The Blame for the Deaths of Romeo and Juliet

The Blame for the Deaths of Romeo and Juliet

Introduction

Romeo and Juliet the ‘star crossed lovers’ seem to be doomed the first

day they meet each other. The play concludes with Romeo and Juliet

taking their lives just days after meeting. Shakespeare closely

tangles the play so every character and event plays an important role

in the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.

Families

To begin, the most apparent factor in the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

is the ‘ancient grudge’ between the two families to which they belong:

The Capulets and The Montague’s. ‘Two households both alike in

dignity.’ It is noticeable to the audience that everybody is involved

from beginning to end, ‘Do you bite your thumb at us sir.’ The

servants take offence when someone from the Capulet house insults

them. This demonstrates that they just want to fight. The feud between

the two families result in Romeo and Juliet’s romance remaining secret

so cause Romeo’s quick decision making for them to get married. Also

Tybalt says ‘peace, I hate the word,’ this shows that all he wants to

do in his life is fight, so if there was no feud between The Montagues

and The Capulets Romeo wouldn’t have killed Tybalt in ‘fire eyed fury’

and ended up being banished eventually leading to the death of Romeo

and Juliet.

NURSE

Another obvious contributing factor to the death of Romeo and Juliet

is The Nurse. She has good intentions but doesn’t think about the

consequences. The Nurse is keen for Juliet to marry as she has

breast-fed her as a baby, she hopes that she ‘might live to see thee

(Juliet) married once, and I have my wish.’ It is partly this

judgement that she ...

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... blamed. The conflicts

between the two families all start with a period of insults thought

out to injure the others pride and damage their honour Tybalt is a

major contributor to the atmosphere to the beginning of the play and

his contribution carries on over the whole play even though he may not

be there in body. The first time we meet Tybalt is in Act 1, Scene 1.

He enters with his sword drawn and tells Benvolio, both friend and

cousin of Romeo, to "turn thee...Look upon thy death." When Benvolio

says he has no need to fight and wants to keep the peace, Tybalt

responds with, "...talk of peace? I hate the word as I hate hell, all

Montague’s and thee." This further displays Tybalt's disdain for the

Montague clan. He is a renowned duellist, a respected gentleman, a man

feared and admired by his allies and enemies alike.