<P> Mercutio (/ mərˈkjuːʃioʊ / mər - KEW - shee - oh) is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's 1597 tragedy, Romeo and Juliet . He is a close friend to Romeo and a blood relative to Prince Escalus and Count Paris . As such, being neither a Montague nor a Capulet, Mercutio is one of the few in Verona with the ability to mingle around those of both houses . </P> <P> Romeo steals away Juliet, Capulet's daughter, with whom he has fallen in love, and he falls out of love with Rosaline . When Mercutio sees Romeo the next day, he is glad to see that his friend is his old self again, and he encourages Romeo, all the while making bad jokes at the expense of Juliet's Nurse . </P> <P> After Romeo receives a death threat from Juliet's cousin Tybalt, Mercutio expects Romeo to engage Tybalt in a duel . However, Romeo refuses to fight Tybalt, because Romeo now considers Tybalt to be kin due to his secret marriage to Juliet . Mercutio is incensed at his friend's "calm, dishonorable, vile submission", and decides to fight Tybalt himself, right before which, Mercutio refers to his sword as his "fiddlestick ." Romeo, not wanting his friend or his relative to get hurt, attempts to intervene . He fails, however, as Mercutio gets stabbed under Romeo's arm and dies . Before he dies, Mercutio curses both the Montagues and Capulets, crying several times, "A plague o' both your houses!" (Act III, Sc. 1, often quoted as "A pox on both your houses"). He makes one final pun before he dies: "Ask for me to - morrow, and you shall find me a grave man ." A grief - stricken and enraged Romeo kills Tybalt, resulting in his banishment from Verona and beginning the tragic turn of events that make up the rest of the play . </P> <P> The name Mercutio was present in Shakespeare's sources for Romeo and Juliet, though his character was not well developed and he was presented as a romantic rival for Juliet . The name is first used in Luigi Da Porto's 1530 "Giulietta e Romeo". Da Porto briefly introduces a character named Marcuccio Guertio, a noble youth "with very cold hands, in July as in January", who makes Giulietta Cappelletti appreciate the warm hands of Romeo Montecchi . </P>

Who said a plague on both your houses