Romeo blames fate for nearly everything that goes wrong. After he kills Tybalt he realises what he has done but blames the stars rather than himself. "O, I am fortune's fool". He saying that fate is playing with him
The deaths of Romeo and Juliet could have easily been avoided if certain things that happened didn’t happen. There are four people (apart from Romeo and Juliet) who could be held responsible for their death, Mercutio, the Nurse, the Friar and Tybalt.
Mercutio, Romeo's friend, pushed Romeo to go the Capulet's party and duelling with Tybalt in town. If Mercutio had not told Romeo to go to the Capulet's dance, he would not have met Juliet and their deaths would have been avoided. Also If Mercutio had not provoked Tybalt in town whilst out with Romeo and Benvolio, Romeo would never have got into his fight with Tybalt and therefore would not have been banished. Maybe Romeo was destined by fate to meet Juliet and Tybalt?
The Nurse, Juliet’s servant, treated her like a daughter. She even went behind Lord and Lady Capulet's backs. If the Nurse had not done Juliet's request and acted as her messenger to Romeo, Juliet might have given up on the idea of her marriage to him and the couple's deaths would have been prevented. However Juliet might have married Romeo anyway once she fell in love with him.
The Friar helped the couple in their plans to marry and assisting Juliet in her scheme to be with Romeo. If the Friar had not agreed to marry Romeo and Juliet, it is possible that the couple would have given up on the idea of being together. On the other hand, Romeo and Juliet may have been fated to marry and would have married no matter what the Friar's decision was.
If the Friar had not suggested his plan to Juliet, she may never have seen Romeo again (he was banished) and the couple would have stayed alive. On the other hand if Juliet had not had the chance to see Romeo again she might have committed suicide anyway. The couple may have been doomed regardless of the Friar's decision.
Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin agreed to fight Romeo in town. If Tybalt had not intentionally started to make fun of Mercutio, the two would not have got into their duel and Romeo may have been safe from banishment.
These four people define and decide what Romeo and Juliet do by influencing the events that lead up to their death. However Romeo and Juliet themselves could be blamed for their deaths because they never gave up. If one of them had stopped their relationship they wouldn’t have died.
Romeo was a major influence to the events leading up to his death because he acts to fast in the play. He shouldn’t have asked Juliet to marry him so quickly, and he should have thought more carefully before rushing back to Verona after hearing of Juliet's death. If he would have been calm he would have got the Friar’s message and their deaths would have been avoided. Romeo also acted violently and without thinking when he killed Tybalt.
In Act 3 Scene 1 Tybalt’s looking for a fight with Romeo, who won’t fight, so Mercutio fights Tybalt, and is killed. Romeo kills Tybalt in revenge, and the Prince banishes Romeo from Verona. If Romeo hadn’t come in front of Mercutio when they were “Play fighting” Tybalt wouldn’t have killed Mercutio and so Romeo wouldn’t have killed Tybalt. This would have resulted in Romeo in not getting banished. He would have stayed and probably known the right plan that the Friar had.
This brings me to a point that I said earlier, Romeo acts too hasty. If he would have calmed down after the death of Tybalt he probably wouldn’t have killed him. I know this because as soon as he killed Tybalt he realised his mistake and said "O, I am fortune's fool". Here he is blaming fate for making him its “fool”.
I think killing Tybalt was the biggest mistake Romeo made because it led to his banishment and it meant he could no longer see Juliet. I do not think that it was Romeo’s fault for killing Tybalt. This is because when Tybalt wanted to fight him when he refused, Mercutio stepped in and started to fight. They fought and Romeo gets involved trying to stop them. Mercutio said it gave Tybalt the opportunity to kill him, "I was hurt under your arm". Romeo then fought and killed Tybalt later on.
Later when he hears from Balthasar the news that Juliet is dead he says, "Then I defy you stars", meaning he is not going to let Fate control what happens to him.
Juliet is partially to blame because she shouldn't have disobeyed her parents and, like Romeo, she was too hasty in rushing into marriage. She was already engaged to Paris, and until then, had been very happy with her parent’s choice. If Juliet had not been so fussy of who she wants, on the night of the masquerade, they both may still have kept their lives
I do not think there is one person who is entirely to blame but Friar Laurence plays a large part in the tragedy. This is because he makes complicated plans, which require accurate timing, and in the end simply did not happen. Romeo did not receive the letter he sent, so when he heard the news from Balthasar, he thought Juliet was really dead. Friar Laurence shouldn’t have helped Romeo and Juliet without carefully considering the consequences.
The countless references to fortune and fate make it easy to conclude that Fate was too, a great extent responsible. It seems clear that Shakespeare wanted his audience to understand the events of the play as influenced by some higher power, and if fate really does control everything about our lives then it would be sensible to assume that the actions of all the characters in the play were also fated.
