Comical Elements in Romeo Juliet - 1605 Words

The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedie, of Romeo and Iuliet Ââ€" a play with such a title as this could hardly be expected to contain any great deal of light-hearted comedy, but comic elements can still be seen throughout the course of the story. Characters joke and jest in between romantic soliloquies; bright imagery are embedded between passages of trouble, darkness, and death. These elements are so subtly included in the tragedy that one barely notices their poignancy as the story folds out. Upon reflection, however, readers can see that this most lamentable tragedy is not purely tragic. Why would Shakespeare, then, theoretically, dilute the pathos of Romeo Juliet by using these comical elements? He could have simply went along†¦show more content†¦While the Nurse is teasing Juliet, Romeos lovesick devotion is also being made fun of by his friend Mercutio, a brilliant, witty character whose name is derived from the quick-changing mercury. He is very much a comic cha racter in the sense that he adds a certain irreplaceable spark and liveliness to the play through both what he says and how he says it. According to Romeo, he is a gentlemanÂ….that loves to hear himself talk and will speak more in a minute than he will stand to in a month (99). Another talkative character, Mercutios language is full of life and imagery, and most importantly to his comical role, witty. His Queen Mab speech contains some of his of the most famous lines, which capture all of the imagination and eloquence he puts into his words. One of the best examples of the witticisms of his language among his friends, so loved by the Elizabethan audiences, are in his little battle of wits with Romeo: Mercutio: I will bite thee by the ear for that jest. Romeo: Nay, good goose, bite not. Mercutio: Thy wit is a very bitter sweeting; it is a most sharp sauce. Romeo: And is it not, then, well served into a sweet goose. (95) This carefree joking lights up the scene in a way that the servants and the Nurse are quite unable to do. However, with all of Mercutios eloquence, he still has the profane elements of sex and violence in his words that only add to the comical appeal of hisShow MoreRelatedAct III, Scene I: the Pivotal Scene in Romeo and Juliet Essay1011 Words   |  5 Pagescrossd lovers, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare dabbles with both the comic and tragic genres (Prologue, Line 6). The play starts in the traditional comic form but undergoes a transformation in Act III, Scene I. In this scene, the death of Mercutio, and consequential death of Tybalt, transform the play into a tragedy. With each death comes a change that alters the course of the rest of the play. Mercutios death results in an inversion of the plays genre. Traditional comic elements are lifted onlyRead MoreRomeo Juliet: A Dramedy to Remember1358 Words   |  6 Pagesplays within three distinct genres: tragedy, comedy, and history. 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