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Examples Of Who Was Responsible For The Deaths Of Romeo And Juliet

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Romeo and Juliet Who Was Responsible for Their Deaths Romeo and Juliet is a tragic love story, the tragedy coming from almost all the characters' demise in the end. One of the main mysteries of the play is who is really responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. There are many possibly guilty parties, but the truly responsible character is Friar Lawrence. He was working outside of his responsibilities as a man of the church and definitely led the lovers astray. Though multiple characters contributed to their downfall, Friar Lawrence is the main culprit. The first point I would like to make is that Friar Lawrence originally wanted to marry the couple with the intent of ending the feud, not forming a life-long bond. He admits this point of view in the second Act, when he is asked to perform the ceremony: "In one respect I'll thy assistant be, /For this alliance may so happy prove/To turn your households' rancor to pure love" (Act 2, Scene 3). He has the town of Verona and his own well being in mind, not the happiness of Romeo and Juliet. He makes the decision on a whim, thinking it will help to end the feud. As history shows, unplanned decisions are usually reckless and not with the best intentions or results. Also, the Friar himself admits that a joyous thing being misapplied can cause great …show more content…

He didn't get word of this to Romeo and Romeo thought Juliet was dead so he killed himself. Juliet, wracked with grief, also committed suicide. The Friar had already strung along the looming tragedy of their love and then he convinced Juliet to do something unnatural by taking the potion. He almost directly caused Romeo's death by encouraging Juliet

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