The Responsible Ones

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Romeo and Juliet is a well-known play written by William Shakespeare. Many know about this as one of the most famous plays in history. In the end, Romeo and Juliet take their lives. So who is responsible for the star-crossed lovers’ death? Many assumptions will be made that it’s Romeo and Juliet’s, Friar Lawrence’s, or even society’s fault. Who caused this tragedy? There will be many opinions from the audience as they analyze information from the play.
First of all, people may think it is Romeo and Juliet’s fault for their deaths. One night, the Capulets held a ball, which Romeo had found out about. Romeo went to the ball, and saw Juliet. When Juliet and Romeo met, they fell in ‘love’.
After their first encounter, they found out that they were family rivals. To show their love for one another, Friar Lawrence helped marry them even though Juliet was supposed to marry Paris. After they were married, Romeo had a violent encounter with Tybalt, who was murdered. Romeo had been banished from Verona, and was sent to Mantua. Juliet was heartbroken and feared she would never see her husband again. Friar Lawrence helped out so they could be together, but he wasn’t for sure that his plan would work. Juliet threatened to kill herself if she couldn’t be with Romeo. Once the plan went through, Friar John was sent to deliver important information to Romeo, who was in Mantua at the time. Romeo was told that Juliet was dead, even though that was false information. Romeo snuck to Verona to do two things. His main reason was to see Juliet, but to also get something from her. Romeo had gotten poison to kill himself after he saw his love one last time. Juliet woke up from her deep sleep to find Romeo dead. Juliet says, “What’s here...

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... reason for the star crossed lovers’ death. The nurse was practically Juliet’s mother and knew everything about her. When the audience reached a climax in the play, the nurse told Juliet to listen to her parents and marry Paris. Romeo was being banished anyways, so what was the big deal? The nurse practically stabbed Juliet in the back. Juliet has always trusted her and let her know her secrets, and now the nurse is turning against her.
In conclusion, Romeo and Juliet left the audience wondering, who was the most responsible for their deaths? If the audience got together, there would be many different answers and reasons that support their answer. Shakespeare intended for the audience to wonder about his wondrous work of art.

Works Cited

Applebee, Arthur N. Romeo and Juliet. The Language of Literature. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2002. 990-1102. Print.

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