Romeo and Mercutio, Dramatic Foils

Romeo and Mercutio; Dramatic Foils

Mercutio is a contrasting foil for Romeo because he is talkative, humorous, and he is a fighter while Romeo is quiet, serious, and he is a lover.

To start off, Romeo is shown to be quiet character while Mercutio is always willing to talk.

On page 5, Benvolio says he saw Romeo and walked toward him, but Romeo ran off.

Throughout page 41 Mercutio and the Nurse battle it out with puns and wits while Romeo, Benvolio, and Peter sit back and watch.

The first example shows how Romeo avoids talking to anyone and how he tends to keep to himself while the second example shows how fun and talkative Mercutio can be.

Secondly, Romeo is very serious and high strung while Mercutio is humorous and outgoing.

Shown on page 16 Romeo says “Is love a tender thing? it is too rough. Too rude, too boisterous, and it pricks like thorn.” Mercutio on the other hand is excited to be going to the party and tries to brighten Romeo’s mood by trying to take his mind off love.

This example proves that Romeo is high strung and serious because on his way to a party, he is being negative and sad about love while Mercutio is very easy going and tries to help Romeo have a good time.

Last, Romeo is a lover while Mercutio is a fighter.

Romeo and Mercutio’s conversation about love on page 16 proves this with Romeo complaining that love is rough and says “Under love’s heavy burden do I sink.” Mercutio says “If love be rough with you, be rough with love” and he mocks Romeo for being too “tender.”

Page 16 proves to the reader how Romeo is soft and a lover because of how he is affected so heavily by love while Mercutio is rough, fights with love and rolls with the punches.

Mercutio is a great dramatic foil for Romeo because of their differences and how they bring out unseen traits in the other person, enhancing the characters and story.