Essay Who Was Responsible For The Deaths Of Romeo And Juliet

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All of the tragedy of William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" seems senseless and easily avoidable. There is a lot of blame to assign for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. These two characters made some terrible decisions that led to their demise but they are not solely to blame. The hatred between their families forced them into secrecy, greatly contributing to the conditions that led to their death. However, the person most responsible was Friar Lawrence who not only helped them hide everything, but also had the most opportunity to prevent them from killing themselves.

Romeo and Juliet are partially responsible for their own deaths. Their suicides are not out of character, as their expressions of love were often irrational even before they killed themselves. As Juliet says in Act III, Scene ii, "Give me my Romeo, and, when I shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars, and he will make the face of heaven so fine that
His guilt is more for lack of action than any action, but he is guilty nonetheless. He, alone, could have prevented them from killing themselves. As a stand-in for their parents, he could have refused to marry them in the first place. He could have informed their parents that he was marrying them. In fact, he seems to know that the marriage might be ill-conceived, and even deadly, when he says of their marriage in Act II, scene vi, "These violent delights have violent ends and in their triumph die, like fire and powder." He could have refrained from giving Juliet the idea to fake her own death, let alone the poison to do it. He could have given his plan a better chance of working by making sure Romeo knew Juliet was not dead. When Juliet awoke and found Romeo dead, he could have stayed with her instead of leaving when he heard the guards coming. Any one of these things could have saved either or both of their

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