Who Was Responsible For The Deaths Of Romeo And Juliet Essay

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Romeo and Juliet are two innocent lovers that face many hardships in their relationship. The play itself takes place in the city of Verona, where two star-crossed lovers end their lives in spite of their adversary families; better known as the Capulets and the Montagues to stop feuding. The topic that will be carefully analysed and discussed is on whether many characters share responsibility for the deaths of the young lovers in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. This is an interesting statement and one that can be supported by a close reading of the text. Many, but not all characters did share a responsibility for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. The most significant contributors to the demise of Romeo and Juliet were the families of Montague …show more content…

Friar Lawrence married Romeo and Juliet, but knew that it could be wrong to do so. The families were adversaries, so he thought to himself that if he was to marry the two. The feuding families would compromise. Therefore, the Friar knows all along that, "These violent delights have violent ends." The Friar knew that this is an impossible situation, which if made possible by himself will without a doubt end up in tragedy in one way or another. Friar Lawrence’s negligence really stands out in the play when he organises an escape for the star-crossed lovers. We can see this when he says, “Take thou this vial, being then in bed, and this distilling liquor drink thou off.” Romeo has yet got no idea of the Friar’s plan, in fact, he never finds out. Although Friar Lawrence sent Friar John to Romeo, Balthasar, who is not informed of the plan, got the news delivered to Romeo first. Ergo, Friar Lawrence shared responsibility for the deaths of the young lovers in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet by marrying them despite their parents, not thinking his plans through, and giving Juliet potion before he ensured Romeo was informed of the …show more content…

They are responsible for their own deaths because they chose to commit suicide. Certainly others are also culpable for their deaths, but they were the ones that held the actus reus and, therefore are held responsible for their deaths. Romeo is known to be extremely hasty, and haste is actually what leads to his young death. Romeo’s and Juliet’s decision to act upon their love happened too quickly; before they even got to know each other, they were already in love. Even Friar Lawrence mentioned that “they stumble that run fast”, meaning if you take actions too quickly they will not result in a pleasant end. When Romeo found out that Juliet was ‘dead’ he rushed all the way to Verona from Mantua to the Capulet tomb, to find his beloved wife dead. When Romeo sees Juliet he says “O my love, my wife, death that hath suck’d the honey of thy breath.” He grieves over her ‘death’ and drinks the poison he bought from the apothecary. We see this when he cries “O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.” By being hasty Romeo completely dismissed the plan. Although Romeo didn’t know what the plan was with Friar Lawrence and Juliet, he could have consulted the Friar about Juliet before rushing to her tomb. Juliet woke up and saw Romeo’s body deceased by her side. She could not live without Romeo and killed herself, as seen in this

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