Mercutio Defense Team

Ethan Rugg, Megan Lauricella, Timothy Pham, Megan Smith, Danica Huynh, Dylan Moon
Mercutio Questions:
Examination:
1. Was it not true you were willing to die for you beloved friend, Romeo?
2. Were your intentions of helping Romeo get over who he thought was his one and only true
love pure?
5. Do you believe Romeo truly loved Rosaline or do you believe he lusted for her?
Cross-Examination:
3. Did you or did you not die protecting your best friends name in an attempt to redeem him
having not been provided certain information that couldve been useful to everyone involved
in the quarrel?
4. Did you have any knowledge of the unity between both families that may have dispersed
any feelings of hatred?

Romeo Questions:
Examination:
Who came up with the idea of sneaking into the Capulet's party?
Romeo, what was the only reason that you went to the party for?
What kind of person do you believe Mercutio was? Describe his personality. <- (confident,
protective,

sarcastic, etc) this will help supporting the argument which states that this is the
nature of Mercutiocaring and protective toward his friends and family.
Cross-Examination:
True or False. Throughout the play, Mercutio had been trying to convince you and stop you
from falling in love?
True or False. Mercutio had been trying to tell you that love does not worth the trouble and
to get you out of the love affairs?

Lord Capulet Questions:

Examination :
Why did you force your daughter to marry Paris?
Why did you change your mind about letting Juliet choose who and when she wants to get
married?
Who do you think is at fault for your daughters death?
Cross-Examination:

If Juliet didnt obey your orders to marry Paris, would you really have abandoned her?
Why didnt you listen to Juliet when she begged for you not to force her to marry Paris?

Benvolio Questions:
Examination:
1. You are a close friend of Mercutio, and Mercutio is a close friend to Romeo. Why
would Mercutio ever do anything to harm Romeo or Juliet? Better yet, why would he
kill them?
2. You were with Mercutio the days before Romeo and Juliets deaths. Did Mercutio ever
act strange towards Romeo and Juliet? If so, explain.
3. Also, Mercutio had been killed days before the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. How
would he be related to the suicides of the two people?
Cross-Examination:
1. If I recall, Romeo drank poison to kill himself, and Juliet stabbed herself. Do you have
any explanation or evidence of how Mercutio was involved in these acts?
2. If you were to see Mercutio acting strange around Romeo or Juliet, what is your
reasoning? Do you have any evidence to show that Mercutio killed Romeo and Juliet?

Juliet Questions:
Examination:
1. What made you trust Friar Lawrence?
2. Why do you think Friar Lawrence helped marry you and Romeo?
3. Why did you drink the vial without having knowledge of what was within it?
Cross-Examination:
1. Did Romeo ever inform you that Peter was the one who had invited him to a party?
2. Do you believe Mercutio would ever intentionally hurt you or Romeo, although he was
never informed of your marriage?
3. Did you ever get to know Mercutio personally?

Peter Questions:
Examination or Cross-Examination:
1. Did you or did you not invite Romeo and Benvolio to your masters gathering?

Friar Lawrence Questions:

Examination:
1. Why did you believe that marrying both rival houses would create peace rather than a
stronger feud?
2. How come you gave Juliet the sleeping potion without any rationale as to what
couldve went wrong?
3. What was your thought process when you decided to affiliate yourself with two
members of separate families involved in a strong feud?
4. Why didnt the message that explained the event of Juliets death come to Romeo in
time?
5. Did you decide to help Juliet in order to protect your reputation as a priest?
Cross-Examination:
1. Did you or did you not marry Romeo and Juliet knowing, Romeo had been going
through a state of depression only twenty-four hours earlier over a woman he had never
even talked to?
2. Why did you give a suicidal teenage girl a vial filled with potion? Why did you think
sending Romeo to Mantua was a good idea considering it had been attacked by a
plague?
3. Having had knowledge of Friar Johns fear of the plague, why didnt you give another
trusted advisor the urgent information that needed to be received within a specific time
period?

