Friar Lawrence and Juliet made a plan that should have let Romeo and Juliet live happily ever after. However, that is not what happened. The letter that Romeo was supposed to receive never arrived. Therefore, this led Romeo to believe that Juliet was really dead. If Romeo had received the letter, the rest of the story would have changed. Romeo would not have committed suicide and neither would have Juliet. The plan did not work out and that resulted in the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
Part of the plan that was made was for Juliet to take a potion that would make her appear dead. Before she took the potion, she had a number of fears going through her mind. Come, vial. What if this mixture do not work at all? Shall I be married then to-morrow morning? No, no: this shall forbid it: lie thou there. What if it be a poison, which the friar subtly hath minister'd to have me dead, lest in this marriage he should be dishonour'd, because he married me before to Romeo? I fear it is: and yet, me thinks, it should not, for he hath still been tried a holy man. How if, when I am laid into the tomb, I wake before the time that Romeo. Come to redeem me? There's a fearful point! (IV:iii:21-33). In the previous quote, Juliet expresses her concern in taking the potion. A few minutes passed by for her to get over her fears and actually take the potion. Those few minutes could have made her wake up sooner and have prevented Romeo from taking the poison that killed him. This small detail in the play may have saved their lives.
Finally, another small detail could have changed the ending of the story. Romeo was weeping over Juliets body just as she was beginning to come out of the sleeping potion. Thus with a kiss I die. (V:iii:122) Romeo took the poison to kill himself since he thought Juliet was really dead. If he had waited awhile longer, Juliet would have woken up and their lives would have been sparred. A few seconds could have changed the entire story.
The tragic story of Romeo and Juliet resulted from a chain of unlucky events. So, many events may have changed the entire story. The letter and timing of events played an important role in their deaths. Romeo and Juliets death could have been prevented if events in the play had worked out differently. Unfortunately, the love story of Romeo and Juliet did not have a happy ending.
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