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Right from the offset we see Mercuric s a witty yet bawdy character and Shakespeare use innuendos to create laughs, for example even talking with the nurse he says “is now upon the prick of noon” this particularly crude way in Which he tells the time shows that he is not only quick but hilarious as well which makes the audience love him even more. As well as this Mercuric has an extremely close relationship to Romeo but also has some rather differing views, especially on love. Romeo has the idea that love is very romantic and should be passionate however Mercuric has almost the completely opposite viewpoint.
Shakespeare makes Mercuric have a negative attitude towards love and this is evident in his Queen MBA speech (Act 1, Scene 4) where he says “true I talk of dreams, which are the children of an idle brain” this implies that Mercuric thinks that love is only a dream and because dreams are not real neither is love. Shakespeare makes him have this view on love because it is far more realistic compared to the two protagonists, their view on love is very superficial and perhaps because Mercuric makes tune to this is why the audience likes him so much.
As well as this the speech shows his amazing imagination in which entertains the audience throughout the play. Another way in which Shakespeare presents Mercuric is through the fight scene in which he dies. Mercuric is extremely volatile and hasty similar to his name which sounds like mercurial and he make silly comments such as ‘Table you rat-catcher” and “courageous captain of compliments” which are extremely dangerous things to say especially to Table, and it is perhaps ironic that Shakespeare makes Americium’s sense Of humor the reason why he gets killed.
It is also tragic that Mercuric dies even though he is of neither house and is therefore casualty Of the two houses’ feud and this Why he says “a plague on both your houses”, Shakespeare uses this line to change the mood of the play; before Mercuric says this the play is very funny and not so serious, however afterwards because of the death of Mercuric the play turns into a tragedy where both Romeo and Juliet die, and therefore the way in which Shakespeare uses Mercuric to structure the play is incredibly important.
Table is also an incredibly important character in the book and is often seen as the villain as he is the reason why Romeo gets banished from Verona and Hereford why both the protagonists die. While Mercuric has the opposite views to Romeo on love, Table has almost the opposite personality. Romeo is always in love, whereas Table is always in hate. An example Of this is at the Caplet ball where Table says “l will withdraw but this intrusion shall / Now seeming sweet, convert to bitterest gall” this implies that although he Will let it go for now, he still has a strong hatred for all Montague, including Romeo.
Table is also quite a unique character as he is one every few characters in which are so shallow. He cares most about his reputation as a fighter and this is evident as he is never shy to challenge anyone to a duel. This is shown when he says “peace? I hate the word” this suggests that he enjoys the bitter rivalry between the families and perhaps Shakespeare makes him this sort of character because he wants to personify hate; which is effectively Table. Finally as Americium’s name is similar to mercurial, Table’s name is similar to tyrant and this is why he causes trouble throughout the play that leads to the tragic ending.
However could also argue that Mercuric is not the hero and Table not the villain. Mercuric could be seen as hypocritical as Romeo says about him ‘Says more in a minute than will stand to in a month” this shows that he can hand out all this bawdy and sometimes even harsh banter but cannot take it, and it is only when he dies in which is the first time he makes fun of himself not others, for example saying “I’m peppered” this humorous metaphor is an extraordinary thing to say in a death speech and is perhaps why the audience is left vivid a good impression Of him.
Table on the Other hand could be classed as not a villain due to his some obviously good qualities for example his fierce loyalty and attrition for the Caplet house, nevertheless due to his animosity particularly in his final scene the audience often regard him, probably correctly, as the villain of the play.
In conclusion both characters, although it might not seem so, are very important to the plot. Table comes out of the play as the villain because of his ferocity, whilst Mercuric a hero due to his wit. But what is most important in the play is when these two extremely strong personalities collide and therefore result in the indisputable tragedy of ‘Romeo and Juliet’