Romeo’s impulsive behaviour is yet again displayed when he hears from his servant that Juliet is dead. His rash thinking causes him to rush back to Verona to commit suicide and be with Juliet. If Romeo had not acted so quickly and dramatically, he would not have taken the poison in such a hurry and he would have seen that Juliet was in fact asleep.
Juliet’s behaviour also added to the causes of her and her husband’s deaths. Although a bit more realistic than Romeo, Juliet has instances of emotional drama and impatience that symbolize a thirteen year old girl with a terrible infatuation. Juliet also promoted the relationship, and was too stubborn to listen to her parents’ wishes. It was originally Juliet's idea for the two to wed, "Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow…” this decision was made too early as the two had only known each other since that evening. She too was also aware that Romeo was a Montague, “Deny thy father and refuse thy name…”, but chose to ignore the consequences that would follow, showing that she acted according to what she wanted more than what she needed.
Juliet also could have avoided disaster had she respected her parents a little more. Things would have been far easier had Juliet married Paris as her parents wished her to. Instead she was very headstrong about the situation and decided to disobey her parents. "I will not marry yet. And when I do I swear it shall be to Romeo for whom you know I hate rather than Paris..." Juliet certainly should have known that marrying a Montague would result in disaster but again, like Romeo, she acted immature and acted on impulse. True, her father was insisting that she marry Paris, but Juliet never let her feelings for Romeo be known to her parents. Instead of telling the truth about her marriage to Romeo, she led her parents to believe that it was Tybalt she was mourning for. When Lady Capulet tries to comfort Juliet, Juliet tells of how she will "venge her cousin's death" instead of how it is really Romeo she is crying for. Juliet causes her mother to believe that she wants to get her hands on Romeo for what he has done, “…I never shall be satisfied With Romeo, till I behold him--dead--Is my poor heart…” by placing the word ‘dead’ between the two sentences, Juliet makes her mother think that she wants Romeo dead, when she is actually saying that her heart is dead because of him. Her parents may have still forced her to marry Paris, but maybe they would've reconsidered had they known how strongly Juliet
felt for Romeo.
Juliet is very rash and impractical also and she has a tendency to incorporate melodrama into her actions. She goes to the friar desperately for some of his wisdom, and before he has a chance to think she threatens suicide with a knife, “And with this knife I’ll help it presently.” This demonstrates her low level of maturity when she cannot have things her way. This immatureness contributes to the tragic ending. She accepts the friar's potion without little reservations and drinks it down without really considering the ramifications. On hearing the Friars plan regarding the potion, Juliet says, “Give me, give me! O tell me not to fear.” This indicates that Juliet is rushing into the plan without thinking and is relying on the friar to reassure her that there is nothing to be afraid of. This illustrates her desperation. If Juliet had not taken the potion, Romeo would never have thought that she was dead and perhaps the outcome would have been different.
The family feud between the Capulets and the Montagues plays a major part in the ending of “Romeo and Juliet”. It is almost certain that if the rift had not exist, Romeo and Juliet would be able to be together without any problems. The statement made by Gregory at in the beginning scene, “The quarrel is between our masters and us their men” implies that this ancient feud has influenced the whole of the Capulet and Montague family. The whole reason for Romeo and Juliet keeping their marriage secret was because of the rift between the two families. They didn’t want their families to know for they would get involved ruin it. If their families found out they would have stopped the marriage and made Juliet marry Paris.
Juliet's parents, Capulet and Lady Capulet, fail to understand Juliet's decision not to marry Paris. Lord Capulet loved his daughter Juliet very much and when he arranges the marriage between her and Paris, he is just trying to do what he feels is best for her. He knows Paris, being handsome and rich will make a good husband to Juliet. When she refuses to marry Paris he goes into a violent rage, saying things he doesn’t mean. “Hang thee, young baggage, disobedient wretch!” The word ‘baggage’ is associated with a woman of lesser morals and of easy virtue, which is how Lord Capulet sees Juliet. He also uses the word ‘wretch’ implying that she is good for nothing and her behaviour is disreputable. Furthermore, he threatens to disown Juliet, "...you shall not house with me." This aggressive behaviour obviously upset Juliet and could have contributed to her making the decision to seek advice from Friar Laurence as she felt scared to talk to her parents. His wife, upon hearing Juliet's decision against
marrying to Paris, refuses to give Juliet counsel and says, "Talk not to me, for I'll not
speak a word.” Lady Capulet is therefore to blame for not wanting to help or listen to her distressed daughter making matters worse. The Capulets should have respected Juliet’s will, not to marry Paris, rather than being so sure that their tradition of arranged marriage was the right way to go. It becomes apparent in this point of the play that the Capulets care more about their traditions than they do about their own daughter. We also see that Juliet’s parents betray her by not supporting her pleas for the marriage to be delayed a year.
