Happy endings. What all fairytales and movies usually have in common. It may be true in that instance, but not in real life. Happy endings also are not in one of the most famous pieces of literature in the world. Romeo & Juliet, by William Shakespeare, is about two feuding families, a budding teen romance, and a tragic ending with many twists and turns. Romeo & Juliet exhibits the reality of one’s actions and how their consequences affect their own outcome. Decisions a person chooses to do may result in a consequence with a good or bad aftermath. At the beginning of the play, Sampson sees a few Montagues and plans to insult them and states, "I will bite my thumb at them" (Shakespeare 1.1.38). In the renaissance era, biting your thumb at …show more content…
Friar John gives his excuse to Friar Laurence by stating, "I could not send it- here it is again- nor get a messenger to bring it thee." (Shakespeare 5.2.14-15). During this act, many miscommunications happen. Friar John was supposed to deliver a crucial letter that contained the plan for the two lovebirds to run away together. He could not deliver it which makes the story end fatally. Romeo could have stayed alive and their plane could have followed through if he got the message. Meaning that Friar John influenced Romeo's life. But before that happened, let's talk about how Romeo even got exiled. Mercutio insults Tybalt by saying, "O calm, dishonourable, vile submission!" (Shakespeare 3.1.72). Mercutio fights Tybalt after Romeo refused to do so. Mercutio ends up slain which would have happened if he didn't say those hurtful words. But, Mercutio did choose to fight and start trouble, which all lies in the hands of himself. Romeo becomes furious with Tybalt over the death of Mercutio. "Either thou or I, or both, must go with him." (Shakespeare 3.1.130). Romeo ends up killing Tybalt which buries him in a deep hole that he can not get out of, leading to his exile. It was not Mercutio or Tybalt that caused his terrible choices it was himself. Making one's self as the victim does not solve problems and is usually not right because it all starts with one's own
Romeo was very loyal to his friends and family, and it is possible that Mercutio thought that Romeo would help him fight off Tybalt (since he was unaware of Romeo and Juliet’s secret marriage that somewhat united Romeo and Tybalt). However, this argument is easily deemed invalid. Romeo was not in the town square when the fight had first began, so Mercutio expecting his help in the fight would be a far-fetched idea. A person who is not present cannot help or hinder the situation at hand. In addition, Romeo tried to break up the fight when he said, “Gentlemen, for shame forbear this outrage! Tybalt! Mercutio! The Prince expressly hath forbid this bandying in Verona streets. Hold, Tybalt! Good Mercutio!” (Shakespeare 121). Romeo tried to stop the fight and therefore gave Mercutio more time before death, albeit minimal. The blame cannot be placed on Romeo since he did all that he could to stop the fight from
The Deaths of Romeo and Juliet Was it just one person’s fault, or a mixture? In this essay, I will include many different reasons as to why Romeo and Juliet die. I will explain in detail each point and put forward my own opinions. I will use quotes to back up each point and explain why the historical context is relevant.
As you know, the result was Romeo hearing of Juliet's death, causing his suicide. This, in turn, led to Juliet's suicide. So, as you can see, if Romeo had not held Mercutio back, Mercutio may not have been killed, therefore Romeo would not have killed Tybalt, causing his banishment. If Romeo had not killed Tybalt, Juliet would not have been rushed into marriage, and the Friar would not have been rushed into finding a solution to this marriage. Another example of the change in the outcome of the story is if a particular servant wasn't illiterate.
Also in the beginning of the play a fight breaks out between the Montague and Capulet families and the Prince intervenes and after telling them to drop their weapons he says “If ever you disturb our streets again, your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace.” Although this rule was given Tybalt challenged Romeo to a duel. Romeo kept refusing to fight Tybalt which caused Mercutio to be outraged and draw his own sword. During the duel between Tybalt and Mercutio, Romeo intervenes and tries to stop them both but Tybalt puts his sword under Romeo’s arm and kills Mercutio. Romeo then fights with Tybalt and murders him and is banished from Verona. If Tybalt hadn’t been so aggressive with the whole situation Romeo wouldn’t have been banished, and Juliet wouldn’t have needed to come up with a plan that resulted in both of their deaths.
After Tybalt killed Mercutio and Romeo challenges him to a duel, Romeo demands, “That late thou gavest me, for Mercutio’s soul/ Is but a little way above our heads/ Staying for thine to keep him company/ Either thou or I, or both, must go with him” (Shakespeare Act III scene i, lines 119-123). This quote shows how Romeo’s downfall is partly his fault because he is defying the prince’s command to no longer fight with the Capulets by challenging Tybalt. Since Romeo is aware that he is defying the prince and fighting anyway it is proven he is contributing to his own demise or downfall. When Mercutio is wounded after fighting Tybalt , he cries, “I am hurt/ A plague o’ both your houses!” (Shakespeare Act III scene i, lines 84-85). The excerpt shows how even Mercutio recognizes the feud between the Montagues and Capulets being destructive, and how it is now gotten so out of hand he has been dragged in it. Mercutio tries to open Romeo’s eyes on how if this feud continues there will be a demise for both families; but by Romeo choosing to ignore this advice and killing Tybalt he is setting himself up for his failure/downfall. Thus, Romeo is shown a tragic hero because his demise is partly his fault and not an
Mercutio can be blamed for Romeo and Juliet’s peril because he initiated the fight with Tybalt and forced Romeo to go to the Capulet’s party. At the beginning of the play, Romeo gets invited to the Capulet’s party by a servant, unless he was a Montague. At first, Romeo did not want to go, but Mercutio eventually convinced him under the pretext that Rosaline, Romeo’s love, was going to be there. The next day, Tybalt, a Capulet, went looking for Romeo because he knew that Romeo was at the Capulet party. Instead, he stumbled upon Mercutio and Benvolio and asked them where he could find Romeo. However, Mercutio did not want to tell him and insisted on having a duel. Tybalt killed Mercutio during the fight, and Romeo kills Tybalt because he has the need to avenge his friend. Unfortunately, Prince Escalus punished Romeo by banishing him from Verona. This made Romeo and Juliet’s love
In Romeo and Juliet, the tragic love story, emotion is also surrounded with both the protagonists and brought themselves a tragic ending. Early in the story, Romeo and Juliet made an unacceptable forbidden decision which created a path towards their graves. After knowing themselves as the enemy of their household, the two teenagers yet fall in love with each other. Their idiotic actions of love have brought themselves a road to death at the end. Is unworthy to cost your life by your foolish decision. Furthermore, Romeo made another decision out of momentary anger and caused himself a disastrous problem. After Mercutio's death, out of anger Romeo duel with Tybalt and demands to slay him. After his revenge, he brought a death sentence on himself if he is ever found within the city again.
