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How Did Mercutio Change In Romeo And Juliet

665 Words3 Pages

Jennifer Romo
English 9 Hr 2
12/11/15
Romeo and Juliet: Mercutio’s Impact

A lot is lost when dealing with book to movie portrayals. Although it’s mostly small details that do not contribute to the story, personalities of the characters often change. Mercutio from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a victim of this change. In the play, Mercutio acted as a foil for Romeo with little understanding of love. As quick-tempered he was during the play, his witty remarks made Mercutio a popular and widely-liked character. This changes in the movie portrayal of Romeo and Juliet. Although Mercutio is as comical as ever, he becomes a worse influence on Romeo and could have changed the outcome of the play if the director wanted to. Mercutio changed the …show more content…

Though this is shown in the opening scene with the gas station on fire, there is a scene that should be doing the same job in the movie, it comes off as Tybalt being a cry baby. In the play, Romeo, Mercutio, and Benvolio sneak into the Capulet’s party wearing masks, giving any Capulet reason to be mad. However, in the movie, Mercutio is given invitations to the Capulet’s party and takes Romeo and Benvolio with him. Despite the feud, Romeo is technically a guest and should not make Tybalt so angry in the first …show more content…

There are many conflicts in Romeo and Juliet and changing some scenes can offer more clarity to audience that have not read the play. However, it can, sometimes drastically, change a person’s view on a certain character. Mercutio and Tybalt’s fight is one of the most important scenes in the story and an example of this type of change. In the play, Romeo does not get involved in the fight until Mercutio is dying and Tybalt returns to fight Romeo. In the movie, Romeo gets in the middle of the fight to stop Mercutio, leading to Tybalt picking up a shard of glass and stabbing Mercutio. He then flees, with noticeable regret, and is chased by Romeo. This is another situation where the ending could have been altered. Since the film is modernized, Romeo, despite killing Tybalt to avenge Mercutio, would be convicted for murder and would probably face a punishment more severe than banishment. This probably changed the audience’s view on all the characters involved. Romeo’s reputation as a lover and not a fighter is gone and Tybalt is seen as less hostile than portrayed in the

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