Adelyn Hamblet Honors English 9 Mrs. May 28 March 2024 The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet: Who is to Blame? The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet has the plot of the play in the title. It is a tragedy, a tragedy. The play is about a young couple named Romeo and Juliet, and their feuding families. Romeo and Juliet enter a forbidden romance, ultimately ending in demise. A question has arisen over time, and nobody has been able to agree on an answer: Who is responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet? There are no right or wrong answers, but there are definitely factors that contribute more to it than others, such as Juliet's husband, Romeo. Romeo is to blame for the death of himself and his wife. What exactly makes this true, though? To justify the …show more content…
Romeo comes along and tries to get between them, but Tybalt stabs Mercutio, and Romeo decides to get revenge. He kills Juliet's cousin, and ends up being exiled by the prince. He leaves Verona and heads to the city of Mantua, leaving Juliet behind and in pieces. When he sees Tybalt kill his friend, he says “This day's fate on more days doth depend; this but begins the woe others must end” (3.1.117-118). After stabbing Tybalt he then states, “O, I am a fortune fool!” (3.1.135). Romeo does not take account of his actions, but instead calls it fate. Almost like he was meant to kill his brother-in-law. The Capulets and Montagues meet at the prince's castle, and the prince decides Romeo should be exiled for his actions. The Prince of Verona says, “And for that offense immediately we exile him hence” (3.1.184-185). Benvolio, Romeo's cousin, warned him that if he did go after Tybalt, he would be killed, but he did it anyway not thinking about Juliet and how it would affect her. Romeo never considered his actions, and how it would affect those around him. He instead left his wife behind, making her unsafe and …show more content…
She saw that her husband was dead, and decided to kill herself too, so she could be in Heaven with him. He enters her tomb, lays on her slab, and drinks the vial he was given by the apothecary. Romeo exclaims, “Here's to my love. O true apothecary, thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die” (5.3.119-120). Juliet then wakes up, and the friar tries to comfort her, but nothing seems to help. She takes his dagger and says, “Haply some poison yet doth hang on them to make me die with a restorative. Thy lips are warm” (5.3.116-118). Shakespeare writes “[she stabs herself]” (5.3. stage direction). The death of her love took such a toll on her, she felt there was nothing left to live for, and wanted to lay in peace with him. To sum it up, if Romeo had not killed himself, Juliet wouldn't have either. His rash decision was the reason for his departure from life. The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet has many contributions to the death of the main lovers, but Romeo Montague was the biggest contribution of them all. He went to her balcony and took advantage of her, he got himself exiled and left his wife behind, and thirdly, Romeo killed himself, therefore making Juliet kill herself