What is Mercutio's opinion of the nurse at the end of act 2, scene 4?

In act 2, scene 4, the Nurse visits Romeo, acting as an intermediary for Juliet to attain more information about when Romeo plans on meeting her again. When the Nurse arrives on the scene, Mercutio completely disrespects her by hurling merciless insults at her to entertain himself. Mercutio begins by begging Peter to give the Nurse a fan so that she can hide her ugly face. Mercutio then proceeds to use sexual innuendos to insult the Nurse and even refers to her as an old, ugly prostitute.

He also compares the Nurse to stale rabbit meat—which he states is okay to eat if you can't find anything fresher. Mercutio's insulting, demeaning treatment of the Nurse reveals his extremely low opinion of her. Mercutio recognizes that she is not considered nobility and takes pleasure in upsetting her. After Mercutio leaves the scene, Romeo tells the Nurse that Mercutio is simply a gentleman who loves to hear himself talk.

What is Mercutio's opinion of the nurse at the end of act 2, scene 4?

At the end of Act 2, scene 4, Mercutio badmouths the nurse with impunity, calling her ugly and mocking her appearance with relish. He seems to be entertaining himself with his own rudeness towards the nurse, and his jokes understandably infuriate the nurse. She criticizes Peter for not coming to her defense and wastes time expressing her anger before talking with Romeo about Juliet, who wants to give Romeo a message; this message is the whole point of her confrontation with these young men. Romeo attempts to calm the nurse by describing Mercutio as a man who "loves to hear himself talk" but the nurse is too upset by Mercutio's words to be comforted by this explanation, and she goes on to warn Romeo not to toy with young Juliet.

What does Mercutio say about the Nurse in Act 2, Scene 4 of Romeo and Juliet?

When the Nurse asks her servant, Peter, to hand her her fan (she's hot and wants to fan herself), Mercutio says,

Good. Peter, to hide her face, for her
fan's the fairer face. (2.4.52–53)

In saying this, Mercutio implies that the Nurse is very ugly and that the fan is actually prettier than she is, so she ought to use the fan to hide her unattractive face. Then, when she asks if it's already afternoon, Mercutio says,

'Tis no less, I tell you, for the bawdy hand
of the dial is now upon the
prick of noon. (2.4.56–59)

Now, he's making sexual jokes, pretty inappropriate behavior toward this older woman he doesn't even know. He compares the hour hand of the clock to an erect penis that is pointing straight up (toward the "12" on the clock's face). When the Nurse chastises Mercutio for this rough talk, he tells her that he is such a man that "God hath made, himself to mar"; in other words, he says that God made him just to ruin himself (something that certainly turns out to be true in the end, when Mercutio's own pride and bravado get him killed).

What does Mercutio say about the Nurse in Act 2, Scene 4 of Romeo and Juliet?

Mercutio is a sarcastic teenager who seems to have no filter when it comes to mocking people verbally. When the nurse enters the scene, Mercutio and Romeo had just been having a game of wits, so Mercutio is primed and ready to deliver more. First, Mercutio announces that the nurse and Peter are coming by calling them "sails," alluding to their girth no doubt. But then the nurse asks for her fan and Mercutio jumps to say that the fan would be used well to hide the nurse's ugly face. In fact, he says that the fan is prettier than she is (II.iv.94). He does correct the use of time because he says "Good den" to her which means "good afternoon." All she asks is if it is already past noon and he responds by saying that the clock's hand is "bawdy," which means "naughty." He is not showing true respect for her gender or age. Near the end of this, before the nurse speaks with Romeo alone, Mercutio calls the nurse a harlot, a streetwalker, and ancient (old).