Who is to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet?
“The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” is perhaps one of the most famous classical plays in our society. Written by William Shakespeare, the dramatic piece follows the story of two 'star-crossed' lovers, named Romeo and Juliet. They instantly fall in love upon meeting, but suffer hardships when they discover that their families despise one another. This pair seems to have been doomed from the moment they met to suffer death. However, was it truly fate's decision to kill the teenagers? Or was it, perhaps, the fault of the people around them, as well as of themselves? Truthfully, it appears the most likely that their passings should be blamed on Friar John, the Montague and Capulet families, and on Romeo. This is due to Friar John's incompetence, the rivalry between the households, and Romeo's decision to not take responsibility for his actions.
The first, and most obvious guilt, falls upon the shoulders of Friar John. Friar Lawrence entrusts him to deliver an extremely important letter to Romeo. This letter details how Juliet is in a short coma, giving her the appearance of death, and when, along with where, to meet her. Unfortunately, Friar John fails to realize the enormity of the message, and doesn't put up enough of a fight when he is kept from passing it along to Romeo. For example, he says to Friar Lawrence that there was sickness in a town and that the officials refused to let them leave, for fear they pass on the disease to others. He states, “I could not send it (here it is again), nor get a messenger to bring it thee, so fearful were they of infection.” Though it is technically the officials' fault for not letting him pass, Friar John should have stood up for himself more and demanded to be released. Even if he couldn't, he at least should have followed and/or caught up to Romeo, instead of going all the way back to Friar Lawrence. In short, Friar John handled his quest very, very poorly, and it played a large part in taking the lives of the lovers.
The second, and also quite obvious fault, is that of the Montague and Capulet families. It is, in fact, because of them and their misguided distaste for one another that prevents Romeo and Juliet from being open about their love for each other, and subsequent relationship and marriage. The rivalry is the cause of the secrecy surrounding the affair between the two, and is what drives Juliet to take the “poison”, as she does not wish to be forced into a marriage with a man she doesn't love. However, if the rivalry was not there, she could openly and freely discuss her desire to be with Romeo, and her father would not be displeased by it. It is even stated at the end of the play, after Romeo and Juliet's bodies are discovered, that the two households have put an end to their hatred out of respect for their lost children. The Prince says, “Where be these enemies?-Capulet, Montague, see what a scourge is laid upon your hate, that heaven finds means to kill your joys with love, and I, for winking at your discords too, have lost a brave of kinsmen. All are punished.” Here, he is saying that they are all to blame, the families for fighting, and himself for not doing something about it.
The final blame, shockingly enough (or, perhaps, not so shockingly), goes to Romeo himself. All throughout the play, Romeo is portrayed as being very concerned with fate; he believes that he is not responsible for his own actions, but, rather, some higher power is, and will continue to control his life. This is very problematic thinking, for it means that he went through all of his actions without thinking about the consequences first, as he thought that his destiny was already decided. He never weighed the pros and cons of a situation, instead acting on instinct and knowing in his heart that it would lead him down the path chosen for him. Because of this, he thought that the stars pointed him to killing himself, so he went ahead and did it, without pausing to consider if it was the right choice. Had he been less concerned with the higher powers and more focused on what the right thing to do in each scenario was, perhaps he and Juliet could have survived. Even early on in the play, what triggers Mercutio into his long Queen Mab speech is Romeo persisting that he had a foreboding dream, and that he believes his destiny is bad. By choosing to believes this, he begins to make unconscious choices to bring about that future and prove himself right.
In conclusion, this play is incredibly interesting for many reasons, but perhaps none more than the sheer amount of blame to be placed upon all the characters involved. Nearly everyone can be described guilty for something, though, again, the main ones at fault are the two households, Friar John, and Romeo. One way they could have avoided all of this is to have been more open with each other, instead of trapping themselves in waves of secrecy. It is a cautionary tale, Romeo and Juliet, and should be taken seriously by audiences nowadays, as it tells of the dangers of deep-seated hatred and arranged marriage.
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