There was nothing any of the characters could have done to avoid their deaths. They were preordained by fate - Discuss.
There was nothing any of the characters could have done to avoid their deaths. They were preordained by fate. Discuss
In Romeo and Juliet it is clear that fate plays a large part. There are many references in the play that refer to bad luck or misfortune, but it is argued that the deaths of Romeo and Juliet are equally the fault of human error. The characters each have weaknesses that could be to blame like anger, ambition or ill judgement. Also some characters had premonitions or bad feelings that something bad would happen but they never did anything to stop this. Because of the time this play was written, people would have strongly believed in bad luck and fate, but the characters were equally to blame. It was just a question of which one is to blame the most for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
First of all, Romeo could be most to blame for the deaths of himself and Juliet, he asked Juliet to marry him when he hardly knew her. Romeo declared his love for her and went to friar Lawrence and asked the friar if he would marry them, Romeo says "Then plainly know my hearts dear love is set, on the fair daughter of rich Capulet, by holy marriage, when, where and how, we met, we woo'd and make exchange of vow." If Romeo had restrained himself from killing Tybalt, or waited a day before killing himself after hearing about Juliet's death, it might have ended happily, and if Romeo didn't have such deep feelings, his love with Juliet wouldn't have existed in the first place.
Juliet, like Romeo shouldn't have rushed into marrying each other, and Juliet said, "It was too rash, too unadvis'd, too sudden." But she never did anything about this. She went along with the marriage that resulted in death. Also Juliet was already engaged to marry Paris at the time, and she was happy with that and happy with her parents, she shouldn't have disobeyed them, then their love for each other would never have happened.
Tybalt is another character that could be to blame. He was the person who really, kept the feud going between the two families; because of this feud Romeo and Juliet had to marry in secret. Romeo didn't want to fight Tybalt because he was married to his cousin, but Tybalt didn't back down when he should have. He said "Boy this show no excuse the injuries that thou hast done me, therefore turn and draw." This ended in Romeo killing Tybalt and getting banished from Verona. If Tybalt backed down the he wouldn't have got himself killed and ...
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Tybalt is another character that could be to blame. He was the person who really, kept the feud going between the two families; because of this feud Romeo and Juliet had to marry in secret. Romeo didn't want to fight Tybalt because he was married to his cousin, but Tybalt didn't back down when he should have. He said "Boy this show no excuse the injuries that thou hast done me, therefore turn and draw." This ended in Romeo killing Tybalt and getting banished from Verona. If Tybalt backed down the he wouldn't have got himself killed and Juliet wouldn't have to pretend poisoning herself so she could be with Romeo.
One Character who could be mostly to blame for their deaths is friar Lawrence, when Romeo asked him to marry them, he agreed and said, "O she knew well. Thy love did read by rote, that could not spell, but come, young waverer come go with me, in one respect I'll thy assistant be; for this alliance may so happy prove, to turn your households rancalt to pure love." Friar told Romeo that this would end in violence and tells Romeo to control his Impervosity. Also friar Lawrence gave Juliet the sleeping drug which made her family think she was dead, the friar was the person who came up with this idea, he shouldn't have got involved. Friar Lawrence was also in charge of the letter that was meant to get to Romeo and it didn't reach him. So Romeo thought Juliet was actually dead and killed himself. Even though friar Lawrence is trying to make Romeo and Juliet happy his plans for them were well intended, they were the main problems that the fated tradgedy of the play occurs.
The person that was meant to deliver the letter to Romeo was friar John; friar Lawrence gave friar John the letter to give to Romeo telling him that Juliet was planning a fake death so she could be with him. Friar John could not deliver the letter though. He says "I could send it, here it is again, nor get a messenger to bring it thee, so fearful they were of infection." Friar John should not be to blame at all for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet; he only plays a small part in the play. It wasn't his fault that he got delayed because he was suspected of having the plague.
