Mercutio ( , ) is a fictional character in
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's 1597
tragedy
A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a tragic hero, main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsi ...
, ''
Romeo and Juliet
''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
''. He is a close friend to
Romeo
Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lord Montague, Lord Montague and his wife, Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lady Montague, Lady Montague, he ...
and a blood relative to
Prince Escalus and
Count Paris. As such, Mercutio is one of the named characters in the play with the ability to mingle around those of both houses. The invitation to
Lord Capulet's party states that he has a brother named Valentine.
Though often fun-loving and witty, the latter demonstrated in his
Queen Mab speech in the first act, Mercutio's sense of humour can at times be facetious or even coarse, much to his friends' annoyance. He is also moody and given to sudden outbursts of temper, one of which sets a key plot development in motion.
Role in the play
One of Romeo's closest friends, Mercutio entreats Romeo to forget about his unrequited love for a girl named
Rosaline and come with him to a masquerade ball at
Lord Capulet's estate, through use of his
Queen Mab speech. There, Mercutio and his friends become the life of the party, but Romeo is drawn to Capulet's daughter,
Juliet. He finds himself in love, and immediately forgets about Rosaline. When Mercutio sees Romeo the next day, he is glad to see that his friend is his old self again, and he encourages Romeo, all the while making bawdy jokes at the expense of Juliet's
Nurse
Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...
.
After Romeo receives a death threat from Juliet's cousin
Tybalt, Mercutio expects Romeo to engage Tybalt in a duel. However, Romeo refuses to fight Tybalt, because Romeo now considers Tybalt to be kin due to his secret marriage to Juliet. Mercutio is incensed at his friend's "calm, dishonorable, vile submission", and decides to fight Tybalt himself, referring to his own sword as his "fiddlestick." Romeo attempts to intervene. By stepping between the dueling men, however, he inadvertently hinders Mercutio, allowing Tybalt to inflict a fatal blow. Before he dies, Mercutio curses both the Montagues and Capulets, crying several times,
"A plague o' both your houses!" (Act III, Sc. 1, often quoted as "A pox on both your houses"). He makes one final
pun
A pun, also known as a paronomasia in the context of linguistics, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from t ...
before he dies: "Ask for me to-morrow, and you shall find me a
grave
A grave is a location where a cadaver, dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is burial, buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of buria ...
man.". A grief-stricken and enraged Romeo kills Tybalt, resulting in his banishment from
Verona
Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...
and beginning the tragic turn of events that make up the rest of the play.
Name origins
The name Mercutio was present in Shakespeare's sources for ''Romeo and Juliet'', though his character was not well developed and he was presented as a romantic rival for Juliet.
The name is first used in
Luigi Da Porto's 1530 ''Giulietta e Romeo''. Da Porto briefly introduces a character named Marcuccio Guertio, a noble youth "with very cold hands, in July as in January", who makes Giulietta Cappelletti appreciate the warm hands of Romeo Montecchi.
Mercutio's death
Earlier versions of the story described a different chain of events leading to Tybalt's death, omitting Mercutio completely.
Arthur Brooke's ''
The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet'' and
William Painter's 1567 versions of the story both left the entire episode solely to Romeo and Tybalt. In both stories, Tybalt attacks the pacifist Romeo with such force that Romeo is forced to take up the sword to defend himself. He is then banished rather than executed because the killing was provoked. In 1672, English poet
John Dryden
John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate.
He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration (En ...
wrote, "Shakespeare show'd the best of his skill in his Mercutio, and he said himself, that he was forced to murder him in the third Act, to being killed by him."
The addition of Mercutio into the fray increases the tension, and Tybalt is seen as a slightly more peaceful character than in previous versions, as Mercutio is disgusted by the fact that Tybalt continues to search for a quarrel with Romeo, when Romeo is trying to bring peace between them. Mercutio hurls insults and taunts at Tybalt, and draws the sword first, in reaction to Tybalt's insults, which are directed to Romeo.
Mercutio's death in Act III, scene I is the pivotal point of the play, which up to this point is relatively light-hearted.
[Maxwell, Jennifer. ''The Catalytic Function of Mercutio.''](_blank)
(doc) Mercutio's death is sudden and makes death a dark reality for several characters, causing a
domino effect
A domino effect is the cumulative effect produced when one event sets off a series of similar or related events, a form of chain reaction. The term is an analogy to a falling row of dominoes. It typically refers to a linked sequence of events ...
that leads ultimately to the tragic
climax.
Performers
A number of famous actors have played the role of Mercutio. A small sampling follows.
