Lord and Lady Montague were complete opposites of Lord and Lady Capulet. They cared and loved Romeo very much they always wanted to help him and help solve his problems and cure his sorrows, we know this for Montague says, “we would willingly give cure as know.” Both Lord and Lady Montague never gave Romeo any advice as he never asked for it and they were not really seen in the play very much; they were minor characters in the play.
Most of the advice given to Romeo and Juliet was given by the Nurse and Friar Lawrence. The Nurse was Juliet’s counsellor she has always been the mother figure in Juliet’s life more so than Lady Capulet. Friar Lawrence is Romeo’s mentor he has always given Romeo advice. Some of the advice given by Friar Lawrence is very sensible and I think Romeo should have heeded it. When Romeo tells Friar Lawrence about Juliet, the good Friar tells him to take things,” Wisely and slowly. They stumble that run fast”, that was good advice and maybe if Romeo had listened both Romeo and Juliet would have lived. They might have lived and found that their so called love was just a crazy infatuation and they might have carried on with their lives with other life partners; In Juliet’s case she would have married Paris. He also says” These violent delights have violent ends,” he warns Romeo that rushing into the marriage would have serious consequences which as we know in the end is true. Romeo did not take notice of this piece of advice and if he had there might not have been and deaths but unfortunately he did not which was unwise. I believe if he did listen to the advice then he might have lived.
It was a good thing Juliet did not take notice of all the advice the Nurse gave her. When Romeo is banished from Verona, the Nurse says “I think it best you married with the County.” The Nurse thinks that should just forget about Romeo and marry Paris. She seems to have forgotten that Juliet is deeply in love with Romeo and that if Juliet marries Paris she would be committing bigamy and an enormous sin in the eyes of God. I believe Juliet did a very wise thing in not following that particular piece of advice.
Romeo and Juliet fell in love at the time when both Montague’s and Capulets were involved in a feud. When they met there was only place for love and peace but they still could not forget that around them there was only hatred; theirs was a forbidden love. Around them there were fights and deaths it seemed that their love was the only pure and innocent thing.
Romeo and Juliet did not really have a motive it was love at first sight for both of them. All they wanted to do was treasure their love and spent the rest of their lives together in peace and harmony. They wanted to show everyone their love, not to keep it behind closed doors. That’s all they wanted but their families made them resort to those measures. Romeo tried to stop the brawl between Mercutio and Tybalt but neither would listen, Romeo refused to fight with Tybalt but instead said “I do protest I never injured thee, but love thee better than thou can’st devise”, he did not fight as he wanted to make peace but Tybalt refused to listen. This scene shows how impossible it was to tell the families about their love as judging from the way Tybalt and Mercutio treated other it seemed that peace was impossible between the families.
Lady Capulet did not seem to really have a motive all she wanted to do was to make sure that Juliet followed the orders of her husband. Lord Capulet seemed to think that he was doing the best he could for Juliet, by finding someone rich and noble to marry Juliet, even if though it was to be a loveless match; he found the “noble Earl” Paris to marry her. Lord and Lady Montague only wanted Romeo to be happy and to lift his sorrows. The Nurse only wanted the best for Juliet she never intentionally meant to hurt Juliet by proposing that she marry Paris. Finally Friar Lawrence assisted the couple into getting married because he thought “this alliance may so happy prove to turn your households’ rancour to pure love.” He thought if he married Romeo and Juliet it would bring peace and harmony between the two households that was the only motive he had he thought he could bring peace. Furthermore he saw how passionate Romeo was about Juliet and as he was a priest he wanted to prevent them from sinning, he knew that if they did not get married they would indulge in pre-martial sex; he thought it would be better idea to marry them. This was just another one of Friar Lawrence’s motives. Friar Lawrence had good intentions at heart he did not mean to cause heartache and pain instead he wanted peace and harmony between the families. I believe he advised the couple most wisely of all the elders.
In the last soliloquy by Romeo he drinks the poison given to him by the apothecary, here it shows how hasty Romeo is, he does go to see Friar Lawrence to ask how Juliet he just accepts that he has “a dateless bargain with engrossing death!” like a little child he does not fight, he just gives up hope if he had been a little less hasty and taken things calmly and listened to Friar Lawrence advice in the beginning to go “wisely and slowly” then he might have been alive and so would have Juliet.
I think if Romeo and Juliet had listened to at least Friar Lawrence’s advice in the beginning, then they would have taken the desperate measures that they took; they would not have sacrificed their lives for the sake of their love. Instead of lying side by side dead in a tomb; they might have been standing side by side alive. It was the worst mistake they made by not listening to some of the advice they were given.
