Lawrence To Blame For The Deaths Of Romeo And Juliet Research Paper

Consequences for Love in Romeo and Juliet
In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, who is responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet? Friar Lawrence could be to blame for his part in the two lovers' marriage. Even Romeo and Juliet’s parents could be to blame for their feuding. Could it also be the young lovers' faults themselves? Could a number of these people be to blame? If so, how could they be held accountable for the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet?
How can Friar Lawrence be to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet? A way that Friar Lawrence could be to blame for the deaths could be when he first married Romeo and Juliet. Friar Lawrence knew when he was marrying Romeo and Juliet that it would have consequences. He makes this clear to

The Montague and Capulet family feud made Romeo and Juliet believe they could not tell anyone about their marriage. The Capulets and Montagues were always at each other’s throats. An example of this was when the servants of both families were starting trouble with one another (Shakespeare I.1.36-50). The servants begin to argue, and this leads to Prince Escalus explaining how three fights have happened in the past. The Prince decides to put a stop to these fights by stating, “If ever you disturb our streets again / Your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace.” (Shakespeare I.1.85-93). In these lines, the Prince is stating that if anyone from these families fights with one another, they will pay with their lives. Another instance where the Capulet family may have caused the deaths would be when Lord and Lady Capulet tried to force Juliet into a marriage with County Paris. This conclusion can be drawn when Lord Capulet threatens to disown Juliet if she doesn’t marry Paris, Juliet then goes to visit Friar Lawrence (Shakespeare IV.****). Juliet then becomes so desperate to not marry Paris that she takes the liquor the Friar offers her to fake her death (Shakespeare IV.1.121-125). In these lines, Friar Lawrence explains what will happen once Juliet drinks this liquor. Friar Lawrence states, “No warmth, no breath, shall testify thou livest; / The roses in thy lips and

From the time Romeo and Juliet meet to their deaths, there are a great many misunderstandings and disappointments. When Romeo and Juliet met at the Capulet party, they were unaware of each other being related to their family’s enemy. Once they became aware of one another’s relations, they were already too in love with each other to stay away (Shakespeare I.5.135-140). They then still continued to see one another. This would be where the lovers could be to blame. Later on, when the two decide they will get married, Friar Lawrence also attempts to warn Romeo and Juliet. The Friar tries to warn the two when he states, “These violent delights have violent ends” (Shakespeare II.6.9). In this line he is trying to explain to the two how marriage may seem like a good idea now but will have consequences later. Despite this warning, Romeo and Juliet continue on with their marriage. The two lovers also act hastily throughout the play. One of these times is when Romeo quickly decides he will kill himself since he has heard of Juliet’s death (Shakespeare V.1.34-57). Since Romeo acts so rashly, he does not know that Juliet is still alive. After discovering Romeo has killed himself, Juliet then kills herself due to Romeo's death. All of these actions could have been prevented if the lovers had just given more thought to their