In society, people have varying opinions on fate. Many question whether life’s events are pre-determined by fate or whether people have a destiny to serve a greater purpose. Fate versus free will is an archaic topic among philosophers that is ultimately up for interpretation.The question on whether or not something else is controlling life’s events or if they are simply a coincidence faces us in some point of our lives. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare plays with the idea of fate and its control on the events in the play. He forces us to realize the destiny between Romeo and Juliet involves the fate between the two opposing households as well. Shakespeare blurs the line between fate and free will in his play Romeo and Juliet to show that the outstanding cause of Romeo and Juliet’s tragedy was not something decided- it was fate. It is evident by the events in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet that fate was the main cause of the tragedy in the play, and that Romeo and Juliet held the destiny to finally end the feud between the Capulets and the Montagues.
Mercutio also caused Romeo to be banished from Verona. Mercutio got into a fight with Tybalt and ended up dead. His death enraged Romeo enough to make him kill Tybalt for revenge. When the Prince saw what happened, he sent Romeo into exile. Romeo's banishment to Mantua made it near impossible for Romeo and Juliet to see each other.
Romeo denies the fate of Mercutio who fought against Tybalt and lost, so he challenges Tybalt to fight in defense of his honor. His sense of honor would not allow himself to ignore the death of Mercutio. It mandated his absurd behavior to take Tybalt’s life which even further separated the Montague and Capulet family. Moreover, Romeo still decides to marry Juliet after he takes Tybalt’s life. His sense of honor leads him to find Father Lawrence who will marry both Juliet
If Romeo had not been banished, Romeo and Juliet would continue living a happy life together. Benvolio witnessed the entire fight, the authorities came, Lady Capulet wants Romeo dead which is completely blowing things out of proportion, and in the end, poor Romeo is banished even though he was defending himself and trying to get justice for his best friend’s heinous death. Lady Capulet states, “Benvolio is part of the Montague family. His loyalties to the Montagues make him tell lies. He’s not telling the truth. There were twenty Montagues fighting in this awful riot, and together those twenty could only kill one man. I demand justice. You, Prince, are the man who can give me justice. Romeo killed Tybalt. Romeo must die” (3.1.153). This proves that because of Tybalt’s actions, Romeo was punished, and unfairly banished from Verona. Only one can imagine what it must feel like to be banished from their love, from their family, from everyone. This fact led to their death. This was not the end of Tybalt’s wrong doings however. He had one more trick up his sleeve, even for being
(Act 2 Shakespeare) He wanted the Capulets and Montagues to reconcile, and believed Romeo and Juliet’s marriage would solve this. The Friar’s intentions were good, but other events were out of his control. He did not foresee Tybalt killing Mercutio and Romeo avenging Mercutio’s death resulting in Romeo’s banishment. When Lord Capulet decided Juliet was to marry Paris, the Friar complicated things more by devising a plan for Juliet to be with Romeo. Again, his plan failed. Romeo acted rashly, killing himself moments before Juliet wakes. When Juliet discovered Romeo, Friar Laurence made another error by leaving her in a suicidal state. Even though many may find fault with the Friar, he is really only guilty of trying to make things better for everyone and bring peace to Verona.
Romeo’s problems arose when he was banished for avenging Mercuito by murdering Tybalt. His decision to murder Tybalt was not entirely thought through. In fact, after Romeo kills the Capulet, he exclaims that he is ‘fortune’s fool’ (73) line 132. Additionally, his banishment certainly contributed to his death because it kept him away from Verona and Juliet. If he hadn’t been banished, he would have been aware of the plan the Friar and Juliet had created.
In Romeo and Juliet, one character who is partly responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet is Tybalt. Tybalt enrages Remeo and causes him to kill Tybalt. In Romeo and Juliet, this brings about Romeo’s exile from Verona. If Romeo had not been exiled from Verona, he would have heard of Friar Lawrence’s plan to keep Juliet from getting married. If he had known of the plan, he would not have gone to the vault and killed himself over what he thought was Juliet’s dead body.
Friar John is culpable for Romeo and Juliet’s demise. Friar John didn’t deliver Juliet’s letter to Romeo informing him of her “death”. This prevailed to Romeo being misinformed and the play having a tragic ending. Another reason to blame Friar John is that he shouldn’t have stayed with the family, he was trusted to deliver the letter, but didn’t do his job. Friar John could have given the letter to someone else and given orders to hand it over to Romeo.