The Nurse is the second nominee for the position of who was to blame, because she was the one who encouraged Juliet in her romantic ideas. She carried messages, and helped the lovers to meet, and get married, yet she betrayed Juliet by telling her to marry Paris, and leaving her to think a way out of the situation she was left in, when she was forced into a marriage with Paris.
And last but not least my last candidate for the position of who was to blame for Romeo and Juliet’s deaths is Fate, because the tragedy was not the fault of any individual – it happened because of bad luck. It was Fate that Romeo, and Juliet met, and fell in love and also that the letter which could have saved them did not reach them in time.
The warfare between the two families was one factor that contributed to the love of Romeo and Juliet being destined for destruction from the very beginning. ‘ From ancient grudge break to new mutiny’. The two families, Montague’s and Capulets had many problems, which were not solved, and it created so much hatred between the two families, that it went to such extent that even the servants of the two households hated each other.
This feud would have caused Romeo and Juliet many problems, and in an attempt to make sure their parents did not trouble them they kept their marriage a secret, because if their parents found out about their marriage they would have made their children’s lives miserable, meaning that Romeo & Juliet would not be able to see each other.
Both of these families were very stubborn and there was hardly any thing that would have made them become friends. In the prologue we learn that the only way the ‘strife’ could have been ended was by the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. ‘Doth with their death bury their parent’s strife’. Neither the Montague’s nor the Capulets would have accepted the marriage. Keeping their marriage a secret caused Romeo and Juliet to seek, and turn to other people for advice.
Friar Lawrence’s actions throughout the play resulted in the two lovers deaths. He assisted the two when they wanted to get married, which began the disastrous events in the play. Friar Lawrence says to Romeo, ‘ In one respect I’ll thy assistance be for the alliance may so happy prove, to turn your households’ rancour to pure love’. When he is saying this his thoughts are meaning that by him marrying the two the feud between the two families would cease to exist, meaning the result of this outcome would have a positive impact upon the two households, yet however he does not stop to think the negative outcome if it was to happen.
Friar Lawrence can also be mainly blamed, because his ideas nearly always prove to be very risky with not even the slightest chance of success. This accusation from me can be proven by recalling his words, when he advises Juliet on shutting ‘ up the day of life’. He goes to such extreme extents that he provides Juliet with a ‘distilling liquor’, which will cause her to have, ‘no breath’, and ‘no warmth’ as if she was dead. And finally as if leaving no doubt in the audience that there will be no chance in this plan working he sends ‘a friar with speed to Mantua’ with what he is planning to do, to Romeo, although he should have gone himself, and delivered the letter personally, to avoid later tragedies, and also his confessing to his involvement.
Although Friar Lawrence was trying to help Romeo and Juliet by giving them what he thought was good advice, another character may be held responsible for Romeo and Julies Deaths. The Nurse although at first seemed a very nice person to the audience, because she was helping Juliet to meet Romeo on several occasions, was in fact a person highly blameful for the ‘star-cross’d lovers’ downfall. The Nurse can be blamed, because she arranged for Juliet to meet Romeo, even though deep inside she knew what the consequences of her actions could be. She also should have told Lord & Lady Capulet about Juliet’s love affair with Romeo, because it was her sworn loyalty to the Capulet’s.
Nevertheless if she wanted to help Romeo and Juliet in their love life the Nurse should have stayed with the two until the very end, but yet again the Nurse opted out, and left Juliet at the worst time, when Juliet was going to be married with Paris. The Nurse betrays Juliet by telling her to be ‘married with the county’, and also criticising Romeo by comparing him to Paris as ‘ a dishclout’.
Although both of the above candidates may be held responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, I think that as human beings we always fell the need to blame someone, and never just settle with holding fate responsible, that something was meant to happen for another cause to start or end.
Fate above all destroyed Romeo and Juliet’s lives, as in many instances in the play it reveals that the love of Romeo and Juliet would end in their deaths. ‘ A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life’. In addition to this from the beginning of this play it is evident that the stars had drawn out the plan to both Romeo and Juliet’s bad fortune.
Also some people think that there is no way to control fate or change what is in the stars, and therefore it could be that the love of Romeo and Juliet was designed to happen so that their deaths brought their parent’s feud to an end.
And as seen, and clearly stated in the prologue it is said that ‘ The fearful passage of their death marked love’, meaning upon their deaths shall there be the signs of unity between the two households. Both of these quotes show us that the love of these two lovers was meant to end tragically, and in deep sorrow.
The masquerade party was above all the most important aspect of fate. The fact that Romeo was wearing a mask and his face was well hidden allowed Juliet to fall in love with him, and therefore she did not know whom it was. If Juliet had known that it was the son of the Montague’s she would probably have not fallen in love with him due to the conflicts between his and her families.
In conclusion to this essay, I have chosen and given the winning position of the role for ‘who was to blame’ to no other than Fate, because the tragedies which occurred throughout the play were not merely the fault of any one individual, because if looked in depth many parties, and people can be held or linked being responsible in various ways to Romeo and Juliet’s downfall. So evidently from the very beginning before probably Romeo and Juliet were born it was set by fate that they were set the tasks as empty vessels used as pawn pieces to end the feud between the two households, and unite them in social harmony.
Raees Gillani Miss Shanahan 10A
