Sources of comic relief, usually secondary characters, are often overlooked as to their real purpose in a story. An example of this is the character Mercutio from Romeo and Juliet. Though he is only in four scenes of the twenty-four that make up the classic play by William Shakespeare, Mercutio is a memorable and important character, made so by his personality, his words and his dramatic roll. With such a strong personality so unlike any of the others in the play, Mercutio draws the audience to him. His words add humour, contrast and interest to the play while using a variety of effects such as imagery and foreshadowing. In the scenes that he is in, Mercutio usually dominates and also has an effect on many of the scenes in which he is not present. In these ways, Mercutio, a humorous secondary character, makes a large impact on the...