Who Is Responsible For The Deaths Of Romeo And Juliet Essay

“Romeo and Juliet”, a play written by William Shakespeare, is a story of the relationship of two youth. The two youth from opposing families, Romeo and Juliet, rush into an immature love relationship with one another. Possibly due to their tragic flaws, their story ends in tragedy. Although this may prove true, many other characters may have unintentionally impacted the outcome of these two lovers’ association. One major character who unintentionally may have caused the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet is Friar Laurence. For example, Friar Laurence married Romeo and Juliet to one another. He admits,”…Romeo, there dead, was husband to that Juliet; and she, there dead, that Romeo’s faithful wife. I married them…” This proves that Friar Laurence

For example, Tybalt killed Mercutio, which led to Romeo slaying Tybalt. This act steered Romeo and Juliet down a road of misfortune. Romeo was banished because of how infuriated he was after Tybalt slayed Mercutio and for fighting back. Romeo expresses his anger when he states,” Ha, banishment? Be merciful, say ‘death’; for exile hath more terror in his look, much more than death. Do not say ‘banishment.’” This proves that Romeo would rather be killed than banished for his crime of slaying Tybalt. In addition, this shows that had Tybalt not killed Mercutio, Romeo would not have avenged Mercutio’s death and been banished. If Romeo hadn’t been banished, a long course of obstacles would have been avoided for Romeo and Juliet. Another instance where Tybalt may have incidentally affected Romeo and Juliet’s future with another was when Tybalt spotted Romeo at the Capulet’s feast. Tybalt explains how he feels that Romeo dared come to their party:” This by voice, should be a Montague. Fetch me my rapier, boy. What dares the slave come hither, covered with an antic face, to fleer and scorn at our solemnity?” This suggests that because Tybalt discovered Romeo sneaking around at the party, he challenged Romeo to a duel which over time led to Romeo’s banishment. This also shows us that had Tybalt not seen Romeo at the party, Romeo and Juliet would have more easily escaped many of

For example, Paris’ love for Juliet and his want for Juliet’s hand in marriage created a large obstacle for Romeo and Juliet. An example of this is when he informs Capulet, “Younger than she are happy mothers made.” This shows that Paris wants to marry Juliet and is madly in love with her. This will prove to be a large obstacle in the near future for Romeo and Juliet. Another example of how Paris incidentally affected Romeo and Juliet’s relationship is when he negotiated with Capulet and received permission to be married to Juliet. This is stated when Paris and Capulet are discussing Juliet’s marriage with one another,”…Acquaint her here of my son Paris’ love and bid her (mark you me?) on…a Thursday let it be- a Thursday, tell her…” This caused difficulties for Romeo and Juliet with Paris wanting to marry Juliet. This also forced Friar Laurence and Juliet to scramble to come up with an effective plan which in the end proved to be a complete failure and sealed Romeo and Juliet’s fate: death. To close, I would argue Paris played a large yet hidden role in the demise of Romeo and