Tybalt, a hot-tempered enemy of the Montague’s, changed the course of events by provoking Romeo to fight, which late led to Mercutio’s and Tybalt’s death and Romeo’s banishment. If he wasn’t banished the couple could have worked out a safer and more simple plan, which could have averted their deaths. I also don’t think he could be blamed for the tragedy. Romeo came to the masquerade uninvited and knew if he were spotted there would be trouble. Tybalt, being a hot-tempered person got angry with Romeo and started trouble, even though Romeo meant no harm. They would blame each other for the fight, which led to Tybalt and Mercutio’s deaths and Romeo’s banishment.
The Nurse, Juliet’s servant who was like a mother to her, changed the course of events by going behind Lady and Lord Capulet’s backs and agreeing to get the couple married. If she didn’t act, as the messenger the marriage may not have taken place and the deaths could again be avoided. The Nurse also gave Juliet romantic ideas, and allowed secret meetings of the couple to take place. I think this a major factor that affected the speed at which the couple fell in love and how their love grew, until they would risk their lives to see each other.
The Nurse is also a very silly person and says silly things. She advises Juliet to marry Paris, knowing that Juliet is already married to Romeo: ‘I think it best you married with the County’. If Juliet went ahead with the Nurse’s idea she would have committed bigamy, which is a big sin and in those days would be regarded as shameful and disrespectful. This also shows that she doesn’t think about what she says or does. She, like Romeo and Juliet, rushes things and doesn’t into account of the long-term and short-term consequences. The Nurse also goes on to say how Paris is a better husband than Romeo, which is ironic as she is the one who agreed to Romeo and Juliet’s marriage. This also emphasises the fact that she doesn’t think about what she says. It could also be the fact that she has realised the fact that she had done something wrong and wants to put it right. I wouldn’t blame her for the tragedy but she does play a big role in it, along with the Friar. She shares the early secrets with the Friar but is not involved in the final plan, which leads to the couple’s death and therefore can only be held partially responsible in my opinion.
Friar Laurence, Romeo’s friend, changed the course of events by agreeing to the couple’s marriage and assisting Juliet in her plan to avoid getting married to Paris and reunite with Romeo. He claimed that he saw a vision of the families making peace if Romeo and Juliet got married, but this wasn’t to be, as no one apart from the Nurse and the Friar knew about it. If the Friar had not offered his help to Juliet and if she didn’t take his advice, the deaths could have been averted, although Juliet may commit suicide as she threatened to do so.
The Friar also didn’t think carefully about his plans as he also rushed them and never thought about the consequences. He wasn’t also too confident about his plans: ‘this alliance may so happy prove’. He had good goof intentions but his badly thought plan backfired, which led to Romeo and Juliet’s deaths.
Juliet is also partly to blame as she also goes along with the Friar’s plans. She agrees to them because she is distressed and is looking for any way out of her arranged marriage with Paris. ‘Give me, give me, give me!’ This shows Juliet’s desperation and how badly she wants to get out of this problem. She could be partly to blame as she, herself, doesn’t think of the consequences. Romeo and Juliet also persuade the Friar in making quick decisions. He is made to make a decision in less than one day about their marriage. In the end, I think the Friar gets too involved and he feels it is up to him to make sure everything goes according to plan and is made to make risky plans on order to achieve this.
Because of all his far-fetched plans and ideas, it makes him one of the, if not the most, characters to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. It was his idea, which led to their deaths and therefore he carries some responsibility. If he didn’t go behind the families’ backs and helped Romeo and Juliet get together, there would still be a chance that they would have survived and because of this I think he is the most to blame. The Friar is the brain behind all the badly thought out plans including the last one, which goes miserably wrong and leads to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
Romeo and Juliet, themselves, changed the course of events and they could both be held, in some way, responsible for their own deaths. They both done things too hastily and also didn’t think about their actions and plans. This attitude later led to their deaths. Romeo shouldn’t have married Juliet so quickly and should have thought more carefully when he returned to Verona. He acted violently against Tybalt and later Paris, he could have avoided his banishment, Tybalt’s and Paris’s deaths. However, I think he was influenced a great deal by the Friar and what Mercutio and Benvolio had said prior the masquerade. He also says that he is no longer going go to let fate control his actions. Romeo, like most of the other characters, rushes his decision and does whatever comes in to his mind, without giving it thought.
Juliet shouldn’t have gone against her parent’s will and like Romeo, rushed in to marriage. She also went along with whatever the Friar had planned, without thinking about it and deciding for herself whether it would be wise or not. This is because she is distressed and I would imagine a Friar to be a reliable and honest person. Her servant and carer, the Nurse, also influenced her. Juliet was also forced in to saying yes to Paris as her dad, Lord Capulet, physically hit her. In those days it was regarded as disrespectful to go against your parent’s will or to run away with an unknown man. Just before Juliet kills herself, the Friar says: ‘A greater power than we can contradict’. The ‘greater power’ being fate, which is controlled by God. This also suggests the fact that Shakespeare also wants us to blame fate. Fate crops up several times during the play and some characters, like Romeo, blame certain events on the stars or fate rather than an individual.
However, I don’t think Romeo or Juliet can be blamed for the tragedy as other characters such as the Friar and the Nurse heavily influenced them both. The plans were not thought out carefully and because of this they didn’t work. Romeo and Juliet themselves didn’t think about the plans and done whatever they were told to do or what ever they thought was right.
The Prince could also be blamed for the tragedy, as he was the ruler of Verona and the person in charge. It is hid responsibility to stop violence on his land and to take the appropriate measures to stop the feuding. He should have taken harsher means of punishment and should have done more on making peace between the two families. However, I don’t think he can be blamed because I think he done what he thought was appropriate and the right thing to do. You can’t blame him if the punishments weren’t effective and the loss of lives continued. Although in the end peace is made between the families.
The two families can also be blamed for the tragedy. The parents should have been more mature and should have dealt with violence in a more civilised way. If the families had made peace, Romeo and Juliet could have made their love more public and got married properly with their parents consent. They wouldn’t have to go behind their parent’s backs and do everything secretly, which eventually led to their deaths. The Capulets forced Juliet in to agreeing to get married to Paris. Lord Capulet is especially angry: ‘Thank me no thankings, nor proud me no prouds’. I think the Capulets should have given Juliet choice and should have gone easy on her. The parents are partially to blame because what their children do is under their responsibility, although the Nurse and the Friar go behind their backs. They should be more civilised about the situation, which could have averted their deaths.
I think Shakespeare wants us to blame fate as he has mentioned it several times during the play. When this play was written a lot of people believed in stars as opposed to now. Shakespeare makes the characters blame fate for the all the misfortune that takes place, like Romeo blaming the stars when he killed Tybalt. This strongly indicates the fact that Shakespeare believes in fate and also wants us to blame fate for the tragedy. Even though there is a lot of evidence from of the text that fate is to blame, I think it’s the actions of a mixture of characters, the main one being the Friar.
In conclusion I think the main character to blame for the tragedy is Friar Laurence. It was his help and plans, which led to all the trouble and later to the couple’s death, but Shakespeare wants us to blame fate. I don’t agree with him, maybe because nowadays most people tend not to believe in stars. If we blame fate for the tragedy than it would only be sensible to assume that the actions of all the characters were also fated (destined) and therefore I don’t think fate was to blame.
