Later on in the play once Romeo has killed Tybalt, Friar Laurence is there to comfort him. After all it is quite his fault that this happened, if the marriage had not taken place, Romeo wouldn’t have ‘befriended’ Tybalt, and Mercutio wouldn’t have had to step in. the Friar begins by comforting Romeo saying that banishment is not as bad as death, but Romeo disagrees as he has to move away from Juliet. The Friar then convinces Romeo to go and visit Juliet as she is most probably having as much trouble as Romeo. To me Friar Laurence doesn’t really succeed in comforting Romeo, as he can’t stand the word ‘banishment’ (line 54). Romeo does seem to calm down near the end of the scene, once he had been told to go and see his Juliet by the Nurse. When the Friar speaks to Paris (act 4 scene 1) he seems to be trying to put Paris off. ‘You say you do not know the lady’s mind uneven is the cource I like it not’ meaning he doesn’t yet know Juliet doesn’t really want to marry him. When Juliet enters, and after her and Paris’s conversation has ended, he feels narrow for Juliet and goes onto a plan so that Juliet doesn’t have to marry Paris. The solution Friar Laurence came up with may not have been the best idea he could have had. He thought that if Juliet faked her own death using a sleeping poison, then she would not have to marry County Paris. Then once Juliet was in the tomb, Romeo was to come and see her awake and then they would both go back to Mantua. The plan was quite good but there were a few flaws. Such as what if Juliet never woke or even if she woke to early in the service. Another flaw was to get the message to Romeo who was in Mantua as he had been banished there. This was the part of the plan that went wrong and could be another cause for the tragic ending in the play. As the messenger, Friar John failed to deliver the message of Friar Laurence’s plan. Romeos faithful servant ‘Balthasor’ saw Juliet’s funeral and went off to Mantua to tell Romeo of the tragedy beating Friar John, and leaving Romeo believing that Juliet was actually dead.
When Friar Laurence goes to awaken Juliet and sees Romeo dead he seems to then go into shock, trying to get himself and Juliet to leave at once, but Juliet doesn’t want to leave her husband and the Friar flees instead showing cowardliness knowing if caught in the tomb he could be punished. In the end Friar Laurence isn’t far from being condemned as he even says (act 5 scene 3 line 273) ‘miscarried by my fault, let my life be scarified’ admitting that he is to blame for their deaths and let him be punished by death. Although in the end the Prince seems to blame it upon the houses and there hatred for one another.
The Friar wasn’t alone in bearing some guilt as he had to have a person on the inside of the Capulet’s house to communicate with Juliet. This person was Juliet’s Nurse. The Nurse name was Angelica, a good name as it reflects her behaviour quite well. The word ‘angelic’ means belonging to or resembling an angel and ‘angelically’ means like and angel. The Nurse seems to be that as she is protecting Juliet and doing what’s right to end the feud, like a ‘guardian angel’. The Nurse can be called Juliet ‘guardian angel’ as she had raised her since she was a baby, not her mother, and even protected her when Juliet’s father was shouting and screaming at Juliet which could have ended with her losing her job. The Nurse greatest desire for Juliet was a gentleman to love her and for Juliet to love him. That’s why she is very happy when she hears that Paris has asked for her hand in marriage. After the Capulet Ball and Romeo and Juliet have both fallen in love at first sight, the Nurse seems to get involved quite heavily as Juliet cannot be seen talking to Romeo. I believe the Nurse agrees to be Juliet’s messenger because she sees how much Juliet loves Romeo and wants her to be happy. Although she wants Juliet to be happy (act 2 scene 5) the Nurse begins to tease Juliet not telling her what Romeo has said. This is probably only because she is excited as well and just wants to see the look on Juliet's face. Later on in the play, when Romeo kills Tybalt and is banished, the Nurse seems to take side with Tybalt most probably because he is part of the family and she raised him like she is with Juliet. Although she doesn’t take Tybalt’s side entirely, she still blames Romeo for what happened, and then men in general, ‘no faith, no honesty in men all perjured’. In act 3 scene 5 the Nurse tells Juliet to marry the County Paris even though she knows Juliet is already married to Romeo. This would be because Juliet's father had told Juliet that she was to marry Paris and in those days girls often married their parents choice of husband. Although this would take suspicion off her and Romeo, during this scene the Nurse does protect Juliet from her father but this completely fools the Nurse, as Juliet has changed not even obeying her own father. In act 3 scene 5 line 239 it marks the end of the relationship between Juliet and the Nurse, as now she has to depend upon herself. The Nurse was a great help for Juliet and was always there for her during the play, but during some parts she could have behaved differently. In act 3 scene 2 the Nurse seems to blame Romeo for the death of Tybalt in front of Juliet when she could have been more supporting and comforting towards Juliet. Also in act 3 scene 5 when the Nurse was protecting Juliet from her father at the end of it all she blanks Juliet, finishing with her when that might not have been the best thing to do at that time. Also telling Juliet to marry County Paris after she was already married to Romeo was quite stupid as this was not possible.
