Who to Blame for the Deaths of Romeo and Juliet
In this essay I will explore all acts in Romeo and Juliet and find the
answer to ‘who or what is responsible for the lover’s deaths?’
I will look in detail to all the different people and factors that
could have affected Romeo and Juliet’s death, explore all the ideas of
why Shakespeare wrote what he did and come to my conclusion.
For hundreds of years people have argued over the cause of the deaths
of the ‘star-cross’d lovers’ and has never properly been resolved, and
never will.
Romeo and Juliet’s whole relationship started as soon as they first
met, this is why some people say that Mercutio is to blame.
We first see Mercutio in act 1 scene 4 with a laddish, macho but
considerate attitude. ‘Nay gentle Romeo, we must have you dance’ he
tells Romeo, trying to persuade him to go to the Capulet’s ball, but
he is lovesick with Rosaline and declines. This leads to Mercutio
saying ‘you are a lover, borrow Cupid’s wings, and soar with them
above a common bound.’ Implying that he should get over Rosaline as
there are plenty of other girls and go and have fun at the party.
If Mercutio had never persuaded Romeo to go to the party then he would
have never met Juliet, resulting in them never dying.
Shakespeare then continues to write these traits of laddish and macho
behaviour in Mercutio's character until his death. In act 3 scene 1
Mercutio’s attitudes towards fighting makes the scene much worse than
it could have been. He enjoys quarrelling with Tybalt as he sees it as
a game and tries to control the situation with his quick wit. ‘Good
king of cats, nothing but one of your nine lives’ he said, trying to
aggravate Tybalt but Mercutio took it too far, as they ended up
fighting, which, in turn caused his death and Romeo’s banishment.
If Mercutio hadn’t had been so macho in his behaviour he probably
wouldn’t have died, so Romeo wouldn’t have taken his revenge and