Friar Lawrence is one of the most active characters in the play. Throughout the play he has done many things to ‘fuel the fire’. Friar Lawrence is close to Romeo, the first time he comes into the play is when Romeo goes’ to confess his sins, this is when Friar agrees to marry Romeo and Juliet. This was his first big mistake. He should have known that the marriage would not solve the hatred between the two households. He should have more common sense; after all he did try to tell Romeo that he just a day ago was in love with Rosaline.
“Holy Saint Francis, what a change is here! Is Rosaline, whom thou didst love so dear, so soon forsaken?”
(Act 2 Scene 3)
“Hath washed thy sallow cheeks for Rosaline!” (Act 2 Scene 3)
The second huge mistake he made was to give Juliet the sleeping drug, however this was not entirely his fault, giving her the drug was an alternative to killing herself, so in some ways he did do a good thing. There were many other things that the Friar could have done that would have been a better choice. When Juliet was found ‘dead’ he lied to the others when he played along with the fact that the others thought she was dead, but should he have told the Nurse? That would probably have been the best choice.
“In these confusions. Heaven an yourself had part in this fair maid, now heaven hath all, and all the better it is for the maid” (Act 4 Scene 5)
The Friar’s last and most crucial mistake was the fact that the letter saying that Juliet was dead did not reach Romeo. It was his responsibility to make sure it reached him and it didn’t. Because of this Romeo thought that Juliet was dead and therefore taking the poison and killing himself, which soon ended in the death of Romeo. Not all responsibility should be carried on Friar Lawrence’s shoulders, as it was Friar John who had to deliver it to a messenger, which he did not.
Overall Friar Lawrence is nearly as responsible of causing the deaths as Romeo and Juliet as Lord and Lady Capulet.
Romeo is in his late teens and is a member of the Montague family, who are enemies to the Capulets’. He has been acting too hastily throughout the story. An example of this is when Romeo asks Juliet to marry him only hours after they met. This was a very foolish thing to do, although if he did not propose, then Juliet would have married Paris.
“O blessed, blessed night! I am afeared, being in night, all this is but a dream, too flattering sweet to be substantial” (Act 2 Scene 2)
It is very obvious that Romeo loves Juliet, and one way to refer how much he loves her to her face is to compare her with light. “What light through yonder window breaks”, “Juliet is the sun”, “The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars” and “O speak again bright angel” (Act 2 Scene 2). These are only a few of his references. In this scene there is yet another way to tell that Romeo is in love with Juliet. He takes many risks of being caught by the Nurse at Juliet’s balcony, if he was caught he would have been killed, and of course Juliet was concerned about it.
“The orchard walls are high, and hard to climb, and the place death, considering who thou art, if any of my kinsmen find thee here.” (Act 2 Scene 2)
“If they do see thee, they will murder thee”(Act 2 Scene 2)
“’Tis almost morning; I would have thee gone, and yet no farther than a wantons bird” (Act 2 Scene 2”
The biggest mistake Romeo made was killing Tybalt, this lead to his banishment of Verona, which meant he would not be able to see Juliet. Romeo only realised the consequences after he killed Tybalt. I would not blame the death on Romeo, but on Tybalt himself. It was he who was determined to fight and he only maddened Romeo more when he killed his best friend, Mercutio. After hearing from the nearly dead Mercutio it was Romeo’s fault that he was about to die, but of course this made Romeo even worse, in some ways this was ‘egging’ him on. Tybalt’s death had instantly destroyed two hearts.
When Balthasar gave the news of Juliet’s death to Romeo, who was then in Mantua, he was devastated. Instead of going to consult Friar Lawrence he rushed straight to her tomb where he killed Paris, and later on himself, this soon resulted in Juliet’s death. In the last few acts it has become noticeable that Romeo does not like to blame himself, instead he uses superstitious beliefs like the stars, this is surprising considering that he is a devoted Christian. “Then I defy you stars”
Juliet was nearly 14 years old; she was the only daughter of Lord and Lady Capulet. Juliet always obeyed her parents; she was kind and gentle. The first time she disagreed with her parent’s wishes was to not want to marry Paris. The first time they’re where signs of this were quite early on in the play.
“It is a honour I dream not of” (Act 1 Scene 3)
The above quotation was said to Lady Capulet, but when it came to saying ‘no’ to Lord Capulet she really meant it, because by this time she had already married Romeo, this as said above turns into a heated argument leaving Juliet having no choice. Juliet should not have gone to seek help from Friar Lawrence as it was to big of a risk, which just goes to show how much she loved Romeo. Juliet should not have pretended to be happy with the arranged marriage, but this also is more Friar Lawrence’s fault than Juliet’s. Juliet did nothing hugely wrong. She did not want to marry Paris and she expressed these feelings in different ways.
“It shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate, rather than Paris” (Act 3 Scene 5)
“O bid me leap, rather than marry Paris, from off the battlements of any tower; or walk in thievish ways; or bid me lurk where the serpents are; chain me with roaring bears; or hide me nightly in a charnel-house…” (Act 4 Scene 1)
Juliet is not a major ‘player’ in finding whose fault it was for her and Romeo’s deaths; instead the people around her influenced her.
The last of one of the most influential people to cause Romeo and Juliet’s deaths is Tybalt. Tybalt was the nephew of Lord Capulet. He was the troublemaker and one of the reasons why the family feud carried on. He saw any Montague as a threat. All of this is shown in this quote, “What, drawn and talk of peace! I hate the word, as I hate hell, all the Montagues and thee” (Act 1 Scene 1) As the play progresses his hate for Romeo increases, from the ball, to the ‘Final Showdown. This is where Tybalt starts a fight and kills Mercutio. Followed by Tybalt’s death, he brought it on to himself.
Tybalt can be described as the ‘Dark horse’ of the Capulet family.
This goes to show that the people mentioned above played the main roles when it came to Romeo and Juliet’s deaths. But Lord and Lady Capulet and Friar Lawrence really did have most to blame in this ordeal. All the other characters such as the Nurse, Lord and Lady Montague, the Prince and Mercutio either had minimalist or no blame towards the lovers deaths. Fate had absolutely nothing to do with the deaths. It is stupid to think that such things could happen in the order that they did by bad luck. The essay sums up that Romeo and Juliet had little to do with their own deaths, they died more because of the influence from the people around them, mainly the Capulets’ and Friar Lawrence.