Tybalt displays his aggressive and vindictive behaviour throughout the play and it is arguable that his obsessive hatred towards the Montagues contributed to the events leading to Romeo and Juliet’s deaths. He started the fight that resulted in Romeo being banished and it was he, more than anyone else, who kept the hatred alive between the two families. Tybalt should have taken Lord Capulet’s decision to allow Romeo to be at the part uninvited as an example. Tybalt could not stand seeing Romeo at the party as he told Capulet, “I’ll not endure him.” Although Capulet reassured Tybalt that Romeo was doing no harm and told him allow him to stay when he says, “…let him alone, ‘A bears him like a portly gentlemen”, Tybalt is still outraged by the Montague’s presence. Despite Capulet’s advice about leaving Romeo alone and not causing trouble, Tybalt disobeys. In Act three Scene three, Tybalt is looking for a fight with Romeo, for gate-crashing the Capulets’ party, who refuses, and so Mercutio fights Tybalt instead. Mercutio gets killed and so Romeo takes revenge on Tybalt for killing his friend. All in all this results in Romeo being banished as he kills Tybalt. This banishment sparked off a series of unfortunate events. If Tybalt had controlled his anger and not started a fight, Romeo would not have become banished and would still be able to see Juliet.
Mercutio, Romeo’s friend, saw the feud between the two families as a game which made the situation worse. If he hadn’t decided to fight Tybalt, he would not have been killed and so Romeo would not have been banished as he would not have taken revenge on Tybalt. He also should not have told Romeo about the Capulets’ party and encouraged him to go when he said, “Nay gentle Romeo, we must have you dance.” He should have thought about the dangers of a Montague going to a Capulet party before acting. If they had not gone to the party, it is unlikely that Romeo and Juliet would have met and Tybalt would not have wanted to start a fight with Romeo for gate-crashing the party.
The Nurse is Juliet’s closest friend and confidante at the outset of the play. Although her intensions were good, regarding keeping Romeo and Juliet’s secret, this allows her to be put to some blame. The Nurse knows that Juliet is due to be engaged to Paris yet she agrees in helping Juliet communicate with Romeo in secret, “…where may I find the young Romeo?” Keeping this secret for Juliet and helping her hide it from her parents encouraged Juliet to proceed with the dangerous relationship and made her think that what she was doing was acceptable. The Nurse should have told Juliet what she was doing was wrong and if she failed to see this she should have told Lord and Lady Capulet about what was going on. If she did this, the relationship would have stopped and neither Romeo nor Juliet would have suffered like they did.
Like The Capulets, the Nurse also fails to support Juliet's choice against marrying Paris.
Instead of supporting Juliet the Nurse instead believes "I think it is best you
marry the county...For it excels your first…" this demonstrates that the Nurse is now trying to persuade Juliet into thinking that marrying Paris will be far better than staying married to Romeo. Juliet feels betrayed by this reply and says "... dispraise my lord
with that same tongue which she hath praised him beyond compare…” Juliet is angry at the Nurse for saying bad things about Romeo, as she has always said good things about him until now. The Nurse's betrayal causes Juliet to go to the Friar with the intent to commit suicide should he be unable to help Juliet, "I'll to the Friar to know his remedy; If all else fail, myself have power to die." If the Nurse told Juliet’s parents the truth about the situation rather than betray Juliet, perhaps the outcome would have been different.
Friar Laurence certainly contributed to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. His first mistake was marrying Romeo and Juliet in secret. He was aware of the feud going on between the families and knew that he was risking his reputation as a Friar. It is arguable that if he did not marry the two lovers, the tragedy would never have occurred at the end.This risk is shown in Act two Scene six, "Come, come with me, and we will make short work, For, by you leaves, you shall not stay alone Till Holy Church incorporate two in one". He envisages that the marriage between Romeo and Juliet, the rift between the Capulets and the Montagues will end. This idea pushes the Friar into marrying Romeo and Juliet, and is the start of the chain reaction to the deaths of the two lovers.
