Indirect Death in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

"From forth the fatal loins of these two foes

A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;"

I don't agree with the quotation above because I think the tragic

deaths of both Romeo and Juliet are caused by human decision. It is an

indirect result of the decisions and actions of several characters. For

example, Romeo decides to go to Capulet's party where he meets Juliet.

Later on, Romeo and Juliet decide to get married which is another wrong

decision in the story. Moreover, Friar Laurence agrees to marry the two

secretly which is also a cause for their deaths. In this essay we will

discuss how the deaths of both Romeo and Juliet are caused by the poor

decisions of each of the above characters. When Romeo decides to go to

the Capulet's party, he has already set the stage for his death. If he

didn't go to the party, he wouldn't meet Juliet and the whole story

would never happen. You may argue that it is fate for Romeo to meet the

servant who let him know about the party. However, Romeo still holds

the final decision. He may decide not to go! Moreover, on the way he

goes to Capulet's party, he suddenly feels that he will die young as a

result of attending the party. He has the ill omen but he still

decides to attend the party. Therefore it is caused by human decision

which leads to the deaths of the lovers Romeo and Juliet. When Romeo

and Juliet decide to get married, they too are bringing their suicides

closer to being reality. They each fall in love with the looks of the

other. It is love at first sight. They both know that neither of their

families will accept that they love someone from the other family.

However they still decide to marry secretly. Obviously it is another

wrong human decision. It is clear for them to see how impossible their

love is. If they could be more clear-headed, they would think about it

carefully and wouldn't decide to fall in love. Their impetuous

decision causes the tragedy. No less at fault for the deaths of the

lovers than themselves is Friar Lawrence. At the time that Romeo asks

him to marry he and Juliet, he agrees to, thinking that he can marry

the two then and announce it to the families later. He hopes that this

will end the feud between the families. However when Romeo is exiled,

this is no longer an option. Then he makes up another plan that allows

Romeo to take Juliet to Mantua.