William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

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William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

'Romeo and Juliet' belongs to the romantic comedy genre. In the play,

there is a series of accidents; which ultimately leads to the deaths

of Romeo and Juliet. The play is constructed in a simple and

straightforward manner. After Act 1, the play focuses entirely on the

love of Romeo and Juliet. Everything is completed in five days, which

provides tremendous dramatic concentration.

At the beginning of the play, Romeo is 'in love' with Rosaline. When

the Capulets hold a party, Romeo gate-crashes with his friends because

he knows Rosaline will be there. However, once at the party, he spots

Juliet and it's love at first sight for the both of them. They each

discover that the other is their rival, and despite this, they

exchange love vows and marry the next day. After their marriage, Romeo

goes to make peace with Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, but it turns into

another brawl. Tybalt ends up killing Mercutio, and Romeo retalliates

and kills Tybalt. Romeo is then banished from Verona.

Meanwhile, Lord and Lady Capulet have decided that their daughter is

to marry Paris, a noble kinsman. Distraught, Juliet goes to Friar

Lawrence for help. He hatches a plan: Juliet will drink a potion the

night before her wedding day, which will induce a death-like state for

twenty-four hours. Friar Lawrence will send a letter to Romeo telling

him of this and that he is to meet Juliet in the vault as she awakens

and the pair will run away.

The letter doesn't reach Romeo in time, though, and Benvolio hears of

Juliet's 'death' and rushes to tell Romeo. Romeo gets to Juliet

believing she is dead and kills himself with a de...

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... to such patriarchy. From this I conclude that a lot of

blame can be laid on fate and coincidence.

I don't think that the blame can be laid upon neither Tybalt nor

Mercutio; I believe that the goings-on between these two characters

were merely a side-plot in the play. Certainly without the fight

between these two characters, Romeo would never have been banished,

but the fight portrays deep-set issues between the two families. These

issues are more likely to be the cause of the tragedy rather than the

fight itself.

More blame should be set upon the two families themselves. Had the

families been more tolerant of their child's wishes, and of the other

family, the play would not have turned out as it has. Blame can also

be laid upon the lovers themselves and their - particularly Romeo's -

haste throughout the play.

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