhaps ironic that Shakespeare makes Mercutio’s sense of humor the reason why he gets killed. It is also tragic that Mercutio dies even though he is of neither house and is therefore a casualty of the two houses’ feud and this why he says â€Å"a plague on both your houses†, Shakespeare uses this line to change the mood of the play; before Mercutio says this the play is very funny and not so serious, however afterwards because of the death of Mercutio the play turns into a tragedy where both Romeo and Juliet die, and therefore the way in which Shakespeare uses Mercutio to structure the play is incredibly important. Tybalt is also an incredibly important character in the book and is often seen as the villain as he is the reason why Romeo gets banished from Verona and therefore why both the protagonists die. While Mercutio has the opposite views to Romeo on love, Tybalt has almost the opposite personality. Romeo is always in love, whereas Tybalt is always in hate. An example of this is at the Capulet ball where Tybalt says â€Å"I will withdraw but this intrusion shall / Now seeming sweet, convert to bitterest gall† this implies that although he will let it go for now, he still has a strong hatred for all Montague’s, including Romeo. Tybalt is also quite a unique character as he is one of very few characters in which are so shallow. He cares most about his reputation as a fighter and this is evident as he is never shy to challenge anyone to a duel. This is shown when he says â€Å"peace? I hate the word† this suggests that he enjoys the bitter rivalry between the families and perhaps Shakespeare makes him this sort of character because he wants to personify hate; which is effectively Tybalt. Finally as Mercutio’s name is similar to mercurial, Tybalt’s name is similar to tyrant and this is why he causes trouble throughout the play that leads to the tragic ending. However you could also argue that Mercutio is not the hero and Tybalt not the villain. Mercutio could be seen as hypocritical as Romeo says about him â€Å"says more in a minute than will stand to in a month† this shows that he can hand out all this bawdy and sometimes even harsh banter but cannot take it, and it is only when he dies in which is the first time he makes fun of  himself not others, for example saying â€Å"I’m peppered† this humorous metaphor is an extraordinary thing to say in a death speech and is perhaps why the audience is left with a good impression of him. Tybalt on the other hand could be classed as not a villain due to his some obviously good qualities for example his fierce loyalty and patriotism for the Capulet house, nevertheless due to his animosity particularly in his final scene the audience often regard him, probably correctly, as the villain of the play. In conclusion both characters, although it might not seem so, are very important to the plot. Tybalt comes out of the play as the villain because of his ferocity, whilst Mercutio a hero due to his wit. But what is most important in the play is when these two extremely strong personalities collide and therefore result in the indisputable tragedy of ‘Romeo and Juliet’.