humor in romeo and juliet
?Styliani Georgiadou “Romeo and Juliet” is one of Shakespeare’s well-known plays around the world. People know it even if they have not read it. It is about a tragedy, a dramatic story of two young lovers with a tragic end. However, there have been some comic scenes which make audience forget the distressed parts for a short time and make the play more interesting. Shakespeare does that in many ways. Firstly, he makes use of words and irony. Also, he creates two characters that their whole role is comic and their aim is to make audience laugh.
The characters are the Nurse and Mercutio. A characteristic example of comic scenes is the fourth of the Act 1. there, we see Mercutio with Romeo discussing. Romeo is romantic and he is in love with Rosaline and Mercutio taunts him. When Romeo says that he cannot dance, mercurio mocks him and suggests wearing the cupid’s wings in order to dance. Later, when Romeo says that love “is too rough, too rude, too boisterous”, Mercutio puns him and suggests “if love be rough with you, be rough with love”.
Later on the play, Mercutio does not know that Romeo is in love with Juliet. In Act 2, scene 1, Romeo goes to Capulet’s Garden so as to see Juliet. However, Mercutio thinks that he is going to meet Rosalina. He calls Romeo with images of Rosalina such as “I conjure thee by Rosaline’s bright eyes. Mercutio differs from Romeo. He does no believe in love and makes fun of it. He is cynical in contrast to the love between Romeo and Juliet. The way he is sarcastic towards love is funny and amusing. Another example of such a scene is the fifth of Act 2.
In the previous scene, Juliet had sent the Nurse to look for Romeo and ask him if he wanted to marry Juliet. At 2. 5 scene Juliet waits for the Nurse to come and she is full of anxiety. However, the Nurse does not say the news immediately. On the contrary, she complaints about how tired she is and how her back aches. Juliet is so nervous that she keeps asking the Nurse “I pray thee. Speak; – good, good, nurse, speak”. The more desperate becomes Juliet, the more the Nurse teases her. She continues changing the subject and avoiding answering when she says “you know not how to choose a man”.
And then she starts commenting on Romeo’s characteristics. Juliet cannot stand it anymore and says “but all this did I know before; what says he of our marriage? ” The Nurse plays with Juliet’s anxiety when she starts saying what Romeo told her and suddenly asks about Juliet’s mother! In the end of the scene, the Nurse reveals to her that Romeo will wait for her to Friar Laerence’s cell in order to marry her. This scene is very pleasant and the game between the Nurse and Juliet is something different from the whole atmosphere of the play.
To sum up, it is understandable that humor in “Romeo and Juliet” is what makes the play so special. Nobody would expect that in the tragedy fits also the humor. Through the characters of the Nurse and Mercutio, Shakespeare achieves to keep the audience interested. These characters bring balance to the tragedy and make the ambiance less heavy. In addition, due to the fact that they are both cynical, as love is considered, make the love between Romeo and Juliet strong, innocent and ideal to the audience.