Romeo And Juliet Foil Essay

Parker Smith

Mrs. Shanahan

English 1

13 March 2023

Romeo and Juliet Foils

Characters are an essential part of storytelling. While many characters have interesting traits it's important to ensure the audience can see them. This is where a character foil comes in. Romeo and Juliet is a story about 2 starcrossed lovers or depending on how it's viewed an obsessive relationship that results in suicide. We follow the protagonist Romeo trying to marry Juliet and make a relationship work. Even though their respective families hate each other. Romeo's best friend throughout the beginning of the story is Mercutio. In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Mercutio, and Romeo are foils in the play because of how serious they are, their views on love,

This is very different from what happened when Romeo died. When Romeo died he gave a dramatic speech about love. These death scenes highlight the differences between them. The main thing Mercutio does throughout the play is make jokes. This highlights how dramatic Romeo’s character is sometimes, which highlights the characterization of Romeo. This makes Mercutio a character foil to Romeos. Second, Romeo is more romantic than Mercutio. When Mercutio and Benvolio cant find Romeo after the party Mercutio claims he can summon him and says

"Romeo! Humours, 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.” Speak to my gossip Venus one fair word,”

2:1:6-10

This scene is Mercutio mocking Romeo so he will show himself. One of Romeo's main characteristics throughout the play is Romeo's love for Juliet. This loves leads to the main conflict of the play. On the other hand, Mercutio is often making fun of Romeo's romantic nature. This points out how extreme Romeo’s love is. Which can recontextualize the plot from traject lovers to obsessive love. This makes Mercutio a character foil to