 The earliest known critic of the play was diarist Samuel Pepys , who wrote in 1662 : " it is a play of itself the worst that I ever heard in my life . " Poet John Dryden wrote 10 years later in praise of the play and its comic character Mercutio : " Shakespear show 'd the best of his skill in his Mercutio , and he said himself , that he was <unk> 'd to kill him in the third Act , to prevent being killed by him . " Criticism of the play in the 18th century was less sparse , but no less divided . Publisher Nicholas Rowe was the first critic to ponder the theme of the play , which he saw as the just punishment of the two feuding families . In mid @-@ century , writer Charles <unk> and philosopher Lord Kames argued that the play was a failure in that it did not follow the classical rules of drama : the tragedy must occur because of some character flaw , not an accident of fate . Writer and critic Samuel Johnson , however , considered it one of Shakespeare 's " most pleasing " plays . 
