Reasons To Blame For The Deaths Of Romeo And Juliet

Those I blame most for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet are the Capulets; specifically Lord and Lady Capulet, and the Nurse. The Capulets failed to provide Juliet with the support she needed, causing the deaths. The deaths did not happen because of any particular events or people, but because of a build-up of events and actions.

First and foremost, Lord Capulet. In the beginning of the play, Lord Capulet did not want Juliet to get married to Paris. He believed Juliet was too young and that marriage was her decision to make, not his. “My will to her consent is but a part.” (I.ii.17), he says to Paris. He then goes to contradict himself later by saying, “But fettle your fine joints ‘gainst Thursday next / To go with Paris to Saint Peter’s Church, / Or I will drag thee on a hurdle

thither” (III.v.157). He also says, “Thursday is near. Lay hand on heart. Advise / And you be mine, I’ll give you to my friend. / And you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets. / For by my soul, I’ll never acknowledge thee” (III.v.200). Both these quotations show that Juliet must agree to marry Paris or Lord Capulet will disown her. Lord Capulet seems to care more about his honour than his daughter. He would rather ruin his daughter’s happiness than break the vow he made to Paris.

Lady Capulet is also to blame for the deaths.

Instead of supporting, or even comforting her daughter after Lord Capulet threatened to disown her, Lady Capulet walked away and said, “Talk not to me, for I’ll not speak a word. / Do as thou wilt, for I have done with thee.” (III.v.212). This is said after Juliet asks her mother to try and delay the wedding, if not Juliet would kill herself. Lady Capulet tells Juliet that she does not matter to Lady Capulet unless she agrees to marry Paris. Lady Capulet is supporting her husband’s decision as well. If Lady Capulet could have postponed the wedding, Juliet would have had more time to think about her relationship with Romeo. If she still decided she wanted to be with Romeo, the delay of the wedding would have given her more time to plan a better, more safe, escape. Also, if both Lord and Lady Capulet had been less hating towards the Montagues, Juliet would have come clean to them about her and Romeo. This would have led to Juliet having more time with Romeo, and more advice from her family. It would have also prevented the secret marriage and perhaps after getting to know each other a little better, they would not have wanted to get

married.

Finally, the Nurse is another to blame for the deaths of the star-crossed lovers. After Lord and Lady Capulet failed to support Juliet the Nurse also betrayed Julier. She said, “I think it is best you married with the County.” (III.v.228). The Nurse was Juliet’s last pillar of support, and the greatest one too, but she turned her back on Juliet as well. Unlike Juliet’s parents, the Nurse seemed care more for Juliet, but Juliet did not see this as felt betrayed. This pushed Juliet over the edge and left her with no choice but to seek help from the Friar, which caused the deaths.

Overall, I believe the main cause of the deaths was the lack of support and understanding from Juliet’s family. Had they tried to understand her and the reason she did not want to get married, the deaths would not have happened. The major underlying cause of the deaths, to my belief, is when she was told to marry Paris or get disowned.