Caitlin Louder English I H Bohon 8 March 2024 The Truth Behind the Tragedy In The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, the downfall of the young lovers is often attributed to fate and is viewed as a tragedy written in the stars. However, by looking closer at the play, it is simple to see the true reason behind their deaths. The tragic demise of Romeo and Juliet was caused by the actions of the people around them, including Mercutio, Lord Capulet, and Friar Lawrence. For instance, the actions of Mercutio helped bring about the downfall of the two lovers by spurring on some of the key events of the story. Firstly, he played a large role in convincing Romeo to attend the Capulet ball. In the play, Romeo says that he does not wish to go to the party and Mercutio replies, “Tut! …show more content…
If thou art Dun, we’ll draw thee from the mire Of this sir-reverence love, wherein thou stickest Up to the ears. Come, we burn daylight, ho!” (Iv.40-43). After this, Romeo caves to Mercutio’s pressure, agreeing to go to the party despite having a bad feeling about it. But if he had listened to his gut feeling and not gone, then he would not have met Juliet under these circumstances and he wouldn’t have brought about their deaths by falling in love with her. Further in the play, in the beginning of Act III, Tybalt approaches Romeo with a confrontation in mind, and while Romeo backs away from the fight, Mercutio states, "O calm, dishonorable, vile submission! Alla Stochastica carries it away. Tybalt, you ratcatcher, will you walk?” (III.i.70-72). Essentially, Mercutio views Romeo backing off from the fight as weak and then challenges Tybalt to a duel. As a result of this, Tybalt kills Mercutio and Romeo slays Tybalt in revenge. Without Mercutio beginning this chain of events, Romeo would not have killed Tybalt and been banished, which caused major problems for him and Juliet later