Because Romeo planned everything in secret nobody knew about them. If people had known about Romeo and Juliet being married, then they could have stopped them from killing themselves.
This is indicated by Romeo saying:
“Some means to come to shrift this afternoon;
and there she shall at Friar Laurence' cell
be shrived and married.” To the nurse.
Romeo has to be secretive because he knows that the Capulets and the Montagues will never agree to a marriage between him and Juliet. The need for secrecy creates problems- the fight with Tybalt, Romeo banishment and their attempt to meet once more which lead to their deaths.
To make it look like Romeo is to blame I would have Romeo hit himself to show his impatience with the nurse for not listening when he say’s “thou dost not mark me,” this would also act as a reminder to the audience that Romeo is going to kill himself at the end of the play. I would also have the nurse dress in disguise so nobody can notice her. I would also have Romeo keep looking around the Friar’s cell to see if anybody is coming.
Romeo was blinded by love when he meets Juliet. This is clearly shown by Romeo saying, “The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars.” This tells us that Juliet is so beautiful and he does not see anything else but her and the stars should be ashamed to be not as beautiful as Juliet. Romeo also says:
“More validity,
More honourable state, more courtship lives
in carrion-flies than Romeo: they my seize
on the white wonder of dear Juliet's hand.”
This is saying that Romeo thinks that flies can sit on Juliet’s hand but I can’t go near her. He says these lines when he is banished to Mantua.
This makes him to blame because he does not care about anything else, which drove him to kill himself.
To show that he was to blame, I would make Romeo say his lines in a soft voice and have love music so it looks like that he is thinking about Juliet and only her. I would also have Romeo picking the petals from a flower and keep his eyes fixed on Juliet. When Romeo mentions Juliet’s hand touching her cheek I would have Romeo touch his own cheek.
Friar Lawrence and Juliet had made a plan and to tell Romeo about the plan the Friar sent a letter to Romeo in Mantua explaining everything about the plan. But the letter never reached Romeo: “Dost thou not bring me letters from the friar?”
In this episode, we see fate intervening once more. The letter from the Friar outlining Juliet’s plan has not reached Balthasar, who believes Juliet is dead; this is what he tells Romeo. We see Romeo’s impulsive nature when he says he will go that very night to Verona, where he will join Juliet in death: “well Juliet, I will lie with thee tonight.”
I would have Balthasar look down and speak unwillingly when he tells Romeo of Juliet’s death. I would then have Romeo shout at the sky: “Then I defy you stars,” and have him pace the stage in his impatience to leave for Verona.
After Balthasar has left I would have Romeo speak quietly as if to Juliet: “Well, Juliet I will lie with thee tonight.”
Fate also brought bad luck for the lovers. This is clearly shown when it says:
“Star-crossed lovers”
“Death-marked lovers”
This passage makes it clear that fate is against the lovers from start. Their love is opposed to a long running feud between their families, The Capulets and The Montagues, as such, it is bound to lead to misfortune and the feud has only
Come an end by the lovers’ death.
I would have the chorus act as if they were washing their hands when they say, “Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.”
When “Star-crossed” is mentioned I would have an arc of light shoot through the blacked-out back of stage as if like a comet. This shows the effect of something bad is going to happen in the play.
Although Romeo’s haste is a big part of the problem in the play, almost all the characters carry some responsibilities of the tragic outcome. Where if the Capulets and the Montagues were not at each others throats then there would have been no need for secrecy. If the nurse had been less talkative and a better listener then she would not have created problems, and if the Friar had been more competent, he would not have bungled up the letters.