The second mistake that the Friar made was to give Juliet the sleeping potion. Juliet went to him to seek his ‘wise advice’ after being betrayed by her parents and the Nurse. The Friar told Juliet to take the sleeping potion so everyone would think that she was dead, allowing Romeo to take her away to Mantua.” Take thou this vial, being then in bed, and this distilling liquor drink thou off... Now when the bridegroom in the morning comes to rouse thee from thy bed, there thou art, dead....” Had this plan succeeded, Juliet would not have had to marry Paris and she could have run away with Romeo. It could be perhaps that this is another case where actions were made without thinking about the consequences. The Friar shows that he regrets his actions when he talks about how he is responsible for what has happened to the two lovers, "And I here stand, both to impeach and purge Myself condemned and myself excused". This implies he made the mistake which inevitably lead to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. If Friar Laurence had never given Juliet the potion, Romeo would have never believed that she was dead, and therefore this would have saved both their lives.
It is unlikely that the tragedy of the two lovers’ deaths would ever have happened if Romeo received the message regarding the Friar’s plan in time. Friar John, whom Friar Laurence asked to deliver the letter to Romeo, explained how he was unable to do so, “I could not send it… Nor get a messenger to bring thee, So fearful were they of infection." Due to this failure, Romeo was informed by his servant that Juliet was dead. Had the message about the plan reached Romeo in time, he would not have rushed back to Verona and committed suicide to be with Juliet. If the Friar delivered the letter to Romeo personally their deaths could have been avoided.
Friar Laurence also betrays Juliet. He fails to understand Romeo and Juliet's love for each other and part of the misunderstanding is brought on by Romeo being quick to forget Rosaline. The Friar believes that their love is temporary and advises Romeo "Wisely and slow, They stumble that run fast." When the Friar was in the tomb with Juliet who was distressed about Romeo’s death, he could have saved her life. Instead of staying and comforting her when she did not want to leave, he betrayed her by rushing out of the tomb on hearing the watchman, "Go, get thee hence, for I will not away". As a result of Friar Lawrence's betrayal, Juliet committed suicide.
Finally, fate has a major role in this play and is one of the main causes for Romeo and Juliet’s deaths. In the beginning of the play it is told, “A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life;” This sentence indicates that from the very beginning the fate of Romeo and Juliet is written in the stars. Their fate was to fall in love and die with a passion in order to end their family’s feud. The majority of what follows and leads to the lovers’ deaths is due to fate. In the beginning, Romeo, who is broken-hearted, did not feel like joining Mercutio at the Capulet’s ball at all until he saw Rosaline’s name upon the invitation list. If they never had gone to the party, it is most likely that Romeo would never have spotted Juliet and instantaneously fallen in love with her. Also, if the Friar’s message about Juliet got to Romeo before the word of her death spread, he would not have rushed back to Verona. It was due to ill-fate that Friar John could not deliver the letter to Romeo. If Romeo had waited a little longer before drinking the poison, he would have realized that his wife in fact not dead but asleep. If Romeo had not taken his sword with him to the tomb, Juliet would have not been able to kill herself. From this it is clear that the timing of each action influences the outcome of the play. While some events are of less significance, some are crucial to the development of this tragedy.
In conclusion, I believe that although each character plays some part in contributing to the final tragedy, some more than others, fate is the main reason for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. I do not believe that Romeo or Juliet are very much to blame for their tragic ending as I feel it was due to numerous other factors. As Romeo and Juliet were very young and inexperienced, I believe that it was the responsibility of the other characters to not allow such a terrible thing to happen. The feud between the two families certainly did not help the situation nor did it set a good example for characters like Tybalt and Mercutio. If the parents were more understanding of their children and cared more about them than the ancient traditions, perhaps Romeo and Juliet would be more willing to tell them about their relationship rather than hiding it. Although Juliet was to blame for not telling her parents about her relationship with Romeo, the Nurse did not help the situation by agreeing to keep the secret for her. Tybalt got into the fight with Mercutio and Romeo which undoubtedly sparked off a new set of unfortunate events. Although Friar Laurence’s intensions were good, he should have thought about the possible outcomes before he suggested the potion to Juliet. However, although all of the characters contributed in some way to the deaths of the two lovers, I believe that the majority of the blame should be pointed at fate. I believe that most of the characters actions were controlled by fate and this is what lead to the tragic ending of the play.
