Preview

Who was to blame for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1441 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Who was to blame for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet?
Blame for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet can be pointed in several different directions. Not only characters were accountable for the calamity. Three main non-human contributors to the tragedy were fate, impulsiveness, and time. Fate played a part in Romeo's banishment from Mantua. His absence from the scene set a clear path for Paris to pursue his love interest. Romeo's impulsive behaviour guided him to make the decision to end his life after hearing the news of Juliet's death. Time was sped up when Old Capulet decided to bring Juliet's wedding forward a day. All these points were main contributors towards the tragedy in Romeo and Juliet.

Many of the misfortunes that occur during the play are blamed on fate, chance, coincidence, and luck. The lovers may not have met if it was not for coincidence. An illiterate servant stumbled upon Romeo asking him to read an invitation. "What names the writing person hath here writ. . .I must to the learned" (Iii 42-43). Luckily enough it happened to be an invitation to the Capulet ball. This brought forward the quick dismissal of Rosaline, Romeo's past love interest, and the introduction of Juliet, the "rich jewel" (Iv 45). Romeo's presence at the ball brought up conflict with Tybalt, who quickly recognised him as the enemy. His pride was wounded when his uncle told him that Romeo "shall be endur'd!" (Iv 76). This provoked a duel between the two. "I hate hell, all Montagues and thee" (Ii 65). It was only by chance Mercutio was killed under Romeo's arm. Tybalt had intended to kill Romeo. Romeo didn't want to fight Tybalt as they were now cousins. "(I) love thee better than thou canst devise" (IIIi 66). Mercutio blamed Romeo for coming between them. "Why the dev'l came you between us" (IIIi 98). However Romeo blamed fate for the incidents, declaring "I am fortune's fool" (IIIi 132). Fate was held responsible for both the love and deaths that occurred in Romeo and Juliet.

The impulsiveness of some of the characters also affected

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The first to blame for the young couples death is the Nurse, a trusted family servant to the Capulets. The Nurse had made minor problems but she was surely involved with this catastrophe. Romeo and his friends have decided to go to the Capulet's party in masks because Rosaline was invited. It took a turn when Romeo met Juliet. They had instantly fallen in love, and then found out they are from rival families. They had loved each other so much, that at a point, they knew they were determined for each other and chose to get united. Romeo met with Friar Laurence to arrange the wedding, and Juliet got her nurse to be a messenger. The Nurse met Romeo, and they secretly arranged to get Juliet via Friar Laurence. Juliet waited for the Nurse to come…

    • 533 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In William Shakespeare’s play Romeo & Juliet we look at two star-crossed lovers, from opposite sides of an ancient grudge in the town of Verona and their struggle between fate and freewill. Shakespeare deliberately creates characters that can be held accountable for the tragic deaths of the central roles. Their untimely demise can be attributed to four contributing factors: The poor advice of Friar Lawrence and the Nurse, the two feuding households, the impulsive behaviour of our chief protagonists and the cruel bitter irony of fortune.…

    • 837 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The story Romeo and Juliet is a story about two crossed lovers who were killed by someone else's mistakes. At the end of the story, Juliet drank a potion in which would “kill” her for 42 hours. Friar said that he would deliver a note to Romeo saying that Juliet would wake up and she would be fine. Friar was unable to deliver that note because the black plague was going around and he was not able to enter Mantua, therefore Friar was to blame for their deaths.…

    • 559 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Not including Romeo or Juliet, the whole Montague and Capulet family is to blame. If Lord Capulet had not made Juliet marry Paris like it says here,”Marry, My child, early next Thursday morn/The gallant, young, and noble gentleman,/The County Paris…”(3.5.112-114), then she would not have bought the poison so she could fake her death and be with Romeo. If their families had not started the feud, then Romeo could have married Juliet without any affairs in the way and no one would have been killed. Mercutio would be alive because Tybalt would not have detested the Montagues. Tybalt would be alive because Romeo would not have been angry with him for killing his best friend, Mercutio. Paris would also be alive because he would not have fought with Romeo at the tomb of Juliet.…

    • 535 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Who can be blamed for the tragedy that is Romeo and Juliet. The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, a classic tragedy written by William Shakespeare. The main characters of this tragedy are Romeo, Benvolio, Capulet, Lady Capulet, Juliet, the Nurse to Juliet, Friar Lawrence, Tybalt, and Mercutio. A young lady, and a young man fall in love when they meet, but due to the families that they belong to, and because of a feud between their families, they are kept apart against their will.…

    • 546 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I don't believe any person or occurrence is to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. I think the combination of fate, history, circumstance, and personality were what killed them. In terms of history and circumstance we must remember that marriages were arranged back in the sixteenth century. This is a really important point to consider because the lovers rebel against their custom. In my opinion this is a major cause of their deaths.…

