then he would not have met Juliet. It is fate that Friar Johns letter did not reach
Romeo explaining Juliet’s ‘death’ and it is fate that Juliet had not woken up earlier to
stop Romeo from killing himself. This means fate is partly responsible for the death
of Romeo and Juliet. “A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life”.
The Montague and Capulet on-going feud is also responsible for the death of
Romeo and Juliet. “Doth with their death bury their parents strife,” The prologue tells
us that there are two families quarrelling and it explains how they are partly
responsible for the characters deaths. Juliet was a Capulet and Romeo was a
Montague this meant any sort of relationship between the couple was forbidden. They
had to hide their love for each other. The families feud appears in Act 1 Scene 1 and
Act 3 Scene 1. In my opinion, the feuding families are highly responsible for the
deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
Romeo and Juliet are also to blame for their deaths in a way because of there
behaviour. They acted irresponsibly and did not think about the consequences of the
relationship. They rushed into a relationship without getting to know each other well
enough. In Act 3 Scene 1 Romeo is banished, his reaction to this is childish. Friar
Laurence says to Romeo: “Art thou a man” “Thy tears are womanish” in Act 3 Scene
3. This shows that Romeo is irresponsible.
The Nurse is another character responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
She gives Juliet mixed opinions; at first the Nurse thinks Romeo and Juliet should be
together but after the death of Tybalt she changes her mind and Romeo is not thought
of very highly by her. “Shame come to Romeo!” I think the Nurse should as been as
fickle as Juliet. She should not have helped Romeo and Juliet lead a secret
relationship.
Juliet’s parents are also responsible for the death of Romeo and Juliet because
they forced Juliet into marriage with Paris. “Go with Paris to St Peters Church or I
will drag thee on a hurdle thither out you baggage” Act 3 Scene 5. If Old Capulet and
Lady Capulet did not pressure Juliet into marriage with Paris then it is unlikely that
Romeo and Juliet would have rushed into their relationship.
Another character responsible for the death of Romeo and Juliet is Friar
Laurence. Friar Laurence’s plan for Romeo and Juliet was that Juliet was to take a
potion to make her appear dead on her wedding day she would then be taken to the
Capulets' vault meanwhile after receiving a letter from the Friar, Romeo would return
to Verona from Mantua and would be with Juliet when she wakes up. Juliet was very
pleased to receive the potion from Friar Laurence
"Give me, give me! Oh tell me not of fear!” Act 4 Scene 1
The Friar is a man with good intentions but is persuaded to make risky decisions by
Romeo and Juliet, such as agreeing to marry them without their parents' consent. I
think he gets too involved and it is then left up to him to ensure that everything goes
smoothly as planned. Friar Laurence plays a large part in the tragedy, mainly through
his complicated plans, which require accurate timing, and in the end simply did not
happen. Romeo did not receive the letter, so when he heard the bad news from
Balthasar, he thought Juliet was really dead. Friar Laurence need not have granted the
requests of Romeo and Juliet without carefully considering the consequences.
I think Benvolio is not at all to blame, if anything he actually tried to help the
situation; he is a peacemaker. Benvolio is one character that seems to realise
the potential dangers such as when he tries to stop Mercutio from starting another
street brawl. He also urges Romeo to leave the scene of the fighting as he has a good
idea of the Prince's reaction, the prince enters the scene after the death of Mercutio
and Tybalt, he shouts angrily, "Romeo slew him; he slew Mercutio. Who now the
price of his dear blood doth owe?" Act 3 Scene 1. In my opinion, Mercutio and Tybalt
were not at all responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet because they were
unaware of the relationship between them.
The Prince is the ruler of Verona. He tries quite hard to keep the peace, but not
enough to stop the tragedy, he is big in his threats but does not carry them out for he
has the chance to punish Romeo with the death penalty. For example after the deaths
of Mercutio and Tybalt the Prince tells the citizens of Verona "Who now the price of
his dear blood doth owe?" Act 3 Scene 1. In other words he seeks justice for these
murders. If he had tried harder to prevent the quarrelling and carried out more of his
threats the feud might not have got as bad as it did. However at the end of the play he
accepts some of the responsibility for what has happened; "Winking at their
discords" Act 5 Scene 3. He also tries to bring the two sides together; "What a
scourge is laid upon your hate, that heavens finds means to kill your joys with love"
Act 5 Scene 3.
I do not think one particular person is responsible for the death of Romeo and
Juliet but several characters played a part in their deaths. I do think fate played a
part in the play but it fate is not wholly responsible as there were too many mistakes
made by the main characters.
