Benvolio and Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet?

Question

What do the characters of Benvolio and Mercutio in *Romeo and Juliet* symbolize, if anything? Mercutio's character mainly provides jokes, and then, in his hot-headedness, is slain by Tybalt. Benvolio at first tries to take Romeo's mind of Rosaline, and then tries to stop the violence between first Tybalt and Mercutio with Romeo, and then between Romeo and Tybalt. He then, after Romeo kills Tybalt, reports to the Prince of Venice what happened. Do these two characters have any special meaning, represent any quality in particular, or represent some person from Shakespeare's time that members of the audience would have recognized?

Answer 1

Also, as for symbolism, "Benvolio" means "well-wishing," as in, wanting good things to happen (you can contrast his name with Malvolio in Twelfth Night).

"Mercutio" seems like an adaptation of Mercury, the Roman god of, among other things, jokes and pranks, and also often used as a symbol of young masculinity. Mercury's Greek analog was Hermes, whose name comprises the male part of the word "hermaphrodite." So one thing to think about to get you started on why this question matters, what changes when the youthful, playful guy named after the god of jokes is killed? About when in the play does this happen? Why then?

Answer 2

Mercutio plays the role of a much-needed comic relief in the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. However, Shakespeare also uses these characters to compound the drama and demonstrate that the feud is beyond the immediate families and extends to relatives and friends alike. The majority of the city takes sides. (This is also shown by the servants in the very first scene.)