Apothecary's Involvement In Romeo And Juliet

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In Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, the elders’ involvement in the development of Romeo and Juliet’s relationship, rather than it being attributed to the two lovers’ infatuation with each other, can perhaps be seen as the driving force in the play’s tragic ending. This concept may seem quite far-fetched or even ludicrous, but if the reader looks at the play and imagines Friar Laurence, Lord Capulet, or even the apothecary’s contribution to the main characters as being non-existent, it becomes clear that the play’s ending may have changed drastically and even been avoided completely had their roles not existed. Therefore, it can be claimed that the cause of the tragedy was not love between Romeo and Juliet, but the adults who failed to …show more content…

(4.1.113-117)
When Friar Laurence sent Friar John to send a letter to Romeo to inform him that Juliet was not really dead, it backfires severely:
FRIAR JOHN: Holy Franciscan friar! Brother, ho!
FRIAR LAURENCE: This same should be the voice of Friar John. / Welcome from Mantua! What says Romeo? / Or if his mind be writ, give me his letter.
FRIAR JOHN: Going to find a barefoot brother out - / One of our order – to associate me / Here in this city visiting the sick, / And finding him, the searchers of the town, / Suspecting that we both were in a house / Where the infectious pestilence did reign, / Sealed up the doors and would not let us forth, / So that my speed to Mantua there was stayed.
FRIAR LAURENCE: Who bare my letter, then, to Romeo?
FRIAR JOHN: I could not send it – here it is again - / Nor could I get a messenger to bring it thee, / So fearful were they of infection. (5.2.1-16)
This left Romeo under the impression that Juliet is dead. Had Friar Laurence anticipated a snag like this and sent out two letter-carriers instead of just one, the play would have perhaps become a Comedy instead of a …show more content…

Believing that Juliet was mourning over Tybalt and that having her marry County Paris would be best for her, Capulet unknowingly starts a confrontation between him and his daughter Juliet. Regardless of her pleas, he sets the marriage date and ends the discussion; this leads to the previously-mentioned conversation with the Nurse, which makes things worse rather than better, and eventually winds up at Friar Laurence, tying everything together into one big heap of trouble. Now, the alternative for Lord Capulet’s actions would be to keep an open mind as the Nurse had said, “God in heaven bless her! / You [Capulet] are to blame, my lord, to rate her so.” (3.5.169-170), but that could result in a variety of consequences. Odd as it may sound, County Paris can also be credited with causing the tragedy of the play, however minor and insignificant a contribution as it may seem. That being said, examination of the source in question may yield a more satisfactory explanation:
PARIS: Happily met, my lady and my wife!
JULIET: That may be, sir, when I may be a wife.
PARIS: That “may be” must be, love, on Thursday next.
JULIET: What must be shall be.
FRIAR LAURENCE: That’s a certain text.
PARIS: Come you to make confession to this

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