The Role Of Death In Romeo And Juliet

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Although many believe that fate plays a large role in determining the death of Romeo and Juliet, a few characters in the play should be held accountable for the deaths of the lovers. Romeo and Juliet, a play written by William Shakespeare, is set in Verona, Italy. The play describes the life of two lovers, who are apart of rival families, which ultimately ends in the death of both lovers. Many readers throughout the time the play was published until now believe that fate plays a major role in the events leading to the suicide of Romeo and Juliet. However, simple decisions made by a few characters lead the couple to their miserable deaths. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare exemplifies how certain characters should be held responsible for …show more content…

In scene five, act three, Romeo was finding his way into the tomb where Juliet’s supposed dead body was resting. When Romeo found Juliet’s dead body, he brought out his poison and exclaimed that “Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die,” (Shakespeare 5. 3. 120), and followed to drink the poison, killing himself. In this passage, Shakespeare explains how Romeo dies, using diction to make the scene romantic. “Thus with a kiss I die,” (Shakespeare 5. 3. 120), can be seen as as a romantic way to die, but it was Romeo’s choice to drink the poison, which ended his life. Furthermore, this decision also resulted in Juliet’s death, shortly after. This passage explains Romeo’s foolishness because instead of killing himself on the spot, he could have waited. Although he would not expect for Juliet to wake up, simply waiting for others to arrive at the tomb to mourn with would have wasted enough time for Juliet to wake up. After some time passed, Juliet woke up from the effects of the potion she drank. When Juliet woke up from her fake coma, she found Romeo dead next to him. She took his dagger and exclaimed “O, happy dagger, This is thy sheath. There rust, and let me die,” (Shakespeare 5. 3. 174-175), and of course, she died shortly after stabbing herself. Shakespeare included …show more content…

Romeo’s decision to kill Tybalt is an example of Romeo’s irrationalism because the fight could have been avoided. Furthermore, this fight banished Romeo from Verona which resulted in many more situations which all led to the death of Romeo and Juliet. Next, when Romeo drank the poison next to Juliet, he was very quick to act. This terrible decision killed Romeo himself, and once Juliet woke up, she was also quick to stab herself, causing her to quickly die. Lastly, Friar Lawrence did not properly think through his plan to give Juliet the potion which would mimic her death because the message to Romeo did not arrive, causing Romeo to kill himself. In conclusion, these characters are held responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet instead of

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