Mercutio

[tomatoes]

I studied R&J four years ago and am in need of a memory jog.
Can someone please describe the character of Mercutio for me? I know he was Romeo's friend and that's about it.
Thanks heaps

[RobinHood3000]

Humourous at some times, deadly serious at others (hence the name Mercutio--stemming from the same roots as "mercurial," meaning capricious or quixotic). Romeo's dear friend and a comparative neutral in the feud between the two families, since he was related to neither. He is the Prince's kinsman, and falls at Tybalt's hands with the immortal line, "A plague o' both your houses!"

[MrsCoulter]

It's also widey debated on whether or not he was gay and in love with Romeo and jealous of Juliet.

[tomatoes]

Thanks
I read somewhere that he was opposed to love as an emotion. Is this true or were they just making stuff up?

[Lentiga]

It's also widey debated on whether or not he was gay and in love with Romeo and jealous of Juliet.
How could he be jealous of Juliet? He died before he found out about the two of them.

Mercutio is a friend of Romeo, a relative of the prince, and a a character that pokes fun at everyone. He is killed by Tybalt.

[rabid reader]

Mercutio is Belguim, in a naive attempt to stay neutral he is drawn into a battle with a much stronger foe because of who he assocaites with.

He is only son of the prince if I remember, funny and curses both the houses