Introducing
Your new presentation assistant.
Refine, enhance, and tailor your content, source relevant images, and edit visuals quicker than ever before.
Trending searches
Romeo and Mercutio Foil
313
Romeo and Mercutio Character Foil
By Kimberly Gomez
Introduction
What is Character Foil?
Character foil or dramatic foil, is a character who that contrast another character by having opposite character traits. Normally, this character would have opposite traits of the main character. The purpose of these characters is to highlight important and opposite qualities of each other and helps the readers see their strengths and weaknesses..
Introduction
Two Characters:
Why are they foils?
Character Foils
The two characters are Romeo and Mercutio. Romeo is romantic, dramatic and very flirty. Mercutio jokes around a lot and is not a romantic person. They are foils because Romeo is so in love and romantic while Mercutio wants nothing to do with love and is antiromantic.
Characters:
Romeo and Mercutio
Characters
Character #1: Romeo
Romeo is very romantic, flirty, and serious when it comes to love. He has strong feelings and is immature and over dramatic. He doesn’t think his actions through much like his decision to fight Tybalt or marry Juliet. He falls in love too quickly. This can be seen when he falls in love with Rosalind and then falls out of love just as quickly when he sees Juliet and falls for her instead.
Romeo
Quotes\Evidence
- He is very committed and seems like he truly does love Juliet as he is willing to sacrifice everything for her. "'By love, that first did prompt me to inquire. He lent me counsel, and I lent him eyes. I am no pilot; yet, wert thou as far As that vast shore washed with the farthest sea, I should adventure for such merchandise'" (Shakespeare 3.2.80-84). He lives wholly in the moment and puts his everything for her
- He had just said Rosaline was the most perfect and that he was so in love but as soon as he saw Juliet, not knowing anything about her, says, “‘Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night’” (1.5.52-53). He completely forgets about her and swears he never saw true beauty despite having thought Rosaline was true beauty a few minutes before.
-.
Character #2: Mercutio
Mercutio
Mercutio is very anti-romantic and even makes fun of romance. He mocks Romeo for being in love and makes a lot of jokes about it. Mercutio says what he thinks of love when he says to Romeo, “‘Why, is not this better now than groaning for love? Now art thou sociable, now art thou Romeo; now art thou what thou art, by art as well as by nature. For this driveling love is like a great natural that runs lolling up and down to hide his bauble in a hole’”
(Shakespeare 2.4.83-87). He mocks love and says it is dumb and that there are better things than it. He doesn’t take most things seriously and always manages to joke about it. Even when he died, he was stabbed and joked about it, saying, “‘Ay, ay, a scratch, a scratch. Marry, ’tis enough’” (Shakespeare 3.1.90) and making many puns. .
How are they foils of each
other?
Mercutio serves as a foil to Romeo because Mercutio is very anti-romantic and mocks romance or makes fun of it while Romeo is very romantic and takes romance very seriously. While looking for Romeo who had run off, Mercutio says, “‘Romeo! Humors! Madman! Passion! Lover! Appear thou in the likeness of a sigh; Speak but one rhyme, and I am satisfied! Cry but ‘Ay me!’ Pronounce but ‘love’ and ‘dove’” (Shakespeare 2.1.7-10). He is mocking Romeo who is so in love that it is all he thinks about.
Foil
Cont.
Mercutio always makes fun of Romeo for being in love because he thinks there are better things than love. Romeo on the other hand, is serious about his love for Juliet and even says he thinks she is the most beautiful lady he has ever seen.
Continued
Conclusion:
Romeo is a very romantic and flirty person and is dedicated to who he loves and takes his love for Juliet seriously. Mercutio is anti romantic and mocks romance or makes fun of it and thinks it is dumb. Mercutio makes fun of Romeo for being in love and mocks him but perhaps there is some reaon behind why Mercutio is anti romantic.