Romeo and Juliet could have acted differently to save themselves from their deaths. They knew that they were from strongly feuding families that would not approve but continued to see each other in secret regardless. Juliet would’ve acted differently is she had known Romeo was a Montague before they met, “My only love sprung from my only hate. Too early seen unknown, and known too late.” (Act 1, Scene 5, 137-138). She fell in love before she knew; if she hadn’t then they would not have carried on and would have defied their destiny. On the other hand, Romeo rushes into whatever his feelings tell him to, and Juliet got caught up in fastness of it all. The first instance of this is when he falls in love with Juliet and within twenty-four hours they are married. It is vital to him, that he stays at the Capulet’s mansion and finds Juliet before leaving as he feels his heart stays with her, “Can I go forward when my heart is here? Turn back, dull earth, and find thy centre out.” (Act 2, Scene 1, 1-2). He must turn back and find the centre of his universe (Juliet), even though he only just met her. He rushes into it and scours their orchard for her. Romeo and Juliet do not play as large a part as fate although Romeo and Juliet’s personalities may have caused them to rush into things as they were too in love to think straight.
Capulet and Montague are equally responsible for the deaths of their children. Each Lord and Lady had authority over their household that could end the feud if they wanted to, but instead chose to keep it going. The Montague family were very concerned about Romeo, “O, where is Romeo? Saw you him today? Right glad I am he was not at this fray” (Act 1, Scene 1, 108-109). Lady Montague was relieved that Romeo was not involved in the fight, and died of grief when he was banished, but if they had been more understanding then Romeo would not have felt he had to keep secrets from them. Capulet’s behaviour affects Juliet in that he thinks he knows what is best for Juliet. He arranges a marriage with Paris as he is rich, powerful and related to the Prince. This brings out his affectionate and protective attitude towards her: she is young, a “stranger in the world” (Act 1, Scene 1, 8). If they listened more to her opinions, they may not have acted so harshly towards her disobedience and tried forcing her to marry Paris. The rejection towards his proposal brought out an angry streak and states that “my fingers itch” (Act 3, Scene 5, 164) implying that he is so angry he wants to hit her. Therefore, the families played a part in the deaths; the Capulet’s did not really know their daughter as well as they should as she was mainly brought up by the Nurse and should have paid more attention to her opinions and wishes. The Montague’s should have been more understanding although both families could have stopped the feud that meant everything had to happen in secret.
Friar Lawrence can also be blamed largely for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. He was their confessor, so also gave them advice and could have persuaded but wasn’t allowed to tell anybody about what he had heard although he also wanted to help them on a personal level. “Holy Saint Francis, what a change is here!” (Act 2, Scene 3, 65), suggesting that he has previously known about Romeo’s life and is surprised over the recent changes that have taken place. The Friar was not keen on marrying them because he knew of the very recent relationship with Rosaline, he only agrees when acting upon his good interests though, “This alliance may so happy prove to turn your household’s rancour to pure love” (Act 2, Scene 3, 91-92). He believed that the marriage may turn the household’s hate into love, even though it was kept in secret. The marriage then caused the deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt as Romeo turned down Tybalt’s challenge due to him now being related through Juliet: “Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee doth much excuse the appertaining rage to such a greeting (Act 3, Scene 1, 58-60) but Mercutio stepped in to defend his honour. Romeo interfered to stop the violence and Mercutio was murdered. Romeo then lashed out and killed Tybalt. The Friar also devised the plan to get Juliet away with Romeo but also to save himself as he could not let Juliet get married to Paris as well as Romeo. The message never reached Romeo and he thought she was dead leading to the deaths. He tried to inform Romeo but he arrived too late to find Romeo dead and Juliet grieving. He tried, unsuccessfully, to persuade Juliet to leave him but Juliet murdered herself and the tragedy took place. Friar Lawrence appeared in many of the events and causes of Romeo and Juliet’s death and could therefore be to blame.
Tybalt, Mercutio and Benvolio take the defensive role of Romeo, Juliet and their families. Mercutio fights to protect Romeos honour when he does not fight Tybalt, Benvolio is Romeo’s cousin and he tries to do the right thing to keep him and Romeo out of trouble. Tybalt could hold the blame as he causes Romeos banishment. He loathes the Montague’s and fights to defend the honour of his family. Tybalt does not like Romeo from the beginning, at the Capulet’s party: “To strike him dead I hold not a sin” (Act 1, Scene 5, 58), considering that he would not hold Romeo’s murder a sin to anyone. He cheats when fighting Mercutio, at an unfair advantage, as Mercutio could have thought the fight was over or could simply not see him. This causes Romeo to murder Tybalt which leads to his banishment. If Romeo had not been banished then there would not have been as many of the complications, although the secret would have had to come out as Juliet would have had to marry Paris otherwise and the feud would have remained. Mercutio is not a member of the feuding families. His blame comes upon the fact he puts “A plague a’both your houses!” (Act 3, Scene 1, 101) which could have lead to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. He also believes the feud has caused his death claiming that “They have made worms’ meat of me.” (Act 3, Scene 1, 102).
The Nurse is the equal to Friar Lawrence on Juliet’s side and plays the role of the comical figure. Even though she is so close to Juliet she can still be blamed for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. From the beginning, she never disagrees or tries to persuade Juliet away from Romeo and encourages Juliet’s romantic ideas but she did not have a choice as Juliet was the boss. “I am the drudge and toll in your delight” (Act 2, Scene 5, 74). The Nurse also carried messages and helped the lovers meet and get secretly married. Juliet exclaimed “O honey Nurse, what news?” (Act 2, Scene 5, 18) waiting for information from Romeo through the Nurse. She could have changed the outcome, had she behaved differently and not encouraged Juliet and Romeo to meet again. When Romeo is banished and Lord Capulet hastens the marriage between Juliet and Paris, the Nurse turns her back on Juliet; partly due to pressure from her parents. “Ancient damnation! O most wicked fiend!” (Act 3, Scene 5, 236), Juliet thinks it must be a worst sin for her to break her vows than the Nurse saying bad things about her husband and declares to never share her feelings with the Nurse from then on. It could also be argued that she did not know any better anyway as she was brought up in lower class so poorly educated.
In conclusion, there are a number of people to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Fate, Romeo and Juliet themselves, Capulet and Montague, Friar Lawrence, Tybalt, Mercutio, Benvolio and the Nurse are all jointly responsible for the tragedy. In my opinion, I consider fate to be most to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. I do not think that the tragedy was the cause of any person or one individual even though there are reasons against people to suggest otherwise. In the prologue, it states that Romeo and Juliet will die and this is before any person has taken any action that could cause the death. I believe that it was fate that they met, fell in love and continued the secret relationship and marriage. I also think that it was down to bad luck that the letter that could have saved them both did, and could not, arrive in time. Therefore, fate is the most to blame for the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
