What aspect of 'Romeo and Juliet' ismost responsible for the tragedy at the end?

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What aspect of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is most responsible for the tragedy at the end?

In the last Act of ‘Romeo and Juliet’, Shakespeare does what he so typically does in his tragedies in killing off the tragic hero and heroine, however, here neither hero nor heroine possess a fatal flaw. Perhaps, were we to blame their deaths entirely on the death of Tybalt than we could say that Romeo’s fatal flaw was vengeance, the failure of a man to avoid being thought a coward, however this is not the case as there is still hope of a happy ending subsequent to the death of Tybalt. I am going to explore what were the main factors that led to their deaths, or perhaps, as the prologue suggests, their deaths are the working of fate.

Their deaths follow, and are influenced by, a series of events prior to the final scene, however it is difficult to judge which had the greater influence on the final tragedy. A theme that is greatly apparent throughout the play is the feud. The audience are introduced to the family feud between the Capulets and the Montagues right from the beginning when we meet two young Capulet servants who talk crudely of Montagues, “ a dog of the house of Montague moves me”. We are never told specifically what the feud is over because this isn’t relevant to the plot – that would be a different story altogether. However, we are aware that it is serious and has lasted a long time as we find out that they have “thrice disturb’d the quiet” of the streets. We are also aware that neither family is more to blame than the other because the prince treats them equally, he poses the same threat to both parties if they are to cause another scene, “your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace”. The feud can certainly be considered a main cause of the deaths of the young lovers because it is this petty quarrel, which brings out what could be considered as the ‘fatal flaw’ of the play – vengeance. It is when Mercutio challenges Tybalt as “the King of Cats” that it is brought about because in his death, vengeance prevails and Romeo is driven to fight Tybalt to avenge Mercutio’s death. However, the sentence of banishment, “immediately exile him hence”, for Romeo leaves the possibility of a happy ending and so this factor alone is not responsible for the end tragedy. At this point, the audience are still left with hope.

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Friar Lawrence’s role in the play is as Romeo’s confidante, Romeo confides in him about everything, more so than his closest friends Mercutio and Benvolio this is because he feels that this love is special and needs to be kept private whereas he has to tell friar Lawrence in order for him to marry the lovers and he also feels that Juliet is too special for Mercutio and Benvolio to make crude jokes about as they did with Rosaline, he does not want to risk this by telling them. Since he is a holy man, the audience get the ...

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