Lord Capulet To Blame For The Death Of Romeo And Juliet

1793 Words4 Pages

William Shakespeare's classic play, Romeo and Juliet, tells the tale of two lovers whose affection for one another ultimately end in their untimely and tragic death. Destined to hate each other since birth, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, two children who had the misfortune to be born into feuding families, caught a glimpse of one another from opposite sides of a crowded ballroom and fell in love instantly. This meeting was followed by a whirlwind romance that ultimately ended with most everyone dying, including the fated pair. But really, who was to blame for the deaths of two children, too naive to realise what they were getting into? Most have come to believe that the fault was that of one Friar Lawrence, who against better judgement, …show more content…

They never got to make their own decisions, and went through their lives in a sort of trance, having no real control whatsoever. Juliet Capulet lived life almost like a puppet, whose strings were pulled at will to make her do, or say, whatever it was that someone else deemed appropriate. She was never really given the chance to walk on her own two feet, and that is why whenever she had an important decision to make, she didn't make it. Her privileged life began at the hands of her father. Though Lord Capulet was often misguided with his affection, it was obvious that he did in fact care about her daughter, or at least her well being. He denied Paris Juliet's hand in marriage, claiming she was too young, and that having children would ruin her. He said, “My child is yet a stranger in the world/ She hath not seen the change of fourteen years/ Let two more summers wither in their pride/ Ere we may think her too ripe to be a bride” (Shakespeare I.ii.7-11). When he finally did agree to let Paris marry his child, it was with hopes that marrying him would encourage Juliet to leave the state of depression that Lord Capulet believed she was in due to Tybalt's death. When she did ultimately refuse the proposal, Lord Capulet was so offended he threatened to cast his own daughter aside due to her refusal to follow his every word. The betrayal sent Juliet running into the arms of Friar Lawrence, …show more content…

She did not possess the ability to make good decisions on her own, nor did she think logically about any situation she was put in. When Romeo and Juliet originally met, she proposed marriage first, without thinking of any of the consequences. Briefly, it was brought up that the twos parents hated each other, but was promptly passed aside to seemingly more important matters when Juliet said, “Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love/ And I’ll no longer be a Capulet” (Shakespeare II.ii.36-37). The fact that Juliet's cousin, Tybalt, hated Montagues and would jump at the opportunity to kill Romeo, something he had mentioned he would do earlier that night. Nor was the fact that Juliet was engaged to be engaged to Paris, or that marrying for love was an absolutely insane concept. It was decided that the only way for Romeo to prove his love for Juliet, who he had met LESS THAN TWELVE HOURS BEFORE, would be to marry her in secret. This complete lack of decision making skills was proved to be true when Juliet informed Romeo of this notion, saying “If that thy bent of love honourable/ Thy purpose marriage, send me word to-morrow/ By one I’ll procure to thee.” (Shakespeare II.ii.149-151). This complete lack of life skills was once again demonstrated when Juliet got it into her head that pretending to be

Open Document