How Is Romeo And Juliet Responsible

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is one of the darkest and most famous plays in history. The play’s dark reputation stems from a series of misguided decisions by the main character Romeo. These choices lead to the death of many characters, including himself. Romeo's irresponsibility is demonstrated throughout William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet and has dire consequences as a result.

From the very beginning of the play Romeo is portrayed as a naive youth. This is because in the very first scene Romeo emotionally tells Benvolio how he feels about Rosaline saying “ thou canst not teach me to forget (Rosaline).”(Shakespeare Pg. 190 ) Romeo saying this is a big indicator that he doesn’t understand true love and how far a person

should go for “love.” Romeo foolishly follows his emotions for Rosaline and goes to a Capulet party just to see her. This action is foolish because Romeo is a Montague and could be killed for being at the party. Romeo disregards the possible consequences that could happen and gets away without any problems though this does not happen in future events. However at the party he falls in love yet again, but this time with Juliet. Romeo now has forgotten about Rosaline completely which

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further shows that he doesn’t understand what love is. This lack of maturity emphasizes how naive and reckless he is.
Before, Romeo did not face any consequences because his actions were not as serious even though they were irresponsible this changes later in the play.

Romeo is “highly emotional and given to acting on his impulses” (Romeo) which is very obvious after the fight with Tybalt. After the party Romeo is challenged to a duel by Tybalt. He rejects the duel and as a result Mercutio fights Tybalt after Tybalt calls Romeo a coward. Romeo could have prevented the fight, but instead when the fight happens he gets in Mercutio’s way recklessly. This results in Mercutio dying and causes Romeo to fly into a rage and kill Tybalt. When he kills Tybalt he has to face the ramifications of his actions. Romeo believes that since he killed Tybalt, Juliet may no longer love him. Romeo could have been killed because of his mistake, but instead he was banished from Verona. This is a turning point because if he had been more reasonable and not taken Tybalt’s life, his plan with Juliet that ended tragically in the play because of his banishment might have worked. If Romeo had been more responsible and considered consequences before he acted, him and Juliet would have lived a happier life. Because of his recklessness he also ends up killing County Paris and inadvertently causes his mother’s

death.
Throughout the play, Romeo has many opportunities to reach a happy ending just by being more patient and responsible with his actions. His display of impatience causes many needless and avoidable deaths. It even causes his death and that of the love of his life. Romeo’s irresponsibility is a big reason why the story of Romeo and Juliet becomes a tragedy.