Romeo And Juliet Essay : Who’s to Blame for the Deaths of Romeo and Juliet?

By Isobel Weiner 813

            In the well renowned play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by William Shakespeare, the main characters, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, are to blame for their deaths. There are other characters in the play, such as Friar Lawrence or Lord Capulet, who could be blamed for their deaths, but ultimately, Romeo and Juliet chose to commit suicide rather than be without one another, so they are responsible for their own deaths.

            For example, in Act 4 Scene 3, Juliet has a monologue about the sleeping potion Friar Lawrence gave her, which would make her appear dead so as to release her from marrying her suitor, Paris. In lines 20-24 Juliet states, “My dismal scene I needs must act alone. Come, vial. What if this mixture do not work at all? Shall I be married then tomorrow morning? (She takes out her knife and puts it down beside her) No, no, this shall forbid it. Lie thou there.” This quote shows how Juliet would rather fake her own death, and if that were to fail, kill herself, then be without Romeo, proving she had intentions of committing suicide. Additionally, in Act 3 Scene 5, Juliet implores her mother to cancel her marriage to Paris by exclaiming, “O sweet my mother, cast me not away. Delay this marriage for a month, a week, or if you do not, make the bridal bed in that dim monument where Tybalt lies.” Once again, this is a quote from Juliet stating how she would rather be dead ‘in that dim monument’ with Tybalt than have to marry Paris and be without Romeo. Also, Juliet has two speeches in Act 4 Scene 1 in which she tells the friar of her willingness to die for her love. The first is “Give me some present counsel, or, behold, ‘twist my extremes and me this bloody knife shall play the umpire, arbitrating that which the commission of thy years and art could to no issue of true honor bring. Be not so long to speak. I long to die if what thou speak’st speak not of remedy.” The second is “O, bid me leap, rather than marry Paris, from off the battlements of yonder tower, or walk in thievish ways, or bid me lurk where serpents are, chain me with roaring bears, or shut me nightly in a charnel house, o'ercovered quite with dead men’s rattling bones, with reeky shanks and yellow chapless skulls, or bid me go into a new-made grave and hide me with a dead man in his shroud (things that, to hear them told have made me tremble), and I will do it without fear or doubt, to live an unstained wife to my sweet love. Finally, in Act 5 Scene 3, Juliet kills herself once she discovers that Romeo is dead, proving how she is responsible for her own death, “Yea, noise? Then I’ll be brief. O, happy dagger, this is thy sheath. There rust, and let me die.” All of these quotes support part of the claim that Juliet is responsible for her own death.

            While Juliet is responsible for her death, Romeo is also responsible for his. In Act 2 Scene 2, Juliet informs Romeo that the Capulets will murder him if they find him by Juliet’s balcony. Romeo responds by saying, “I have night’s cloak to hide me from their eyes, and, but thou love me, let them find me here. My life were better ended by their hate than death prorogued, wanting of thy love.” These lines show how even though Romeo and Juliet just met, Romeo would rather die than be without her. In Act 3 Scene 3, Romeo converses with the Friar about how he would rather die than be banished from Verona, therefore banished from seeing Juliet. “Hadst thou no poison mixed, no sharp-ground knife, no sudden mean of death, though ne’er so mean, but “banished” to kill me? “Banished”? O Friar, the damned use that word in hell.” Another example of how Romeo’s death is his own fault can be found in Act 3 Scene 5, when Romeo says, “let me be ta’en; let me be put to death.” He then continues by saying, “I have more care to stay than will to go. Come death and welcome. Juliet wills it so.” Additionally, in Act 5 Scene 1, Romeo states “well, Juliet, I will lie with thee tonight”, after finding out about Juliet’s death. Romeo then goes on to purchase poison from a poor apothecary, so he may commit suicide and be with Juliet, who he believes to be dead. Finally, in Act 5 Scene 3, Romeo speaks while opening the tomb, “thou detestable maw, thou womb of death, gorged with the dearest morsel of the earth, thus I enforce thy rotten jaws to open, and in despite I’ll cram thee with more food.” The line ‘cram thee with more food’ is another way of saying that Romeo is going to kill himself and lay in the tomb with Juliet. After a long monologue, Romeo drinks the poison, while saying, “O true apothecary, thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.” All of these lines of Romeo’s dialogue support the claim that Romeo and Juliet are to blame for their deaths.

            Some people might argue that another character, such as Friar Lawrence, or Lord Capulet, is responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. However, although Friar Lawrence’s plan to feign Juliet’s death and write to Romeo and inform him of the plan failed, he was not ultimately responsible. It would be just as easy to blame Friar John, who was the one who failed to deliver Romeo the letter in Mantua, as stated in Act 5 Scene 2, “I could not send it (here it is again) nor get a messenger to bring it to thee, so fearful were they of infection.” Lord Capulet would also be an easy character to blame. Some might argue that Juliet killed herself because of Capulet’s instance of her marriage to Paris. However, in the end, Juliet stabbed herself and Romeo poisoned himself, meaning that they both committed suicide in the name of love, and their deaths were caused by them.

            In conclusion, there are many characters to blame for the tragic death of Romeo and Juliet, but the two lovers consistently stated throughout the play that they would rather die than be without each other and in the end, that is exactly what happened.