Stage

*In 1933–1934,
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...
played the role of Mercutio in the
Katharine Cornell repertory company's
seven-month transcontinental tour — his professional debut on the American stage.
*In 1935,
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...
and
John Gielgud alternated the roles of Romeo and Mercutio in a London stage production directed by Gielgud.
*In 1945,
Ralph Richardson made his
Broadway debut as Mercutio opposite
Maurice Evans’ Romeo and
Katharine Cornell’s Juliet.
*In 1947,
Paul Scofield played Mercutio in a production directed by
Peter Brook.
*In 1958,
Alec McCowen
Alexander Duncan McCowen, (26 May 1925 – 6 February 2017) was an English actor. He was known for his work in numerous film and stage productions.
Early life
McCowen was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, the son of Mary (née Walkden), a dancer ...
enjoyed a major success as Mercutio in London.
*In 1976,
Michael Pennington played the role opposite
Ian McKellen and
Francesca Annis in
Trevor Nunn's production for the
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...
.
*In 1992,
Colm Feore played Mercutio in a production directed by
Richard Monette at Canada's
Stratford Festival.
Antoni Cimolino played Romeo and
Megan Follows was Juliet.
*In 2006,
Benjamin Walker portrayed Mercutio during the Williamstown Theater Festival with
Emmy Rossum as Juliet and Greg Hildreth as Benvolio.
*In 2024,
Ashley Byam portrayed Mercutio to critical acclaim in a new production at
Shakespeare's Globe in London.
Film
*In 1936,
John Barrymore portrayed Mercutio in
George Cukor
George Dewey Cukor ( ; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer, producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO Pictures, RKO when David O. Selzn ...
's film ''
Romeo and Juliet
''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
'' opposite
Leslie Howard
Leslie Howard Steiner (3 April 18931 June 1943) was an English actor, director, producer and writer.Obituary, '' Variety'', 9 June 1943. He wrote many stories and articles for ''The New York Times'', ''The New Yorker'', and '' Vanity Fair'' an ...
as Romeo.
*In 1961,
Russ Tamblyn played the Mercutio character, Riff Lorton, in the film adaptation of ''
West Side Story
''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents.
Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...
'', the musical modernised version of ''Romeo and Juliet''.
*In 1968,
John McEnery portrayed Mercutio in
Franco Zeffirelli's film ''
Romeo and Juliet
''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
''.
*In 1976,
Robin Nedwell played Mercutio in the Thames Television production directed by Joan Kemp-Welch, with Christopher Neame as Romeo and Ann Hasson as Juliet.
*In 1978,
Anthony Andrews played the role in the
BBC Television Shakespeare
The ''BBC Television Shakespeare'' is a series of British television adaptations of Shakespeare's plays, the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and broadcast by BBC Television. Transmitted in the UK from 3 December 1978 to ...
production, the first in a series of adaptations of all Shakespeare's plays.
*In 1996,
Harold Perrineau portrayed Mercutio in
Baz Luhrmann's modernised version, ''
William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet''.
*In 1998,
Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and three Golden Globes. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educatio ...
portrayed actor
Edward Alleyn in the
romantic comedy
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...
''
Shakespeare in Love''. In the film, Alleyn serves as history's first Mercutio.
*In 2007,
Tetsuya Kakihara and
Christopher Bevins
Christopher Bevins is an American voice actor, ADR director and scriptwriter who has worked on English language adaptations of Japanese anime shows. He dubbed roles in anime including Yasuhiro Hagakure from the '' Danganronpa'' series, Kenji fr ...
voice Mercutio in the
anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
series ''
Romeo x Juliet''.
*In 2011,
Hale Appleman portrayed Mercutio in
Alan Brown's ''
Private Romeo'', a modern-day adaptation set at an all-male military academy.
*In 2013,
Christian Cooke played Mercutio in the
film adaptation
A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...
directed by
Carlo Carlei, starring
Douglas Booth as Romeo and
Hailee Steinfeld
Hailee Steinfeld (born December 11, 1996) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She had her breakthrough with the western film ''True Grit (2010 film), True Grit'' (2010), which earned her List of awards and nominations received by H ...
as Juliet.
See also
*
Complete list of Shakespearean characters
References
External links
Complete listing of all of Mercutio's linesat Shakespeare Online
{{Authority control
Literary characters introduced in 1597
Fictional Italian people in literature
Male Shakespearean characters
Characters in Romeo and Juliet
Fictional nobility
Fictional swordfighters in literature
Fictional murdered people