Romeo and Juliet and Thou Hast Hazel

Nay, an there were two such, we should have none shortly, for one would kill the other. Thou! why, thou wilt quarrel with a man that hath a hair more, 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 fun 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!

Context: In this speech Mercutio’s is telling Benvolio about the dangers of arguing. He tells him that he is to impulsive when it comes to fighting others. This piece serves as a good piece of foreshadowing to the fight that will occur later in the scene.

Thesis:
This extract is essentially Mercutio’s last speech, and it leaves us with the notion that Mercutio is a vain immature fool. It also may be foreshadowing how impulsiveness will lead to death, such was the case with Romeo, killing himself because he thought Juliet was dead.

Characters:
Benvolio- Romeo’s cousin
Mercutio- a servant loyal to the house of Montague
Literary techniques:

Irony:
This piece is perhaps one of the biggest pieces of irony in the whole play. Essentially Mercutio is saying that Benvolio is too short tempered, and follows this notion by getting a fight resulting his death. This speech is essentially depicting Mercutio as a hypocrite and an impulsive fool, yet in this speech he appears to take the moral high ground and disagree with constant violence. Yet the moment Tybalt asks for a word with him, he attempts to initiate a fight with Tybalt, even though Tybalt actually wishes to fight Romeo. So