Opening Argument: In William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," the secondary

character, Mercutio, is essential and proven to be innocent of the deaths of the two main
characters. Mercutio is the Prince's kinsman, but more importantly, he is Romeo's best friend.
His concern is always for Romeo and for the peace between the two families.
In Act 1 Scene 2, it is very important for readers to note that it was Peter, a Capulet's servant,
who had unknowingly invited the Montague's boys along as he asked Romeo to help naming
the people on the invitation list to the Capulet's party. After Peter left, Benvolio suggested the
idea of sneaking into the Capulet's party so Romeo could see other women and, perhaps, forget
Rosaline. *Therefore, for those who have accused Mercutio for rushing Romeo to the party,
where he would meet Juliet, they are wrong.
In Act 2 Scene 4, Mercutio tried to convince Romeo that his love life worths nothing but
trouble and that he would be much better if he just simply give up on love. "Why, is not this
better now than groaning for love? Now art thou sociable. Now art thou Romeo. Now art thou
what thou artby art as well as by nature, for this driveling love is like a great natural that
runs lolling up and down to hide his bobble in a hole" (Shakespeare 75-79). *This proves that

Mercutio is caring and that he was trying to stop Romeo from falling in love. However,
Romeo heed no attention to Mercutio.
In the very beginning of Act 3 Scene 1, Mercutio appeared to be a calm, cautious, and
carefree character. When Tybalt came looking for Romeo, it was understandable that Mercutio
would want to protect his friends from being harmedespecially after they received a
challenge letter which was directly sent from Tybalt.
In Act 3 Scene 1, after he was brutally stabbed by Tybalt when he was fighting to defend
Romeo, Mercutio felt completely betrayed by his best friend as he saw Romeo trying to
befriend the Capulets. Before he died, Mercutio was disappointed in himself and Romeo, he
held his painful wound, and cursed both houses for getting him - and everyone else in Verona involved into their foolish feud.

Closing Statement: From the beginning of the play, Mercutio was introduced to the readers as
a protective, defensive, and confident character. For that reason, it is utterly understandable
that he would do anything, and everything he could to protect and defend his friends especially when one received a dreadful challenge letter from an enemy. Not only that,
Mercutio was also a caring person. In many failed attempts, he had tried to convince Romeo
that his love worths nothing but troubles and that his life would be much better if he stop
chasing the hopeless love. Due to all of these evidences stated above and the witnesses,
Mercutio is, clearly and completely, innocent.
Friar Lawrence, on the other hand, fits, almost perfectly, into the criminal profile. He illegally
married Romeo and Juliet; he handed Juliet, a naive 13 year old girl, a vial that had put her
into a coma state for 2 days; and most importantly, he gave the young Romeo and Juliet false
hope and beliefs in their juvenile love, which they had paid dearly with their lives. Friar
Lawrence is, evidently and undoubtedly, culpable for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.

Trial Exhibits:
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ0kOi6qqHY (Zeffirelli)
This scene represented Mercutio trying to defend Romeo as well as the part when he felt
betrayed by him.
2. Baz Luhrmann - 15-16 minutes into the movie, the scene shows that Mercutio didnt
persuade Romeo to come to the Capulet party, however in the playwrite, its basically Peter
telling them. (Newscaster-Peter)
3. Baz Luhrmann - 56-57:30 minutes into the movie, the scene shows Friar Lawrence
marrying Romeo and Juliet, and if he didnt none of the deaths wouldve occured.
4. (Baz Luhrmann - 58-1:15:00 minutes is the fight scene)
5. Baz Luhrmann - 1:17:00-1:30:00 minutes into the movie, the scene demonstrates Friar

Lawrence giving Juliet, a 13-year-old, suicidal girl a sleeping potion.

6. Baz Luhrmann - 1:12:00-1:15:00 minutes in is where Friar Lawrence is illegally hiding a
banished citizen in his home, as well as giving Romeo false hope for the relationship/marriage
to carry on.
7. MEGAN BRINGS A VIAL
8. Ill bring the letter that Peter gave to the Montagues.