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In the Shakespearian dramatic tragedy play, Romeo and Juliet, there is much visible or known information detailing the importance of the minor characters. The friends of Romeo’s, Mercutio, and Juliet’s nurse are both characters that are not considered a major or main focus of the play, but play a crucial role in the advance of the play’s momentum, turning points, crises, catalysts, and the lives of Shakespeare’s central characters. The nurse throughout the story represents a link between both the Capulet and Montague families and therefore allows any form of communication to occur between Romeo and Juliet. Mercutio’s presence in the play is implemental to the plot of the story. Each of these roles is useful and ne
Both Mercutio and the nurse enhance the idealistic dream of Romeo and Juliet’s ‘young love’ by comparing the passion-driven ways to the “level-headed” ways of both the main characters in the story. The crude language that Mercutio uses and displays throughout the storyline as well as the invariable sexual references that are amplified by Juliet’s nurse, in context to the naivety of the love between both the main characters, Romeo and Juliet. Both of these minor characters can be resembled as foils in the play to its protagonists. Although the nurse is both aged and wise, she comes across as a stumbling fool as she often repeats herself and confuses words, whereas, Juliet is very well-spoken and outgoing. This provisional analysis of the two can represent two; Juliet as a sign of youth. The nurse is much older and has been married, as well as has given birth, although both the child and the husband are said to be deceased. Similarly, Mercutio is vastly different from Romeo. Mercutio is an idealist and realist, while Romeo is a cupid romantic who comes across as somewhat conceited. In the first act, Romeo begins to question love itself and avers, “Is love a tender thing? It is too rough, too rude, too boisterous, and it pricks like a thorn.” [I.iv. 25-26] In response to this, Mercutio answers with, “If love be rough with you, be rough with love. Prick love for pricking you and beat love down.” [I.iv. 27-28] After this, Romeo acts melodramatically and likely expects a similar sympathetic response about his situation. However, Mercutio tells Romeo to ‘get over it’ and move on. Mercutio’s straightforward proclamations are used to bring the audience back into reality for a moment and represent Romeo’s tendency to be theatrical and overdramatic. Using these minor characters, Shakespeare can highlight qualities that he finds to big important to the storyline and the personalities of Romeo and Juliet, thus allowing the play's momentum to gather speed rapidly as if the two main characters are rushing.
Both Mercutio and the nurse promote themes and settings within the story to make the audience and or reader notice certain qualities in the protagonists of the story. They also are important and help the development of the plot. Mercutio’s death scene symbolizes the transition of the story from a young love comedy to the tragedy mentioned at the beginning of the story. Due to Mercutio’s lack of knowledge of Romeo’s newfound love, it is possible that Mercutio could have used his own words to affect the main plot of the play. However, Mercutio’s death inspires Romeo to avenge Mercutio’s death and seek revenge on Tybalt, which in the long term, has a profound and lasting effect on the fate of the ‘star-crossed lovers’.
In contrast to the last relationship between Romeo and Mercutio, Juliet and the nurse are quite close, and she decides to turn to her nurse for an opinion and help with her secretive relationship with Romeo. This allows the nurse to have any say and control the outcome of the story if she wants to. To Juliet, the nurse seems like a mother figure as she has been with Juliet ever since she was born, thus explaining why Juliet values and is so keen to get warm advice from her nurse. Were the nurse’s initial response to the pairing of the main characters (Capulet and Montague) a positive one, Juliet would have been more likely at the beginning of the story to pursue her idealization of romance, even if it was forbidden. Apart from being very influential on the young Juliet, the nurse is also an important and central character to the progression of the plot, by specific actions she takes to ensure that whatever decision Juliet makes, is the right one.
Firstly, the nurse is the one who initially reveals Juliet’s identity and whereabouts to Romeo. In addition to this, the nurse agreed to, on more than one occasion, meet up with Romeo to relay messages from Juliet. In the third act, during scene four, the nurse agrees to deliver a rope ladder to Juliet for him to be able to enter her room and marry her. Once Mercutio dies and the nurse’s role in the play slowly becomes more tragic, she still manages to influence the couple’s relationship by losing Juliet’s trust by consulting her to marry Paris. Therewithal, Juliet also seeks comfort from her nurse, she responds by stating that Romeo is not a respectable or correct choice as a husband.
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