Mercutio's Speech: An Analysis

“More than the prince of cats, I can tell you. O, he’s the

courageous captain of compliments. He fights as

you sing prick-song, keeps time, distance and

proportion; his rests his minim rests, one, two,

and the third in your bosom. The very butcher of

a silk button, a duellist, a duellist; a gentleman

of the very first house, of the first and second

cause. Ah, the immortal passado! The punto

reverso! The hay!” (Mercutio)

Romeo and Juliet Act II, scene iv, lines 19 -26

          Mercutio’s speech in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is one which is well-known, especially by those who are familiar with the play. For actors the role of Mercutio is a dream role due to the breadth of the character and the passion which the character evokes. This short monologue is one of the most striking and most famous of his sets of lines throughout the play. This is a discussion of this particular speech and a possible different point of view as to how it is has previously been portrayed.

          The speech is Mercutio addressing the subject of Tybalt in an attempt to explain to Benvolio about him and the reason why Romeo would have no chance in a duel against him. Most often this speech is portrayed by the actor playing Mercutio as sarcastic remarks about Tybalt or joking about how skilled he is with his weapon. Often this is because those who are reading the part of Mercutio do not understand some of the language which is presented in this speech. Thus some explanation of this will be given.

Tybalt the Swordsman

            Having the advantage of experience in Renaissance martial arts means that the jargon which appears in this passage has the advantage of understanding what Mercutio is talking about. Some of these are elementary to all forms of fencing.

The first three terms he uses, time, distance and proportion are the foundation of fencing and indeed all martial arts. Time refers to the use of actions and that every action takes a certain amount of time, and also that each action may be performed in response to the action of the opponent, after, at the same time or to intercept their action. This relates to proportion which is another word for timing which means performing an action at the appropriate time. Distance is ensuring that the fencer is at the appropriate distance to both perform their own actions and to receive those of the opponent.

The next set of terms are terms for particular actions which were used in association with the use of the sword, and in particular the rapier. The passado, or passata, was a passing step which was sometimes accompanied by an attack, one foot passing the other dramatically increasing the distance moved. The punto reverso, or punta riversa, is a thrusting attack which for the right-hander originates on the fencers right side and is directed against the opponent’s right side, usually attacking the outside line of the opponent, thus moving around the opponent’s weapon with the assistance of footwork, a large step to the right of the opponent. The hay, or hai, is a direct thrust through the opponent, thus a finishing blow.

For Tybalt to be trained to know the foundation elements means that he is obviously trained, that he knows the other skills means that he is also trained in an Italian system because they are from the Italian school. This is significant, if one examines that Shakespeare was writing for an English audience who would know that the attention of an Italian fencing master would cost a lot.

Tybalt the Gentleman

With the fencing terminology explained an examination of the other language is also useful to further discuss the praise which Mercutio is heaping on to Tybalt. He calls Tybalt the “captain of compliments” alluding to him being well-spoken, as the first thing that he says about him. Later on in the speech he also states that he is a gentleman who would not fight without a cause, “a gentleman of the very first house, of the first and second cause.”

Mercutio then starts discussing his fighting ability saying that he “fights as you prick-song”. Prick-song is written music, so in other words he fights as easily as you sing and read music, a skill any gentleman of the period should have. Mercutio then discusses the tactical capabilities of Tybalt in the statement, “his rests his minim rests, one, two, and the third in your bosom.” He states that he uses his skill that he will set his opponent up and strike him with the third in the body. “The very butcher of a silk button,” alludes to his accuracy, that he could take the buttons off his opponent’s jacket.

A Deeper Discussion

With this deeper discussion and explanation of the terms and ideas put forward by Mercutio in his speech, it is clear that he is actually heaping praise on Tybalt. That he is called the “Prince of Cats” could allude to his second position in the Capulet house and their heraldry, and also his movement with a weapon, but such is supposition. What is evident by what is presented here is that Mercutio is stating a lot of positive things about Tybalt even though he really does not have to. More so, he is discussing with Benvolio why Romeo should not duel with Tybalt, so it is likely that Mercutio would be serious rather than joking or sarcastic.

The misinterpretation of Mercutio’s speech demonstrates why as in all cases of previous texts, the elements of the text need to be examined from the point of view of their origin rather than a modern point of view when examining them. Otherwise impressions are imposed upon the texts which are not present in the text and a deviant view of the text is then presented, as can be seen by the multiple portrayals of Mercutio’s speech as joking or sarcastic. Care needs to be taken so that the author’s intent remains.