The Tragedy Of ‘Romeo And Juliet’ Essay, Research Paper
The deaths of
Romeo and Juliet appear needless, as it was mainly the people around them who
were fighting and disagreeing about the relationship. Romeo and Juliet mainly
kept out of the fighting but their lives were made miserable and unhappy by the
people around them who were interfering, and because they were so deeply in
love with each other, they refused to be split up and therefore took risks to
stay together which eventually led to their deaths. The Prologue at the
beginning of the play suggests it was mainly fate that was to blame,
?star-cross?d lovers and ?death-mark?d love? are examples of this. ??????????? Romeo is a young teenager, a member of the Montague
household, who unfortunately falls in love with Juliet, a Capulet whose family
are bitter enemies of the Montagues. He blames Fate or misfortune for nearly
everything that goes wrong; after he kills Tybalt, he then realises the
seriousness of his action but prefers to blame the stars rather than himself. ?O, I am fortune?s fool?. I think killing
Tybalt was the biggest mistake Romeo made as it led to his banishment and it
meant he could no longer see his beloved Juliet, without the risk of being
caught. I do not think though that you can blame Romeo for killing Tybalt as he
was determined to fight Romeo and when he refused, Romeo?s closest friend
Mercutio stepped in and drew his sword. They fought and Romeo intervenes trying
to stop them but this according to the dying Mercutio gave Tybalt the opportunity
to kill him, ?I was hurt under your arm?. Romeo then fought and killed Tybalt.
Later when he hears from Balthasar the news that Juliet is dead he says, ?Then
I defy you stars?, meaning he is not going to let Fate dictate what happens to
him anymore. It seems that
Romeo is either not afraid to take risks or just doesn?t think about any of his
actions, in the balcony scene he risks getting caught by the Nurse, and then
later in Juliet?s bedroom when Lady Capulet is looking for her. Juliet is a young
Capulet not quite 14 years old, she is gentle, loyal, obeys her parents and
thinks for herself. When she first meets Romeo she falls for him instantly. She
is practical in that she quickly asks Romeo to marry her which would be against
her parents? will as they want her to marry Paris whom she does not love. She
is also like Romeo in that she does not think of the consequence of her
actions. She is loyal to Romeo, as she is worried about him getting caught in
the balcony scene ?The orchard walls are high
and hard to climb And the place death,
considering who thou art,? (Act 2 Scene 2) She is different from Romeo
in the fact that she does not blame fate for the things that go wrong, she
blames her birth as we here in these rhyming couplets ?Prodigious birth of love is
to me, That I must love a loathed
enemy.? (Act 1 Scene 5) ??????????? Whereas friends and Friar Laurence talk to and advise
Romeo, Juliet is on her own and has to make her own decisions, with the Nurse
offering little or no help. Romeo?s parents seem very caring and loving, but
Juliet?s parents especially Lady Capulet are very cold hearted and uncaring,
they force Juliet into marring Paris without giving her a choice. ?She shall be
married to this noble earl?. (Act 3 Scene 4) Juliet visits Friar Laurence and
is pleased to about his plans for herself and Romeo as she is at this time
distressed at the thought of having to marry Paris for she says ?Oh bid me leap, rather than
marry Paris From of the battlements of
any tower?. (Act 4 Scene 1) Friar Laurences plan for
Romeo and Juliet was that Juliet was to take a potion to make her appear dead
on her wedding day she would then be taken to the Capulets? vault meanwhile
after receiving a letter from the Friar Romeo would return to Verona from
Mantua and would be with Juliet when she wakes up. Juliet was very pleased to
receive the potion from Friar Laurence ?Give me, give me! Oh tell
me not of fear! (Act 4 Scene 1) The Friar is a
man with good intentions but is persuaded to make risky decisions by Romeo and
Juliet, such as agreeing to marry them without their parents? consent. I think
he gets too involved and it is then left up to him to ensure that everything
goes smoothly as planned. ??????????? He goes behind the backs of Juliet?s parents by agreeing
to marry Romeo and Juliet but he has a good reason for this. ?To turn your
households rancour to pure love?, to reconcile the two feuding families. Though
the Friar is concerned about what he is doing, ?These violent delights have
violent ends?, the plan to reconcile the families soon comes to grief as Romeo
is banished. This time he makes another plan that is as risky as the first.
