Who is to Blame in Romeo and Juliet?

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Who to Blame for the Deaths of Romeo and Juliet

In this essay I will explore all acts in Romeo and Juliet and find the

answer to ‘who or what is responsible for the lover’s deaths?’

I will look in detail to all the different people and factors that

could have affected Romeo and Juliet’s death, explore all the ideas of

why Shakespeare wrote what he did and come to my conclusion.

For hundreds of years people have argued over the cause of the deaths

of the ‘star-cross’d lovers’ and has never properly been resolved, and

never will.

Romeo and Juliet’s whole relationship started as soon as they first

met, this is why some people say that Mercutio is to blame.

We first see Mercutio in act 1 scene 4 with a laddish, macho but

considerate attitude. ‘Nay gentle Romeo, we must have you dance’ he

tells Romeo, trying to persuade him to go to the Capulet’s ball, but

he is lovesick with Rosaline and declines. This leads to Mercutio

saying ‘you are a lover, borrow Cupid’s wings, and soar with them

above a common bound.’ Implying that he should get over Rosaline as

there are plenty of other girls and go and have fun at the party.

If Mercutio had never persuaded Romeo to go to the party then he would

have never met Juliet, resulting in them never dying.

Shakespeare then continues to write these traits of laddish and macho

behaviour in Mercutio's character until his death. In act 3 scene 1

Mercutio’s attitudes towards fighting makes the scene much worse than

it could have been. He enjoys quarrelling with Tybalt as he sees it as

a game and tries to control the situation with his quick wit. ‘Good

king of cats, nothing but one of your nine lives’ he said, trying to

aggravate Tybalt but Mercutio took it too far, as they ended up

fighting, which, in turn caused his death and Romeo’s banishment.

If Mercutio hadn’t had been so macho in his behaviour he probably

wouldn’t have died, so Romeo wouldn’t have taken his revenge and

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