What are the character traits of Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet? Provide textual evidence.

Romeo and Juliet was released as a quarto in the year 1597, making it one of Shakespeare’s earlier plays and part of the corpus called “Elizabethan” plays. The play’s plot was based on an earlier Italian story that was translated into English in the middle of the sixteenth century. The model version of this story didn’t include the character of Mercutio, who is thus a Shakespearean invention.
Mercutio belongs to neither the house of Montague nor the house of Capulet. He is a friend of Romeo and a relative of Prince Escalus of Verona. He is a cynic who is skeptical of love. When presented with the prospect of Romeo’s love for Juliet, he responds, “this drivelling love is like a great natural that runs lolling up and down to hide his bauble in a hole” (act 2, scene 4). Mercutio is himself detached from matters of love and is romantically unattached.
Mercutio might be described as immature, insofar as he is emotionally detached. Nevertheless, he is admired by Romeo. In act 1, scene 6, Romeo says to Mercutio, “believe me: you have dancing shoes / With nimble soles: I have a soul of lead / So stakes me to the ground I cannot move” (act 1, scene 4). Mercutio does not think that Romeo’s love is worthwhile, and Romeo admires his friend’s liberal philosophy.
In addition to being cynical and (arguably) immature, Mercutio is also a loyal friend. He fights with Tybalt (Juliet’s cousin) on behalf of Romeo and is fatally wounded in the process. Mercutio fights in Romeo’s stead because he is offended on behalf of his friend, whom Tybalt mistreats. Mercutio performs the ultimate act of friendship by dying for his friend.
Even in death, however, Mercutio remains a bit cynical. As he is dying, he says, “A plague o’ both your houses” (act 3, scene 1). Thus, he blames his death on the Capulets and Montagues—and perhaps he is right. Many scholars agree that Mercutio is a foil for Romeo. He is a loyal friend, a cynical skeptic who evidences a degree of immaturity, insofar as he is romantically unattached and (arguably) eager to settle disputes by dueling. The fact that Mercutio dies assigns him to a permanent state of immaturity and also, in some ways, validates his skepticism.