Read the excerpt from Act III, scene i of Romeo and Juliet. Mercutio: Thou! why, thou wilt quarrel with a man that hath a hair m
ore or a hair less in his beard than thou hast. Thou wilt quarrel with a man for cracking nuts, having no other reason but because thou hast hazel eyes. What eye, but such an eye, would spy out such a quarrel? Thy head is as full of quarrels as an egg is full of meat, and yet thy head hath been beaten as addle as an egg for quarrelling. Thou hast quarrelled with a man for coughing in the street, because he hath wakened thy dog that hath lain asleep in the sun. Didst thou not fall out with a tailor for wearing his new doublet before Easter? with another, for tying his new shoes with old riband? and yet thou wilt tutor me from quarrelling! Benvolio: An I were so apt to quarrel as thou art, any man should buy the fee-simple of my life for an hour and a quarter. Mercutio: The fee-simple! O simple! Benvolio: By my head, here come the Capulets. Why does Shakespeare include this comic speech by Mercutio? to explain Benvolio’s strange behavior to question the established laws of Verona to mock the reasons for quarrels and feuds to illustrate the close friendship between the men
In this excerpt from "Romeo and Juliet", Act III, Scene I, Shakespeare includes this comic speech by Mercutio<em> to mock the reasons for quarrels and feuds.</em>
Mercutio tells Benvolio that he cannot be his tutor to prevent him from fighting because he is always fighting. And Benvolio answers him back. Mercutio is the clever character who makes puns and jokes on the other characters. He doesn't believe in fate and knows clearly that the violence between the Capulets and the Montagues is the cause of all fights among the members of the two families. This excerpt is foreshadowing Mercutio's death and the way in which he dies cursing the hatred between the two families.
