Romeo And Juliet Who Is To Blame Essay

Ally Krzeczkowski

Mrs. Zupec

E116-4

20 March 2014

Who's to Blame?

Who is the most to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet? In William Shakespeare's play, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, Friar Lawrence gives Juliet a fake poison and when she takes it, she goes into a deep sleep that makes her appear dead. Juliet is then buried in her family's tomb and when Romeo goes to the tomb, he drinks actual poison and kills himself because he cannot bear to be without Juliet. After he dies, Juliet wakes up and sees that Romeo is dead so she stabs herself to death. Friar Lawrence is the one who caused all of this. Friar Lawrence makes three mistakes in this play. His first is when he marries Romeo and Juliet because they came from two feuding families. His second mistake is when he gives Juliet the fake poison to make her look dead. Finally, the friar gives the letter about "the fake death plan" to Friar John when he should have delivered it himself. Despite any other "at fault" characters in Romeo and Juliet, Friar Lawrence is the most responsible for the tragic events that occur in the play because of his miscommunication, dishonesty and poor decision making.

Beginning with Friar Lawrence's first mistake, he marries Romeo and Juliet not knowing that it would create a controversy. When Friar Lawrence marries Romeo and Juliet, no one knows and there is no parental consent. By not telling anyone, Romeo and Juliet are put in danger because of this secret. Friar Lawrence noted, "But come, young waverer, come, go with me,/ in one respect I'll thy assistant be" (2.3.89-90). In saying this, the friar helps them with their secret wedding. If others knew about this, then they would be able to help Romeo and Juliet during their t...

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The deaths of Romeo and Juliet occur because of the crucial mistakes that Friar Lawrence makes. Friar Lawrence mishandles the situation by marrying the young couple that should not have been together. In addition, he has Juliet take his homemade concoction which ultimately leads to Romeo's and Juliet's actual deaths. Finally, he has a quarantined friar try to deliver a letter to Romeo about a secret plan that had been created by Juliet and him. Even though Friar Lawrence has good intentions and was just trying to help Romeo and Juliet, he ends up creating a huge problem that kills the young couple and devastates their families with sadness. The consequences far outweigh the good intentions. But, sometimes the people who are thought to be knowledgeable and trustworthy may turn out to be irresponsible and poor decision makers.