Who do you think was the most responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet?

life “Prodigious birth of love is to me, that I must love a loathed enemy.”         I think Romeo killing Tybalt was a very big mistake as Romeo was banished and it meant he could not see Juliet, without the risk of being caught. I do not think that you can blame Romeo for killing Tybalt. Tybalt was determined to fight Romeo. When Romeo did not fight Tybalt, Romeo’s friend Mercutio interferes and fights Tybalt. They fight and Romeo tries to stop them but this according to the dying Mercutio gave Tybalt the opportunity to kill him, “I was hurt under your arm”. Romeo then fights and killed Tybalt. Later when Romeo hears news that Juliet is dead he says, “Then I defy you stars”, meaning Fate will not control what to him. Romeo is not afraid to take risks and just doesn’t think.         Friends and Friar Laurence give advice to Romeo. Juliet has to think for herself, the Nurse offers a little help on the odd occasion. Romeo’s parents seem caring and loving, but Juliet’s parents especially her mother, they are cold and uncaring, and they force Juliet into marriage with Paris. Capulet has great control over young Juliet  “She shall be married to this noble earl”.  Juliet visits Friar Laurence and the Friar suggests a plan Juliet agrees, she is distraught at the fact of having to marry Paris for she says “Oh bid me leap, rather than marry Paris from of the battlements of any tower”.         Friar Lawrence’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 Friar Lawrence’s Cell 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!” 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’ knowing. I think he gets too involved and it is then left up to him to ensure that everything goes smoothly. He goes behind the backs of Juliet’s parents by agreeing to marry Romeo and Juliet but he has a good reason for this. “To turn your households rancour to pure love”, to reconcile the two feuding families. Though the Friar is concerned about what he is doing, “These violent delights have violent ends”, the plan to help the two families soon goes wrong as Romeo is banished. This time he makes another plan that is as risky as the first. Romeo is to go to Mantua where The Friar will then try to arrange a meeting between Romeo and Juliet. The plan goes wrong again!         The Nurse is one of Juliet’s closest friends, apart from Romeo. She is not particularly clever and does nothing to warn Juliet of how an involvement with a Montague might cause problems to Juliet and her family. When Juliet’s Mother is talking about Juliet’s marriage to Paris she makes jokes and finds it very amusing, “A bump as big as a young cockerels stone”. Even though the Nurse may be very simple minded she is very loving and fond of Juliet “Well sir my mistress is the sweetest lady” The Nurse appears to have got too carried away with Romeo and Juliet and is excited for Juliet, but she offers no advice to what Juliet is doing, although she knows that Juliet is young. She makes no effort to tell Juliet there will be a problem in the long run.          Like Friar Lawrence she goes behind her employers’ backs acting as Romeo and Juliet’s messenger. At first the Nurse admires Romeo, “Why he’s a man of wax”, but warns him not to lead Juliet into a “fools paradise” probably because Juliet is young. After Tybalt’s was killed she turns against Romeo “Will you speak well of him that killed your cousin” “Shame come to Romeo”. When Juliet needs the Nurse most “Comfort me, council me” as she is told to marry Paris, the Nurse lets her down by simply telling her to forget Romeo. It is at this point Juliet ends their friendship. The Nurse was partly, to blame. I don’t think she in the end the nurse got very excited with Juliet’s welfare and could not keep her mouth shut.         Benvolio is one character that realised the dangers such as when he tries to stop Mercutio from starting another fight with Tybalt. He also tries to make Romeo leave the fighting as he has a good idea of what the prince would do to him, the prince comes in, in the scene after the deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt, he shouts angrily, he says “Romeo slew him; he slew Mercutio. Who now the price of his dear blood doth owe?” I think Benvolio is not at all to blame, if anything he actually tried to help and keep Romeo out of trouble he is a peacemaker.         Tybalt is an aggressive person. His view of the Montague’s and his part in the play is summed up in one sentence “What, drawn and talk of peace! I hate the word /as I hate hell, all Montague’s and thee”. At the ball when he sees Romeo he is mad and looks for his sword. Tybalt is always looking for trouble, he tries to make fun of Romeo by saying things like, “Romeo, the love I bear thy can afford No better term than this - thou art a villain.” Tybalt challenges Romeo to a duel. Mercutio steps in but Tybalt happily kills him in the heat of the moment. Romeo attempts to sort out the situation peacefully, but after the death of Mercutio Romeo takes revenge and kills Tybalt. I think Tybalt should take some of the blame, as it was him that killed Mercutio, which led to his own death and Romeo’s banishment.         Mercutio is loyal to Romeo as he steps in when Tybalt challenges Romeo. His death is a strong point in the play Romeo avenges Mercutio’s death by killing Tybalt. All these deaths add more fuel to the fire. I don’t think Mercutio can be blamed as neither Tybalt nor Mercutio new of Romeo and Juliet’s love for each other.         The Prince is the ruler of Verona. He tries hard to keep the peace, but not enough to stop the tragedy. For example, after the death of Mercutio and Tybalt the Prince tells the citizens of Verona “whom now the price of his dear blood doth owe?” in other words he seeks justice for these murders. If he had tried harder to stop the feuding and bickering and carried out more of his threats the feud might not have evolved into a tragic death story! At the end of the play he accepts some of the responsibility for what has happened by “Winking at their discords”. He tries to bring the two families together by, “What a scourge is laid upon your hate, /that heavens finds means to kill your joys with love”         I do not think there is one single person who is to blame but Friar Lawrence plays a large part in the tragedy, mainly through he had plans that were not planned enough! In the end, it simply did not work and all went wrong. Romeo did not receive the information that he needed to know before the plan had taken place, and because this didn’t happen he thought Juliet was really dead. Friar Lawrence did not have to do what Romeo and Juliet wanted without carefully thinking about what could happen. I do not think fate was involved in this tragedy because there were too many hiccups made by the main characters.