Romeo And Juliet's Fault

Romeo and Juliet is one of the most well-known plays written by William Shakespeare. The play most famously details the tragic deaths of two star-crossed lovers, the namesakes of the play, Romeo and Juliet. People have consistently argued over the true cause of these young lovers’ deaths. There are a variety of factors leading to Romeo and Juliet’s deaths, including their parents’ negligence of their children’s actions, which factors in Romeo and Juliet committing suicide. However, they themselves are ultimately the ones at fault. A prime example that illustrates Romeo and Juliet’s influences on their own deaths is their tendency to rush into their marriage. Another notable example is Romeo’s flawed perception of love, as shown by his infatuation

Juliet asks for Romeo’s hand in marriage merely hours after they first meet, when Romeo stalks Juliet at Capulet’s orchard, as shown in these lines: “If that thy bent of love be honourable,/ Thy purpose marriage, send me word to-morrow” (2.2.143-144). Romeo and Juliet rushing into marriage contributes to their untimely deaths because it strengthens their commitment to one another. This may not necessarily be a “bad” thing in every situation, but it is their commitment to each other that causes them to make rash decisions in order to be together. Their marriage bonds them together in both life as well as in death. Romeo is known to be impulsive and melodramatic, and Juliet is only thirteen years old, having never given a thought about love until she meets Romeo. Their entire relationship is driven by impulsive decisions and desperate actions at a time when they are both quite immature. Juliet is also subject to irrational thinking after her father forces her to marry Paris, threatening to Friar Lawrence that she will kill herself if she is forced to marry Paris. This is shown in the lines, “If, in thy wisdom, thou canst give no help,/ Do thou but call my resolution wise,/ And with this knife I’ll help it presently” (4.1.52-54). Juliet is not willing to think

Romeo, at the beginning of the play, is infatuated with Rosaline because he finds her to be beautiful. When Benvolio confronts Romeo about what is troubling him, Romeo cries out, “[Rosaline] will not stay the siege of loving terms,/ Nor bide the encounter of assailing eyes,/ Nor ope her lap to saint-seducing gold./ O, she is rich in beauty, only poor/ That, when she dies, with beauty dies her store” (1.1.209-213). In this passage, Romeo is complaining about Rosaline refusing to be seduced for her beauty, which gives an idea of what his perception of love is. Romeo believes that love comes from the admiration of one’s physical features, which is also why he falls in love with Juliet. If not for Romeo’s admiration of Juliet’s physical beauty, he would not have pursued her at Capulet’s party and they would have never been in a relationship, so they would not have been able to kill themselves for each other. After Romeo hears the news that Juliet is dead, he immediately decides to poison himself, and after buying the poison, he says, “Come, cordial and not poison, go with me/ To Juliet’s grave; for there must I use thee” (5.1.85-86). In these lines Romeo describes the poison as medicine, believing that drinking it will be the “cure” for Juliet’s supposed “death”. This gives an idea of what Romeo