Mercutio is a kinsman of the Prince and is a very close friend of Romeo. He is an extremely quick-witted man and is an excellent fencer. He has a taste for making light of everything that he deems too serious, such as love, and he is very successful in doing so. Mercutio is invited to the Capulet party and he allows Benvolio and Romeo to gate-crash with him. Mercutio is a very good friend of Benvolio; however, the latter attempts to keep him under control, though unfortunately rarely succeeds. Mercutio provokes a fight with the quarrelsome Tybalt, but he steps aside in an act of chivalry to let Romeo have his duel, but he is horrified when Romeo refuses and steps into the fight himself. Mercutio is mortally wounded but manages to convince Benvolio to remove him from the street for his final moments while he curses the feud and all of its participants before dying.