The nurse also plays a big part in this; she always encouraged Juliet in her romantic ideas. For example, she says "marry, I will, and this is wisely done." She passed messages from Juliet to Romeo and helped them to get married. When she finds Romeo to give him the ring she says "Here sir, a ring she bid to give you, sir: Hie you, make haste, for it grows very late." She, like Juliet deceived lord and lady Capulet. The nurse should have told them what was happening and shouldn't have got involved in it.
The Prince didn't play a large part in the story but could be one of the characters most to blame; he should have stopped the feud between the families and shouldn't of punished Romeo for killing Tybalt when it was Tybalts fault. He was told by Benvolio before he punished Romeo that Romeo was just trying to stop the fight, but, he punished Romeo, he said "And for that offence, immediately we do exile him hence" and banished him from Verona, which stopped him from seeing Juliet. The Prince wasn't really to blame though, he was doing what he thought was best, the families would have kept brawling but because of their deaths the families made peace with each other.
Out of all the characters the Capulets and the Montagues are probably the most to blame. Both of the families kept the feud going. If they were not fighting with each other then Romeo and Juliet would not of had to marry in secret. Out of the two families Romeo and Juliet are the only people in the family who don't care about their name or their past. Juliet says " O Romeo, Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo? Dent thy father and refuse thy name, or if thou wilt not be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet." The families should have been more understanding, and then Romeo and Juliet wouldn't have had to keep it secret. Lord and Lady Capulet were too hard on Juliet, they were only interested in money, if they like the Montague's listened to what Romeo and Juliet had to say then it would never lead to their deaths.
Of course, you could not just blame all of the characters for Romeo and Juliet's death; fate also plays a large part in this. It was fate that Romeo and Juliet fell in love with each other. Also if the letter had reached Romeo on time, then everything would be fine, also the Capulets brought forward Juliet and Paris's wedding and Romeo got in the middle of Tybalts fight were just pure bad luck. It says in the play they were "star crossed lovers." So maybe what happened was meant to be, and maybe it was meant to end in death to stop the feud between the families and to teach them a lesson.
In Romeo and Juliet, a few of the characters had dreams or premonition that something wasn't right, or something bad would happen. For example, on the way to the Capulets party, Romeo admitted that he had a bad feeling about things he says " I fear, too early for my mind misgives some consequences, yet hanging in the stars, shall bitterly begin his fearful date, with the nights revels; and expute the term of a despised life clos'd in my breast, by some vile forfeit of untimely death." Romeo also predicts after Mercutio's death that it will start things that others will end. And also when Romeo wants to go to Mantua, he fears that the next time she sees him he will be dead. Maybe if Romeo went by his premonitions and bad feelings and tried to do something to stop them from happening then it might not have ended in death.
One of the characters who I thought was most to blame was friar Lawrence, but he was very religious and put a lot of his trust in a supernatural power. He hoped that the heavens would approve of the marriage between Romeo and Juliet, and when Juliet was believed to be dead, he warned the Capulets that the heavens were punishing them for something they have done wrong. Also, when he finds Romeo dead, he says, " a greater power has intervened." Friar Lawrence also refers to fate as well; he warned Romeo "violent delights have violent ends." The prince as well used similar language to the friar; he says, "See what scourge is laid upon thy hate/ that heaven finds means to kill your joys with love!" The friar shouldn't of always put his trust in the heavens, he should of decided that what he was doing was right or wrong, and if the friar believed in this power he has, then why when he had bad feelings about things saying that "violent delights have violent ends" did he still go on with it and help Romeo and Juliet to get married.
Overall, fate and the characters are equally to blame for what has happened. None of the characters wanted it to happen though, they were just trying to do what they thought was right. Maybe fate was meant to happen, and it was meant to result in death. When Romeo and Juliet died, the families made peace with each other, so maybe it was for the best what happened. The characters who were probably most to blame for their deaths were the montagues and the capulets, they started it all with the feud, if they had made peace with each other when Romeo and Juliet were still alive then everybody would be living happily.
