SOURCE: Porter, Joseph A. “Friendship and Love.” In Shakespeare's Mercutio: His History and Drama, pp. 145-63. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1988.
In the essay below, Porter states that in both criticism and in production, Mercutio's claims for the worth of friendship are not given adequate attention. Porter goes on to assess the historical context of the love versus friendship debate as it existed in Shakespeare's England, and notes the ways in which the subversive nature of Christopher Marlowe's homosexuality is addressed by Shakespeare through the character of Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet.
This is a free excerpt of 94 words. There are 8,711 words (approx.
29 pages at 300 words per page) in the full critical essay.
Read the rest of this Criticism with our Romeo and Juliet: Critical Essay by Joseph A. Porter Access Pass.
