ACT V
Balthasar, Romeo’s servant, rushes to Mantua with news of Juliet’s death. Distraught, Romeo buys poison from and apothecary and hurries back to be with Juliet. The Friar learns that his message has not reached Romeo and sets off to the tomb to release her. Romeo arrive there first. He is challenged by Paris, who dies in a vain attempt to prevent Romeo from getting into the vault. He sees the still-drugged Juliet and takes the fatal poison. Juliet revives to discover Romeo dead beside her. The Friar has eventually arrived though he is unsuccessful in his efforts to make Juliet leave the vault. Fearful of the consequences for him self, he leaves and Juliet stabs her self.
The Montague’s, Capulet’s and the Prince arrive at the tragic scene. The Friar describes the story of the lovers’ romance, uniting both families in their grief. At last they realise the futile misery of their family feud and resolve to end it.
Who was responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s death:
In this tragic love story it is about a love affair, the lovers are from feuding families and the feud ends with their deaths. The running battle in scene between the families establishes the notion of the family feud whilst the coarseness of the servants’ language contrasts sharply with purity of Romeo and Juliet’s love affair. The appearance of the Prince brings things to an abrupt ending but the families are unable to control the violence until they themselves realise where their violence leads.
Tybalt’s first appearance, ‘Have at thee, coward!’ line 61 of scene1 establishes him as one who enjoys a fight. Romeo is absent from the fight, much to the relief of his parents. They are worried about his apparent depression and request his best friend, Benvolio, to use his close friendship to discover what is the matter with him.
Romeo’s fit of depression brought on by his unrequited love would have been perfectly understandable because love was meant to be a painful matter! Romeo is suffering from what is called petrarchan love. Here the lover postures and display sickness, whilst the object of his love adopts a cool disdainful attitude towards him.
The love affair of Romeo and Juliet is to be played out against a background of hatred. Benvolio is a good man yet even he dismisses Romeo’s strong feelings and suggests he look elsewhere.
Romeo describes his feelings line 169-81 with the use of oxymoron.
In my views I feel that Romeo is love sick and feels very weary if anyone else is in love with Juliet, his attitude to Paris is ‘your not good enough for her’ but while the story proceeds to an intimate condition both families are feeling worried if their children do anything stupid. Romeo’s parents in the story are more loving because they trust Romeo what he does, for instance act I scene 1 line 4 it tells Lady Monatgue saying ‘ O where is Romeo, saw you him today, right glad I am, he was not at this fray’. It tells us that Lady Montague is proud of Romeo of not being involved in the fight, but this may have changed if he wasn’t infatuated.
The responses in this scene for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet show how the outcomes will be at the end, because it shows fighting in the beginning, which more likely to result to death for some of the characters in the story. The person who was responsible for Romeo and Juliets death would involve Tybalt because he really does make Romeo feel very weary and frustrated which leads him feeing as if he will loose his mind at some point of the story, I felt that when Romeo bought the poison of the apothecary, which makes his attitude more intellectual because of what he did to Tybalt. But this wouldn’t of happened if Tybalt wasn’t so misunderstood of the feelings of Romeo and also if Romeo wasn’t immature enough to understand Benvolio’s suggestions. It shows that Romeo is leading him self to a wrong path and that his family is really maddening him at a young age because he loves a girl who is a Capulet and that both families are rivals. But in line (8 scene 2) it tells us that Capulet says Juliet is a ‘stranger in the world’ referring to that she is still quite young. Capulet is naturally keen that his daughter should find a considerate husband and goes along with Paris’s proposal, provided it meets with Juliet’s approval. Later in the play his attitude has changed and he forces Juliet into marriage. This is because he doesn’t want any involvements with The Montague’s son. But later in the scene it becomes even more exasperating for Juliet when she realises that Lady Capulet is very sharp about Paris’s offer, this is because Lady Capulet is far more keen than her husband on her daughter marrying. She herself was married young so Juliet’s youth is not a problem. The later pressure on Juliet to marry Paris may be initiated by her and would account for her husband’s apparent change of attitude towards Juliet. The desire for her to marry comes across plainly in the blunt question, ‘Act 1 Scene 3 – ‘How stands your dispositions to be married’. which means would you like to marry.
