In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, in
Act III, scene i, I think that Mercutio is something of a show-off, and has a lot to say
to mock others, even Benvolio. I don't think that his intent is malicious: he is just
someone who doesn't take too much seriously and loves to stir things up a little.
However, when Tybalt comes along, a member of a noble house, and is rude, Mercutio takes
great offense. He is not someone to be easily pushed around. He also get annoyed when
Romeo will not engage in trading insults with Tybalt. (Of course, Mercuitio does not
know that Romeo is now married to a Capulet, but thinks Romeo is simply acting
cowardly.)
Returning Tybalt's disrespect, Mercutio insults
him:
Tybalt, you rat-catcher, will you walk? [step
aside]...
And then when
Tybalt asks what Mercutio wants with him, Mercutio responds with another insult or
two:
Good
King of Cats, nothing but one of your nine lives that I mean to make bold withal, and as
you shall use me hereafter, dry-beat the rest of the eight. Will you pluck your sword
out of his pilcher by the ears? Make haste, lest mine be about your ears ere it be
out.
Mercutio has already
called Tybalt a "rat-catcher," and now he carries on the comparison stating he wishes to
take one of this cat's proverbial "nine lives," and if Tybalt continues to insult
Mercutio, Mercutio will beat up the remaining eight. Then he challenges Tybalt to draw
his sword: quickly or Mercutio will cut off his ears. Tybalt draws
and they commence to fight.
Tybalt is a hot-head, and he
hates the Montagues with a passion: not because he agrees with their dispute—as far as
we know, neither Capulet or Montague remember what this age-old feud is about. But
Tybalt needs little reason for stirring things up; he is a trouble-maker. And Mercutio,
despite his biting wit and over-the-top sense of humor, has no time for this blackguard
(scoundrel). He doesn't have much time for the Capulets, either, but for him it's more
personal: based on how Tybalt directly treats Mercutio simply because he is friends with
Romeo.
It is under these circumstances that Tybalt reaches
around Romeo's body, as he tries to stop the fight, to take a cheap shot at Mercutio
that eventually brings about the young man's death—as he is dying, Tybalt has run
away.
No comments:
Post a Comment