William Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet

William Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet

Who would you say is the most responsible for the deaths of Romeo and

Juliet?

“Two households both alike in dignity,

In fair Verona (where we lay our scene),

From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,

Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.

From forth the fatal loins of these two foes

A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life;

Whose misadventur’d piteous overthrows

Doth with their death bury their parent’s strife.

The fearful passage of their death-mark’d love,

And the continuance of their parent’s rage,

Which but their children’s end nought could remove.”

This is the famous, tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet that

everyone knows and loves. But who is to blame for the young lover’s

untimely death? Their parents? The friar? The Prince? This is the

purpose of my essay, and I believe that the responsibility of their

deaths is split between everyone in this play, as each of their

actions have dramatic consequences on the outcome of Romeo and Juliet.

Firstly, I think Lord and Lady Capulet are partly to blame for the

tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet. This is because they were the head

of the Capulet household and had the power and authority to stop the

feud years ago. They did nothing to discourage, or encourage their

family and servants from continuing the feud, which no one can

remember why it started. The bitter rivalry between the two families

forces Romeo and Juliet to be secretive.

Although the Capulets love their only child very much, they never

really listened to Juliet’s wishes or opinions. If they had of paid

more attention to what wa...

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...e play was written, the church

was very important.

In conclusion, I don’t think the responsibility of the deaths of Romeo

and Juliet can be pinned on one person. The responsibility is shared

somewhat equally throughout the play between all characters and fate.

Each character contributed to the final outcome and although some of

the characters actions were intended to help the lovers, i.e. the

friar, they had drastic consequences, leading to the deaths of Romeo

and Juliet.

I think the play Romeo and Juliet is still enjoyed by a modern day

audience because it has all the elements of a good play/film: love,

conflict, violence, death etc. All of these points keep a modern

audience gripped until the very end of the play. Also, it is a famous

tragic love story, that people all over have heard of and come to

love.