Juliet is in away more hurt then Romeo because he is desperate of love and that she is more concerned on her family and love all at the same time. Romeo is just upset because he remains anxious, feeling that something terrible may be about to happen.
On scene 4 it shows proof that Romeo is still not cheered up by Mercutio’s banter. He is going to see Rosaline but has a feeling that something is about to happen that ‘blows us from ourselves’ (line 105), stopping him from seeing her. He asks the forces to help him, ‘But he that hath the steerage of my course, / direct my sail’ (line 113-14). Romeo fears that ‘Some consequence, yet hanging in the stars’ (line 108) may lead to his death.
In the next scene the meeting of the lovers has to be sensational. Shakespeare conveys their opening words to each other in the form of a sonnet that they share and create; this sonnet has a beauty and formality which perfectly capture the awkwardness yet irresistibly of the moment, The central image – of a pilgrim worshipping at a shrine – underlines the depth and purity of their love. The love they share is far from the petrarchan expression of the notion we have seen in Act I, scene 1.
There is a grim truth in Juliet’s view that her ‘grave is like to be (her) wedding bed’ (line 135). Juliet’s indirectness in telling the Nurse which man interests her displays her youth and shyness. She even shows more concern of Romeo’s safety (lines 85-106) and also Juliet comes and goes twice from the balcony – which is a charming way of conveying the excitement that she is feeling and leads comfortably into the famous line ‘Parting is such ‘sweet sorrow’ (line 184).
As the scenes are now shown prove of Romeo and Juliet’s affections, I will now show proof of how this became a tragedy. As the scene alters, many characters die such as Mercutio, Paris and Tybalt. All die by the results of Romeo and Juliet’s affections. In away everyone had been involved of the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, In the story it shows in detail that Paris has been ill-treated just like Romeo for the love of Juliet. It also shows how the Nurse and the Friar are both compromised on Romeo and Juliet’s attitudes to each other, this is because Romeo is older than Juliet except she is just a bit more mature.
In the last scenes Juliet wants to kill herself of the things that are taking place with the deaths of Tybalt and Mercutio. She has been upset of Romeo being banished but is still concerned of him coming back.. She is petrified if Romeo dies because she made some quotes about murder on act II ‘If they so see thee they will murder thee’ referring to Romeo.
Romeo’s fate lies with the fight with Paris after meeting him in the tomb of Juliet, Romeo then kills Paris but has no pity, and this means anger inside him because he wants to make peace with Juliet without any atmosphere and motion.
As Romeo dies, the people who were responsible for his deaths start of with his parents who made a big deal of his love for Juliet, after that himself being so keen on meeting Juliet at the Capulet’s ball at the wrong time, which follows up with Tybalt after threatening him for loving Juliet and Capulet because he doesn’t give a chance for Romeo to give his opinion, which then leads him to a state of anxiety and more depression ‘and if he hear thee, thou art thou wilt anger him’ and ‘Her’s much to do with hate, but more with love’. He also mention some depression in the beginning about Tybalt ‘A villain that is hither come’. He realises that to him love is a source of responsibility and that what Benvolio said is a outcome that he refused to listen. After the few scenes pass, Benvolio makes a big mistake of informing Juliets death to Romeo which has been misunderstood, this is because Juliet drinks the potion that she received from Friar quote ‘ if thou darest, I’ll give thee remedy.’ She says her last sayings before drinking the vial ‘Romeo, I will come! This do I drink to thee’. As for the misunderstanding of Balthasar, some may feel that it is appropriate that the nurse who has betrayed Juliet should be the one who has to break the dreadful news to the family after discovering Juliet apparently dead and that this fact then reacts on Romeo buying the poison of the apothecary and drinking it after realising Juliet is alive, which builds tension after Juliet kills herself after seeing Romeo dead beside her in the last seconds of Romeo’s contact with Juliet.
For my conclusion I say that The Friar is the one to be blamed and the nurse for the wrong timing of what has taken place.