If the Friar had taken his own advice, “wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast”, and not let the couple rush into marriage they might have lived. Although the Friar is a man with good intentions, Romeo and Juliet persuade him into making risky decisions, such as agreeing to marry them without their parents’ consent. It was important for the Friar to have parental consent for marriage, because at this time and in Juliet’s case, many young women were found husbands by their fathers’ and married off.
His reasons for this are, “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 goes wrong as Romeo is banished. This time he makes another plan, that is just as risky as the first. Romeo is sent to Mantua where he will then try to arrange a meeting between Romeo and Juliet. The plan goes wrong, as the message the Friar sends to Romeo to forewarn him of Juliet’s death does not reach him. The Friar then accuses fate as the source of this, “unhappy fortune”.
At the end of the play, the Friar explains his part in the events, “and here I stand both to impeach and purge myself condemded and excused”. This quotation shows that he feels responsible but at the same time it is as if he is excusing himself from any blame. The Friar should have known better as he is and educated man and should know that the marriage would possibly cause more hostility in the feud between the two families.
Mercutio is Romeo’s friend. He is neither Montague nor Capulet, but he is related to the Prince. Therefore, he has not been born into this feud and really has no side, although his bond with Romeo associates him with the Montagues.
Mercutio is a lively, melodramatic character who tries to resolve Romeo’s problems and advise him in a light- hearted way, “Thy wit is a very bitter sweeting; it is almost sharp sauce”. There are two main reasons how Mercutio, along with Benvolio, is significant in the run up to Romeo and Juliet’s deaths. First of all, he convinces Romeo to attend the party held at the Capulet household, where he met Juliet. Romeo was reluctant to go and even expressed a feeling of insecurity about what the night might bring. However Mercutio teases him a little, and Romeo is persuaded to attend.
Mercutio’s death is a turning point in the play, as it sets off a chain of events, which leads to Romeo’s banishment. The morning after the ball, Tybalt arrives to challenge Romeo about gatecrashing the ball, the previous evening. However Mercutio is loyal in the way he steps in to defend Romeo. First, Tybalt murders Mercutio. Romeo seeks revenge and kills Tybalt. As a consequence Romeo is banished from Verona. Mercutio should not of intervened as he is in an argumentative mood, it’s hot and he was at the party until late, but being the person that he is, he did.
During the course of the play Benvolio emerges to be the peacemaker. You notice this from the beginning of the play when he tries to stop a brawl between the two families’ servants, “Part fools. Put up thy swords, you know not what you do”. Also Benvolio only fights when he is approached, “I do but keep peace”. Benvolio’s peaceful character is a contrast from Mercutio’s eccentric nature. Due to his peaceful character, Benvolio emerges to be someone that can be trusted. For example, when the Prince asks Benvolio what has happened in Act 3 Sc.1, “Benvolio, who began this bloody fray?” Here the Prince is asking him for the true accounts of the events.
Also in Act 3 Sc.1, Benvolio tries to prevent the brawl between Mercutio and Tybalt, when the situation is getting tenser; “Either withdraw unto some private place, and reason coldly of your grievances”. Having a peaceful character, we can see that Benvolio is a patient listener to Romeo and a loyal and caring friend to Mercutio. Although this maybe the case, he plays a part in Romeo and Juliet’s deaths because he persuades Romeo to attend the ball and “examine other beauties”. This results in him getting over Rosaline by meeting with Juliet.
From the beginning of the play the relationship between the Nurse and Juliet is clear. Although the nurse was originally Juliet’s “wetnurse”, she is now her servant and appears to be more like a mother figure. This is shown by the way that the nurse interacts with Juliet, “What lamb? What ladybird?”
The language they use to communicate is much less formal then that of Lady Capulet. When Juliet speaks to her mother, she speaks very formally, calling her “madam”, which is typical of the time. She plays a critical part in the secretive romance between Romeo and Juliet. Occasionally, she would act, as a go between as it was difficult for the lovers to meet. This is apparent when she informs Juliet of Tybalt’s death and Romeo’s banishment, “Tybalt is gone and Romeo banished, Romeo that killed him, he is banished”.
Her love for Juliet often clouds her judgement and she does what she shouldn’t. For example when she notifies her that the Friar agrees to marry the young couple, “There stays a husband to make you a wife”; this clearly shows that her loyalty lies with Juliet more than with the Capulet household.
The nurse knows that by allowing Juliet to see and marry Romeo, she is being disloyal to the Capulets. This is why I believe that when Romeo is banished, she encourages Juliet to marry Paris, “I think it better that you marry with the county”. The nurse is turning against Juliet at a very crucial time, leaving Juliet with no one to turn to.
Although the nurse plays a crucial role in Romeo and Juliet’s relationship, I don’t think she is to blame because she just wants Juliet to be happy. She is also not that educated and looks to the Friar for advice, “ Where’s my lady’s lord? Where’s Romeo?”
Romeo is a young teenager and a member of the Montague household. He unfortunately falls in love with Juliet, who is a member of the Capulets who are enemies of the Montagues. He blames fate or fortune for nearly everything that goes wrong. For example, after he kills Tybalt, he then realises the seriousness of his actions, and prefers to blame the stars rather than himself, “O, I am fortune’s fool”.
Romeo is an impulsive person; “O let us hence! I stand on sudden haste”. Perhaps if he had thought about what he was doing instead of doing things on a whim, their deaths may have been averted.
