Prompt C
In act one, scene four, Mercutio gives a long speech about Queen Mab. Romeo interrupts him by saying, "Peace, peace, Mercutio, peace. Thou talk'st of nothing." Mercutio says, "True, I talk of dreams,/Which are are the children of an idle brain,/Begot of nothing but vain fantasy." Basically, Mercutio is going on a long rant, which Romeo interrupts. I think it is clever of Mercutio to bait Romeo like this, because he is trying to prove to Romeo that dreams don't mean anything. Romeo admits that dreams don't mean anything by saying that Mercutio "talks of nothing." Mercutio is also sort of referring to Romeo's love when he talks about dreams, because his love is similar to a dream. Romeo isn't actually in love with Rosaline, he is in love with the idea of her, which is proven when he meets Juliet.
Additionally, Mercutio's long rant connects to the nature of women and shows a lot about his personality and beliefs. Mercutio is trying to comfort Romeo while also telling him how he feels, by using puns and being witty. It is hard to comfort lovesick Romeo, so Mercutio out-banters him and tries to disprove what he says with logic. Shakespeare shows how Mercutio is more witty than Romeo by making his dialogue more advanced.
Nice analysis. I didn't think of this before. Do you think that is what Mercurtio was trying to do? Do you think Romeo took it in and thought about why he liked Rosaline?
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