Romeo is to go to Mantua where he will then try to arrange a meeting between
Romeo and Juliet. The plan goes wrong and he accuses fate, ?Unhappy Fortune?. ??????????? Juliet, who now faces the rest of her life with Paris
turns to the Friar for a solution, he supplies her with a ?sleeping potion?
which she uses to make it look like she is dead so she does not have to marry
Paris. I think it is fair to say that Friar Laurence is one of the main people
to blame for the tragedy, as it was his plans that went wrong. But from Romeo
and Juliet?s view he was very helpful and always had a solution for their
dilemmas The Nurse is one
of Juliet?s closest friends, apart from Romeo. She is not particularly clever
or sensitive and does nothing to warn Juliet of how
Montague might cause problems to Juliet and her family. In Act 1 Scene 3 when
Lady Capulet is discussing the possibility of marriage to Paris she makes jokes
and finds it very amusing, ?A bump as big as a young cockerels stone?. Even
though the Nurse may be very simple minded and talkative she is very loving and
fond of Juliet ?Well sir my
mistress is the sweetest lady? (Act 2 Scene 4) The Nurse
appears to have got too carried away with the situation with Romeo and is eager
for Juliet to marry, but she offers no advice or caution to what Juliet is
doing, although she clearly knows that Juliet is young and inexperienced. She
makes no effort to suggest that this will be a problem. Like Friar Laurence she
goes behind her employers? backs acting as Romeo and Juliet?s messenger, such
as when she is asked by Juliet to discover Romeo?s identity. At first the Nurse
admires Romeo, ?Why he?s a man of wax? (Act 1 Scene 3), but warns him not to
lead Juliet into a ?fools paradise? (Act 2 Scene 4), mostly because Juliet is
young. ??????????? After Tybalt?s death she turns against Romeo ?Will you
speak well of him that killed your cousin? (Act 3 Scene 2), ?Shame come to
Romeo? (Act 3 Scene 2). Finally when Juliet needs the Nurse most ?Comfort me,
council me? as her parents tell her that she must marry Paris, the Nurse lets
her down by simply telling her to forget Romeo and marry Paris. It is at this
point that Juliet dismisses the Nurse, ending their friendship. I think that
the Nurse was partly, to blame. I don?t think she seriously realised what could
happen if things got out of hand. The Nurse was well intentioned but in her
concerns for Juliet?s welfare she became very excitable and could not hold her
tongue. Benvolio is one
character who seems to realise the potential dangers such as when he tries to
dissuade Mercutio from starting another street brawl. He also urges Romeo to
leave the scene of the fighting as he has a good idea of the Prince?s reaction,
the prince enters the scene after the deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt, he shouts
angrily, ?Romeo slew him; he slew
Mercutio. Who now the price of his
dear blood doth owe?? (Act 3 Scene 1) I think Benvolio is not at
all to blame, if anything he actually tried to help the situation; he is a
peacemaker. Tybalt is a hot
tempered and aggressive person. His view of the Montagues and his part in the
play is summed up in one sentence ?What, drawn and talk of peace ! I hate the word
/As I hate hell, all Montagues and thee? (Act 1 Scene 1). Again at the ball
when he overhears Romeo he is angered and looks for his sword but is luckily
stopped. Tybalt is always looking for trouble and will not back off, he tries
to make fun of Romeo by saying things like, ?Romeo, the love I bear thy
can afford No better term than this -
thou art a villain.? (Act 3 Scene 1) Lastly, he challenges Romeo
to a duel. Mercutio steps in but Tybalt is happy to fight him as well. Romeo
attempts to sort out the situation peacefully but Tybalt is uninterested. In
his anger over the death of his dear friend Mercutio, Romeo takes revenge and
in his anger kills Tybalt. I think Tybalt should take some blame in the tragedy
as it was his actions that killed Mercutio which in turn led to his own death
and Romeo?s banishment. Mercutio is a
lively character who tries to resolve Romeo?s problems and advise him in a
lighthearted way, he says to Romeo, ?Thy wit is a
very bitter sweeting; it is a most sharp sauce.? He is loyal to Romeo in the
way he steps in when Tybalt challenges Romeo. His death is a turning point in
the play as Romeo, then avenges his death by killing Tybalt. All these deaths
add more fuel to the fire. I think maybe that Mercutio should not have intervened,
but being that type of person he did. I do not think he can be to blame for the
tragedy as neither Tybalt nor Mercutio new of Romeo and Juliets love for each
other. Also Tybalt would probably have fought Romeo anyway and one of them
could have been killed. The Prince is
the ruler of Verona. He tries quite hard to keep the peace, but not enough to
stop the tragedy, he is big in his threats but does not carry them out for – he
has the chance to enforce the death penalty on Romeo. For example after the
deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt the Prince tells the citizens of Verona ?who now
the price of his dear blood doth owe?? (Act 3 Scene 1) in other words he seeks
justice for these murders. If he had tried harder to prevent the quarrelling
and carried out more of his threats the feud might not have got as bad as it
did. However at the end of the play he accepts some of the responsibility for
what has happened by ?Winking at their discords? (Act 5 Scene 3). He also tries
to bring the two sides together by, ?What a scourge is laid upon your hate,
/that heavens finds means to kill your joys with love? (Act 5 Scene 3). I do not think
there is one single person who is wholly to blame but Friar Laurence plays a
large part in the tragedy, mainly through his complicated plans, which require
accurate timing, and in the end simply did not happen. Romeo did not receive
the letter, so when he heard the bad news from Balthasar, he thought Juliet was
really dead. Friar Laurence need not have granted the requests of Romeo and
Juliet without carefully considering the consequences. I do not think fate
played a part in the play as there were too many mistakes made by the main
characters.By Stephen Bond