Was mercutio gay
Baz Luhrmann’s decision to construct the iconic Shakespearean nature Mercutio both African American and queer is an interesting one.
Scholar Anthony Johae discusses the prospect of Mercutio’s transgenderness in his essay “Bahktinian Carnivalesque in Baz Luhrmann’s William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet.” Johae explains that past scholars such as Phillipa Hawker own claimed that there is evidence of a homoerotic relationship between Romeo and Mercutio in Luhrmann’s production, and “So upbeat is Mercutio’s mercurial cross-dressing and camp behavior at the Capulet party that it appears as a autograph of his transgender identity” (304).
However, instead of making the simple blanket declaration that because Mercutio wears a dress he wants to be a female, Johae offers the thought that Mikhail Bakhtin’s notion of “carnivalesque” may be at work, meaning “fancy dress, rather than exposing individuality and sexual proclivities, might offer atypical disguises in the spirit of carnival where societal values are provisionally suspended and hierarchies reversed.” Furthermore, Johae quotes Baktin, writing, “’The carnivalistic life is life drawn out of its us
Romeo + Juliet is one of the last films anyone would ever endeavor to queer. It’s one of the most iconic heterosexual romances in the history of the stage. What most audiences break down to see, however, is how the 1996 adaptation attempts to deconstruct and destabilize heteronormative expectations for this particular play. Jennifer Ailles states, “Adaptation, as a process of re-wnting/disrupting a normative, “originary,” historically situated text, is by definition a queer process” (Ailles). As such, Baz Lurhmann’s Romeo + Juliet is queer in the sense that the characters, particularly the character of Mercutio, do not look to fit into alabaster heteronormative expectations that would otherwise be forced upon them. He has changed and shifted many things within the story, creating something remarkably different, and remarkably more queer, than the original tragedy.
Before delving into the choices made with the film adaptation, it’s important to acknowledge context regarding the unique play. The film follows the play almost exactly, using the original engage as a script in the original iambic pentameter. The main difference is that it is modernized. It takes place in Verona
Shakesqueer: Tybalt and Mercutio Collapse in Love in Verona
Allison Chen
Staff Reporter
Yale College Arts
Step aside, Romeo and Juliet—there’s another star-crossed couple in Verona.
On the fringes of a most iconic love story, another hidden romance blooms between the play’s secondary characters, Mercutio and Tybalt, as they struggle and court in a gay love affair set amidst 14th century Verona. An original act by Lulu Klebanoff ’20, “Tybalt and Mercutio Are Dead” reveals a hypothetical gay romance that occurs offstage of “Romeo and Juliet.” As the audience, we explore love, tragedy and queerness in a traditional Shakespearean setting; the play defies heteronormative expectations in a wonderfully experimental way.
Even a fencing compare crackles with romantic tension. Swords whip the breeze as Mercutio and Tybalt parry and strike within a strangely intimate dance—even in the first scene, when the two are merely fencing partners. Yes, each choreographed thrust is done with fighting intent. The playful banter
Bringing the Character’s to Life
In Romeo + Juliet, Baz Luhrmann made some interesting choices in the characterization of the individuals in the movie. He played up certain traits that weren’t easily picked up from the text of the play and in some cases aren’t even stated. Yet in other ways, he chose to stick to Shakespearian version of the character or even down played traits.
Mercutio, Romeo’s right hand man, is one of the characters Luhrmann read between the lines to come up with his portrayal of Mercutio. In the feature, Mercutio comes off as homosexual who has
not openly stated his sexuality. This point is made noticeable in the movie, when for the Capulet masquerade he cross dresses and preforms a song in a very Tina Turner like fashion. It’s also made obvious through his interactions with the other characters and the way he moves and talks. For example, when giving the Queen Mabe speech he prances about. Where the other Montague guys take this as just a joke; it is clear that Mercutio is greatly enjoying it.
In the actually text of the play, there is brief to indicate that Mercutio is gay. While at times he does approach off as overly masculine, whic
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