It seems that Romeo is not afraid of taking risks, as in the balcony scene he risks getting caught by the nurse, and then later when he is in Juliet’s bedroom whilst the nurse is looking for her.
After meeting Juliet, Romeo becomes happier. Romeo attends the Capulets masked ball. The only reason he does this is to get over his love for Rosaline. Although he thinks he is in love with her, he really isn’t. What he is feeling is “courtly love”. “Courtly love” was fashionable among young men at this time. They would set their sights of an unobtainable woman to fall in love with. They would then worship her from afar. Everytime Romeo saw Rosaline he would act in a melancholy mane because she did not return his love. He seems to be the “old Romeo” that Benvolio, Mercutio and his parents spoke about. In his mind, he’s grown-up and ready for marriage.
Although not shown in the play much, Romeo’s parents seem loving and caring and generally worried about their son, “O where is Romeo? Saw you him today?” To them Romeo has become more subdued and distant.
Juliet is a young Capulet, not quiet 14 years old; she is quiet, loyal to her parents and thinks for herself. Her family was very rich and powerful and quite high in society.
When she first meets Romeo, she falls for him instantly. She is practical in that she quickly accepts Romeo’s proposal of marriage, “ Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow”. By doing this Juliet is going against her parents wishes, as they want her to marry Paris and the fact that Romeo is from a rival family is deceitful.
As well as Romeo, Juliet also doesn’t think of the consequences of actions. By marrying Romeo, it could cause even bigger conflict between the two rival families then there is already. Although she is worried about Romeo getting caught in the balcony scene, “The orchard walls are high and hard to climb And the place death, considering who art thou”.
She is different from Romeo, as she doesn’t blame fate on her actions; “Prodigious birth of love is to me that I must love a loathed enemy”. Instead she blames her birth, shown here in this rhyming couplets.
Juliet’s personality changes after she meets Romeo. She becomes more opinionated and less obedient towards her parents. An example of this is when Juliet explains to her mother, that she wishes not to marry Paris, “I pray you tell my lord and father, madam, I will not marry yet”. This suggests that she really is in love with Romeo and feels so strongly for him that she would even disobey her father.
Juliet’s parents, especially Lady Capulet, are cold-hearted and uncaring. They force Juliet to marry Paris without giving her a choice; “She shall be married to this noble earl”. This was typical of the time, for father’s to marry off their daughter’s at young ages.
Whereas friends and Friar Lawrence help and advise Romeo, Juliet is on her own and has to make her own decisions, with the nurse offering little or no help. In my opinion, I think Romeo and Juliet are to blame because they are both too impulsive. Instead of taking their time and getting to know each other, they married on a whim, their relationship may even have stopped the feud between the two families, if they waited and thought about their actions.
The Elizabethan idea of the wheel of Fortune was that everything is predetermined. One moment you were at the top, and then suddenly the wheel would turn and you would find yourself at the bottom. This is linked with the idea that fortune is written in the stars. There is not much you can do about it, as it has already been predetermined.
An example of bad fortune in the play is when Romeo finds out that Juliet is dead, “ I defy you stars!” Romeo tries to stop the inevitable written in the stars.
An example of good fortune in the play is the first night between the lovers, “ O blessed, blessed night! I afeared this is but a dream”. Romeo believes that meeting Juliet can only be but a dream because it is too good to be true.
At the time the play was written, fate and the stars played a large part in people’s everyday lives and this is reflected in the play. Fate is the ultimate force that supposedly predetermines the course of events.
The first example of this is in the prologue, “A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life”. This quotation implies that even from the beginning, the young couple’s relationship was doomed. “Star-cross’d” refers to the astrological outlook on destiny that was widely accepted when Shakespeare wrote this tragedy.
By including this line so early in the play, Shakespeare creates a sense of anticipation sense of anticipation in the audience. From the start they know what the eventual outcome will be. Another example of fate is when Mercutio attempts to make Romeo go to the Capulet’s ball. Romeo eventually agrees but he still feels uneasy, “some consequence yet hanging in the stars”. If Romeo had trusted his instincts and refused to go, the deaths of the two lovers could have been averted. By including this line, Shakespeare suggests to the audience that Romeo and Juliet’s forewarning destiny was, in fact, fated.
In my opinion Romeo and Juliet are as equally to blame as their parents are.
Romeo acted to hastily throughout the play. He shouldn’t have asked Juliet to marry him so suddenly, and he should have thought more carefully before rushing back to Verona after hearing of Juliet’s death. He also acted violently and didn’t think rationally when he killed Tybalt and, later, Paris. Juliet shouldn’t have deceived and disobeyed her parents. Like Romeo she was too hasty in rushing into marriage. She was already engaged to marry Paris at the time of the ball, and until then had been entirely happy with her parents’ choice. She should have at least discussed her feelings with Romeo and seen what they thought of the whole situation.
Lord and Lady Capulet were partly responsible for keeping the feud going. They had authority over the household, and could have stopped the quarrelling if they wanted to. They should have paid more attention to Juliet’s wishes and listened to her opinions. They were too hard on her when she refused to marry Paris. Lord and Lady Montague like the Capulet’s were also responsible for keeping the feud going. If they had been more understanding, Romeo would not have felt he had to keep secrets from them.
All in all, if Romeo and Juliet had better relationships with their parents’, they could have felt they could have gone and spoken to them about how they feel about one another.
By Deanne Sandiford 11S
