Who Is To Blame For The Deaths Of Romeo And Juliet Essay

In this essay I will be exploring the reasons as to why some people would argue that a certain person or people are to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.

In the classic play Romeo and Juliet, Friar Laurence plays a major part. Romeo and Juliet trusted him entirely as he was the priest of their town. They turned to the Friar for help and advice at a few crucial points in the play. Little did these two lovers know that their decision to turn to Friar Laurence for help would eventually lead to their deaths. Friar Laurence was responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet because he married Romeo and Juliet, he was afraid of committing a sin, and because of his faulty plan for saving Juliet from a marriage to Paris.

Many have said that romance brings love and affection, but when taken to the extreme, it can lead to tragedy and despair. Among the great literary tragedies, Romeo and Juliet may be the most famous of them all. The eternal feud between the Montegues and Capulets prohibits the love of Romeo and Juliet and ultimately results in their unfortunate deaths. It may be difficult to truly determine who is to blame for the tragedy, because their lives had been influenced, criticized, and controlled by many figures. Among the most important characters, Friar Lawrence enables the forbidden marriage of the two lovers and devises a plan to ensure that they end up together. On the other hand, Lord and Lady Capulet feed into the rivalry between the two

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is a book of fate and how everyone in the world affects the happenings of this world. The author of this extraordinary book is William Shakespeare. Although Romeo and Juliet killed themselves, there were many people responsible for their deaths. It is arguable that the parents of the two lovers, Friar Laurence, and Romeo and Juliet themselves were the most responsible, some could say that the other main characters like Mercutio, Benvolio, Tybalt, the Nurse, and Paris were involved as well. There were many people responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, although they took their own lives, they were not all to blame.

Friar Laurence makes not only one, but three mistakes that will eventually lead up to Romeo and Juliet’s death. The Friar’s first mistake was giving Juliet, an unstable fourteen year old, a powerful potion that would make her look dead, so she would not have to marry Paris. Friar Laurence actually shows his irresponsibility by saying, “Thou hast the strength of will to slay thyself…take thou this vial…no warmth, no breath shall testify the livest”( Act 4.1.). Had Friar Laurence not given Juliet the poison, she never would have been put in the position that she was in, which lead to her death.

Now Juliet is left alone in a tomb alone knowing that her is dead. Friar Laurence also was suppose to give Romeo a letter with a plan but it never got delivered to Romeo. Friar Laurence ask Friar John “ Who bare my letter, then, to Romeo”. Friar John answered back “ I could not send it- here it is again-”. That’s another reason why Friar Laurence is at fault for Romeo and Juliet death, Never got the plan out letter to Romeo.

In this quote Friar Laurence is telling Juliet to take the vial and to drink it when she goes to bed. This fluid (while going through her veins) will make her cold and drowsy and make it appear as if she does not have a pulse. However, her blood will continue moving naturally and will not stop. If the Friar had not given her the vial, Romeo would not have heard the news that she was dead and therefore would not have killed himself in Capulet’s tomb. Another basis of accusing Friar Laurence of the deaths of the two, is the fact that Romeo did not receive the information about the plan. The Friar tells Juliet, “In this resolve. I’ll send a friar with speed/To Mantua, with my letters to thy lord” (IV.i.1123-124). The Friar is telling Juliet that he will send a friar to Mantua with a letter, saying their plan. He should have sent the letter personally and not relied on another friar to deliver such an urgent and important message. Since the entire plan was his idea he should have followed through with it, making sure the information was

“And if thou darest, I’ll give thee remedy.” Here Friar Laurence is telling Juliet that his plan with the remedy so she can leave with Romeo after she wakes up. He also tells her, “Look that thou lie alone: let not thy nurse lie with thee in thy chamber. Take now this vial being in bed.” This is when he tells her what to do with the vial the night before the wedding with Paris. He is responsible because he told her to drink the potion when she could have just run away or kept refusing to marry Paris.

Therefore, Friar Laurence is the most responsible for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet because he acts irresponsibly, doesn't realize the importance of the “letter”, and becomes self-conscious. Many blame Friar Laurence for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet due to his irresponsible decision making skills.

What is most responsible for the two lovely lover-Romeo and Juliet’s death? In my opinion, there is no one particular person to really blame on their death. However, it is every single person are should be blamed for the deaths of both Romeo and Juliet. If I was answering the question of who were the few most responsible people for their tragedy-it would be three people. Because of people’s decision and different point of view, the people most responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet are Lady Capulet, Nurse, and Friar Lawrence.

Even though there are many different views on who was most responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, through information in the text it is clear to see that Friar Laurence was most responsible. The Friar took it upon himself to marry the two in secret making them inseparable. The Friar came up with the plan that was doomed from the start and ultimately lead to the death of the two teens. William Shakespeare’s work was very controversial, Romeo and Juliet was no exception, it involved the death of many people and two suicides of teens just for

could do about it, we can see this opinion from Romeo in Act one Scene

But Romeo and Juliet had such great love for one another that they had to go to great measures to be with each other.  When Juliet was confronted by Friar with the potion she did not think about it at all, she wanted it right away.  (Friar) “hold daughter. I do spy a kind of hope,”(Act 4 scene 1 line 68).  Friar is saying this because he found Juliet a different path other than marrying Paris.  Friar would be my second choice because of all he supposedly did for Juliet. I am surprised that she was able to not think about what could happen negatively to her.  Most people wouldn't think of it this way, but Friar could have been giving her this potion to kill her so he would not be held accountable for marrying them together.  Some people are willing to do more evil things to resist consequences.  (Friar) “Hold,then. Go home,be merry, give consent to marry Paris.”(Act 4 scene 1 line

Love, love is something that pretty much everyone can agree is wonderful, but what about a secret love that cost two young lovers their lives? In William Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet, two star-crossed lovers having to keep their love secret from their parents. End up dying because of bad counsel, but whose advice lead them to their deaths? If it weren’t for Friar Laurence’s bad counsel by acting irresponsible and immoral by prompting Romeo and Juliet to make actions that led them to their deaths, they would of have not died and would be living happily.

Friar Laurence is the one to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet’s. He is the one to blame because he gave Juliet a fake potion which made her pass out for a couple of hours and he didn’t let Romeo know. According to the Friar Laurence, “Unhappy fortune! By my brotherhood, the letter was not just a nice greeting. It was full of very important information. It’s very dangerous that it hasn’t been sent. Friar john, go and get me an iron crowbar. Bring it straight back to my cell (act 5, scene 2)”. Therefore, Friar Laurence had something to do with Romeo and Juliet death.