Who's to Blame for the Deaths of Romeo and Juliet

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“Some shall be pardoned and some shall be punished.” Whom do you think

is to blame for the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet?

Shakespeare did not invent this play himself as his main source was a

version from Arthur Brooke. “The Tragicall History of Romeous and

Juliet.”

Romeo and Juliet is a tragic love story. They both chose to die

together rather than to live without each other. In the beginning

their fate is already destined for them both. It is “death marked”

love which is pronounced in the Prologue.

“A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life;

Whose misadventur’d piteous overthrows

Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife.

The fearful passage of their death-mark’d love.”

The feuding from the two enemies, the Capulet household and the

Montague household are one of the reasons to be blamed for the deaths.

They are involved in an “ancient grudge” which Shakespeare does not

tell us about and he does not inform the audience about how it

started, this perhaps makes it more intriguing. However, this makes

the situation worse for Romeo and Juliet as they are the son and

daughter of the two enemies, but fate brings them together.

Already Shakespeare has set the mood for the first scene and

throughout the play, there is an extreme amount of tension and we can

see that the two enemies are drawn together by hatred and violence.

Early on the conflict between the Montague’s and the Capulet’s show

this, the feuding is liable for the tragic deaths.

The parents are to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet as they

push for an arranged marriage, Paris is eager to marry Juliet and Old

Capulet invites him to meet her at a family ball. Juliet’s parents are

happy about Paris, making him the ideal husband for her and as Old

Capulet will not tolerate disobedience “Hang thee, young baggage,

disobedient wretch!” Juliet is willing to follow her parent’s orders.

But as the night draws on at the family ball Romeo arrives and sees

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