The Death of Mercutio

The theme of love is prevalent throughout many novels and plays of the past 20 centuries; as soon as humans became capable of forming written language and writing, love has been crafted into stories, poems,   and theater. It is something we all aspire to achieve one day, or to gain. While reading Romeo and Juliet we wonder if the theme is truly young love, or if it is perhaps teaching us about mistakes teenagers make, or the consequences severe rivalries can have. But if one were to truly delve into the themes of Romeo and Juliet, we would have to first look at its characters and how William Shakespeare has crafted these characters, and the way he  makes them interact with one an other.

One of the most influential characters in Romeo and Juliet, is my opinion, is Mercutio. Mercutio himself is not a character of vital importance to the plot in the first two acts of this tragedy; he simply provides humor and sexual innuendos. It is his death, however, that creates tumult and a chain of catastrophic events in the story. Although we have discussed Mercutio's death in class and all the chain reaction his death causes, we haven't discussed the true significance of Mercutio's death.

Firstly, we ask ourselves, why Mercutio? What meaning is Shakespeare trying to convey by having such a facetious, amusingly indecent character murdered? Additionally, why does William Shakespeare create a character like Mercutio in the first place; to place such a character so full of risqué jokes in a tragedy such as this?

Shakespeare chose to create a character such as Mercutio in the first place to offer another view on love; a view that scoffs at love and treats it as a joke, or a game. To offer this view on love is to appeal to audiences and identify with many, for many people may treat love as a game as well. Furthermore, Mercutio brings comedy to a serious topic, such as love, and makes the play appear as a comedy in the first two acts. I believe that making the play seem as if it is a comedy in its first two parts is crucial to the plot. Once the story takes a violent twist with the death of Mercutio, it is as if all hope and happiness in the story dies. We become exposed to the reality of murder and its expenses, as well as Romeo's banishment and what this means for the relationship between Romeo and Juliet.

Although Mercutio may not prove such a vital character in the first two acts of this tragic play, it is his death that marks the turning point of Romeo and Juliet and transforms this play from a comedy to a tragedy, in a matter of seconds.