Old Capulet, Juliet’s father, has his part in the tragedy and it begins in act 1 scene 5. In this scene he throws a Ball for all of his friends and family, but Romeo and some other Montague’s decide to gatecrash. Although Old Capulet knows that they are there, he doesn’t seem to mind, which shows that the feud between the two houses can’t always be raging. I believe that the reason Old Capulet doesn’t throw Romeo out is because he is just having a good time and for Montague's to want to come to a Capulet Ball then the Ball must be good. However when Tybalt informs Old Capulet of Romeo’s presence, Old Capulet seems to treat Tybalt like a child, ‘goodman boy’ meaning below the rank of a gentleman. Old Capulet says that tybalt is young and without manners. This shows that Old Capulet is as strict towards his family as he is nasty towards the Montague's. He believes that Tybalt is bringing shame to his family for his childish behaviour.
Before Old Capulet throws his Ball, in the very first act and scene where the riot breaks out in the streets, Old Capulet becomes bloodthirsty, wanting to jump in and defend his family name. ‘Give me my sword’ his attitude is totally different than that later at the Ball. Also it seems that only each generation from each house wants to fight each other. Old Capulet only really wants to fight Old Montague, ‘thou villain Capulet, hold me not, let me go’. Whist Tybalt only wishes to fight Romeo, and that’s why at the Capulet Ball Old Capulet doesn’t seam to mine Romeo being there but Tybalt is furious at him.
Apart from the feud Old Capulet has more mood changes, such as the marriage of his daughter Juliet to the County Paris. Early, in act 1 scene 2, Old Capulet doesn’t want his daughter to marry Paris, as he believes she is too young, but agrees that if Paris gets her consent then he will allow her to be wed. Thanks to Old Capulet’s decision of forcing Juliet into the marriage to Paris, it is this action from Old Capulet that could he to have been held responsible for the tragic ending. As if Juliet never had to marry Paris then she could have been happy with Romeo and would not have had to fake her own death. In the Elizabethan period though fathers did treat their daughters like property, they had the decision of whom they married and when they married. When Juliet objects to marrying County Paris her father says he will disown her (act 3 scene 5 line 185-205). His mood does take a sudden change in this scene as as he enters the scene he seems to feel sorrow for Juliet, believing that she is still crying over the death of Tybalt but as he exits he is like the devil, threatening to beat her and disown her. ‘An you be mine, I give you to my friends, showing that Juliet is nothing more than a piece of property to him and how he can give her away as he pleases. It’s this attitude towards Juliet that could have forced her to seek help in getting to her Romeo and causing her to take the path she did.
Once again Old Capulet has more mood changes, as in act 4 scene 2 when Juliet asks for her fathers forgiveness, he shows it and then continues making plans for the wedding. This shows that even without Juliet’s consent he would still force her into the marriage. Old Capulet seems now more excited about the wedding than Juliet. Old Capulet goes on to stay up all night preparing for the wedding. It’s this attitude towards Juliet that that could well be Juliet’s reason for her faked death. To me this behaviour between Juliet and her father is quite similar to parents fighting with their children, who then run away in spite. If Old Capulet hadn’t forced Juliet into the marriage with Paris then I do strongly believe that the tragic death of her and Romeo would never of happened as Juliet wouldn’t have had to fake her death, the marriage between her and Romeo wouldn’t have had to be kept such a secret and the whole play could have been over by act 4.
Although many characters can be blamed for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, there are other factors such as the feud between the two houses. We’re not told the reason for the feud but it certainly contributes to the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. We first hear of the feud in the prologue, ‘two households, both alike in dignity’ both the Capulet’s and Montague’s were each alike, both noble standing up for their house name. ‘From ancient grudge, break to new mutiny’ proving that the feud had been raging on for some time. The word ‘ancient’ shows this and ‘new mutiny’ new violence, means that for every new blood brought into the households the feud would continue on through them. Apart from the prologue the feud appears in other parts, such as the very first act and scene. To me this scene (although no one was killed) has more anger and is more threatening than any other of their encounters. This would be because nearly all of the members of each household are involved. It begins with the servants fighting which is remarkable as they aren’t blood related but still fight for their name. Then Benvolio and Tybalt enter the ‘next stage up’ from the servants. And finally the ‘big guns’ of the feud enter Old Capulet and Old Montague each only wanting to fight one another. To me this seems similar to Roman war, the leaders of each army were only properly suited to fight the opposite leader, and anyone else would be too easy. I say this, as the feud appears to ‘spark up’ at the Capulet Ball between Romeo and Tybalt but Old Capulet doesn’t really seem bothered of Romeos presence as he only wishes to fight with Old Montague.
To conclude, it’s in my eyes that the cause for the tragic end to Romeo and Juliet can be mostly put on the feud between the two houses. It’s this feud that caused the death of Tybalt, Mercution, Paris, Romeo and Juliet, as had there been no controversy between these people none would have been slayed by one another.
Romeo and Juliet has to be one of the most famous romantic tragedies of all times. But Shakespeare’s play could not have been so tragic with the feud and characters action because of the feud, such as Friar Laurence’s plan of Juliet faking her own death. This plot would have never come about had it not been because of the feud, the fight between Romeo and Tybalt, which resulted in Romeo’s banishment. The feud didn’t really affect Old Capulet’s marriage arrangement for Juliet and Paris, but had there been no feud then Juliet could have told her parents of her love for Romeo earlier and with no fear of being told she could never see him.
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