Question

Read the lines from Act II, scene iv of Romeo and Juliet.

Enter Nurse and PETER.

Mercutio: A sail, a sail!

Benvolio: Two, two; a shirt and a smock.

Nurse: Peter!

Peter: Anon!

Nurse: My fan, Peter.

Mercutio: Good Peter, to hide her face; for her fan’s the fairer face.

Which is true about the scene?

Mercutio uses a pun to complain about his clothing.
Mercutio uses puns to make fun of Nurse’s appearance.
Nurse uses puns to request her fan from Peter.
Nurse uses puns to mock Benvolio and Mercutio.

Answer 1

"Mercutio uses puns to make fun of Nurse’s appearance."

He jokes about the Nurse as she approaches ("A sail, a sail!") and quips that Peter should use her fan to hide her face because "her fan’s the fairer face" — a witty insult comparing the fan's beauty to the Nurse's face.