Examples Of Who Is Responsible For The Death Of Romeo And Juliet Essay

Who (or whom) are Responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s Deaths?

Romeo and Juliet, the famous Shakespearean play, follows the lives of Romeo and Juliet, two star-crossed lovers from Verona whose parent’s strife lead to their heartbreaking and premature deaths. Or so they claim. Many critics of the book say that other people in the play influenced Romeo and Juliet to make the decisions they did. Some suppose that it was the Nurse and her atrocious guidance to Juliet that led them to rush the marriage and then rebel against her parents’ demands by feigning her death after being forced to marry the Count Paris. Others blame it on Tybalt for igniting the flames of the feud by murdering Mercutio, which caused Romeo in blind rage to kill him and as a result got Romeo banished from Verona. However, I believe that the true culprit of the crime was the loyal Friar Lawrence. In the story, Friar Lawrence

In the story, the Friar says, “...For this alliance may so happy prove, to turn your households' rancor to pure love (2.3.90-93). This quote shows how Friar Lawrence selfishly allowed the two lovebirds to be married just so that he could solve a petty feud. Regardless of how little time they had together (only about 2 hours), the Friar relented to the passionate and aggressive Romeo. As a result, the battle between Mercutio and Tybalt results in Mercutio’s death as Romeo steps in to try and protect the two, one his dear friend and the other was his relative. This results in Romeo acting out and killing Tybalt. Another case as to why Friar Lawrence is responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s demises is