    • 525 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Fate and the family feud are what should be blamed for Romeo and Juliet’s deaths. Some people blame Tybalt because he started the fight that got Romeo banished in the first place. They are wrong because it was the feud that caused him to hate the Montagues and fate him to start the fight. If the families did not have a feud then Tybalt would have not hated the Montagues and because of that he…

    • 619 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The final reason that fate was to blame for Romeos and Juliets death was the feud between the two families. The families didn't really know why they were in a feud but it made romeo and juliet more determined to make the relationship work, even if it killed them. (Act 1,2,3,4)So by fate putting the feud between the families it cause the Romeo to have to meet his Juliet secretly and a risk was always involved.…

    • 395 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Human nature has a tendency to search for a culprit after a disaster; one who has read The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare may use such behavior to understand the happenings in the play. Romeo and Juliet is a play centered around the quest of two lovers in the city of Verona on their adventure of finding love. Alas, the love Romeo and Juliet share is one that is forbidden, due to the feud between their two families: the Montagues and the Capulets. Through their rebellious determination, the adolescent lovers do everything they can to gain freedom for their love. However, despite their efforts, these two youngsters end up committing suicide at the end of the play due to a series of unfortunate events. This tragic and abrupt…

    • 1154 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Six deaths in less than a week. There were many tragedies in the play The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. In the story, the main characters Romeo and Juliet take their lives as ‘star-crossed lovers’, along with many other deaths such as Mercuttio, Tybalt, Lady Montague, and Paris. The story begins in Verona Italy with the feud between Montagues and Capulets. The story then goes into detail about the feud and introduces Juliet to Romeo. As the story continues, Romeo and Juliet are wed and many deaths occur. Romeo is exiled and runs away to Mantua. Romeo returns to find Juliet ‘dead’ from a sleeping potion and takes his own life to be with her. Juliet awakens from her spell to find Romeo dead beside her, and takes her own life in response. In the end the families, both with losses, end their feud and make statues of the other’s child in honor. Since the release of the play, many people have wondered: who is most at fault for the tragedy that is Romeo and Juliet. Some blame Balthazar, other blame Romeo or Juliet themselves. The evidence reveals that the families are at fault for their own losses, because the families have brought nothing but anger, grief, and mischief to Verona.…

    • 622 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    What would happen if two star-crossed lovers dared to go against their parents’ wishes and tempted fate? At what price would they pay, for the price of love? William Shakespeare brought those questions to life in the story of The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. There are many characters to blame for the deaths of the star-crossed lovers, however, there are three that are found more responsible than the others. Romeo and Juliet are deemed responsible for their untimely deaths while the Friar is held accountable for encouraging their unjustly marriage. The three of them; Romeo, Juliet, and Friar Lawrence, are to blame for their irrational and impulsive behavior.…

    • 794 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet tells a tragedy of two “star-crossed” lovers. The two lovers death may have left people questioning who is to blame? So, who is to blame? Many characters could be at fault for the deaths but the following are highlighted: Lord Capulet, Lady Capulet, and Fate. “To go with Paris to Saint Peters Church, or I will drag thee on a hurdle thither.…

    • 420 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In my opinion I think that there is a lot of people to blem for Romeo and Juliet's death. One of the people that we should blem for Romeo and juliet’s death is themselves. Romeo and juliet didn't think of themselves or their beautiful future and even their families. When Romeo killed himself just for one minute he should have think of his mother, father or his family, his friend, his life without Juliet. When Juliet killed herself what she should have done in my opinion is to take one minute think of her mother even if she is not nice to her or she should have thing of the nurse or not all of these but of her future. Romeo and juliet and teenage and they are very emotional. In my opinion I think we would’d only blem Romeo and Juliet themselves because there are some people that make them make that decision. Like their families and or Friar Lorens.…

    • 518 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Juliet cries and wails in despair when she sees the love of her life dead on the floor. Juliet’s blood runs cold with sadness and she soon becomes to quake in agony. A life without Romeo isn’t worth it, she thinks. Soon after, with a blade, she seals her fate as Romeo did. In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, this tragedy was the greatest of them all. Two star-crossed lovers took their lives to avoid living without each other. If it were not for Romeo being impulsive with love, him slaying Tybalt, and him drinking the poison, both Juliet and he wouldn’t have died so tragically. Romeo is to blame for his own death and Juliet’s death as well. Henceforth, Romeo is to blame for the famous tragedy.…

    • 1037 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.” This quote from Julius Caesar can correlate to the play The Tragedy Romeo and Juliet, also written by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare is a magnificent writer who writes about a complex character named Romeo. Romeo believes that we do not make our own fate, yet the stars show our unchangeable destiny. Later, in this play Romeo falls in love with his family's greatest enemy, Juliet Capulet. Although the two can never be together, the get married, but their fate shows a tragic ending of their story.…

    • 127 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays