Villain, Where Art Thou?

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Villain, Where art thou?

Ladies and Gentleman of the jury there is not a villain in the play, "Romeo and Juliet." As Northrop Frye states in his review, ". . . in this play there doesn't seem to be the clearly marked villain that we find in so many tragedies." (Frye 28) This paper presents the facts that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Frye's assertion is correct because the definition of a villain is a wicked or vile person. Mercutio, the nurse, Tybalt, and Romeo like a red herring seem like villains and could trick careless readers into believing that they are villains.
    Mercutio's wit overshadows his violent side. "O calm, dishonorable, vile submission! Alla stoca carries it away. Tybalt, you ratcatcher, will you walk?" (Shakespeare Act 3. Sc. 1. Ln. 74-76) This quote shows that Mercutio becomes so disgusted with Romeo that he challenges Tybalt in a duel. A villain acts with wickedness, Mercutio however, acts with honor because he would rather die then disgrace the Montague name. The nurse, can be thought of as Juliet's evil conscious tempting her as can be seen in this quote. The nurse says, ". . . I think it best you married with the County. O, he's a lovely gentleman! Romeo's a dishclout to him." (Shakespeare Act 3 sc. 5. Ln. 230-232) This quote shows the immorality and bad judgement the nurse uses to tell Juliet to forget her present husband and get married again. One has to remember though, that the nurse is of a lower social class and she thinks sh...

Submitted by: digitalessays
Date Submitted: 12-13-04 5:48pm
Category: English
Words: 648
Pages: 2.59