Because he is not tied to any noble family, he moves freely between both households. He is the symbol of wit in the play, hovering at the edges of reason and madness. He has no tolerance for love, women, dreams, or pure romanticism, constantly satirizing them with sharp witticisms and erotic/sarcastic innuendos. Enraged by Tybalt's provocation of Romeo and Romeo's submissiveness, he enters the duel of honor himself. Even when mortally wounded, he does not lose his humor, but the curse he levels at both the Capulets and the Montagues—'A plague o' both your houses!'—as he dies engraves the turning point of the play into the heart of the tragedy.
