Research Paper On Who Is To Blame For The Death Of Romeo And Juliet

The Deaths of Romeo and Juliet: Who Is To Blame?

William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a play which involves two “star-crossed lovers”, and how they have both fallen in love with each other. This love lead to many consequences, with the major one being the deaths of the two. The cause of their deaths is clear, but the one to blame for it is very controversial. Many people could be to blame, but I believe that the friar, Friar Lawrence, was the most involving. This is mainly because of his intent to end the feud between the two families, the Montagues and the Capulets, which ultimately led to the marriage of Romeo and Juliet. This is expressed when he says, “For this alliance may so happy prove to turn your households’ rancor to pure love.”

(pg 102, lines 91-92). Although this was the only idea at hand, or at least in the friar’s mind, he was not certain for what would occur as he said the alliance MAY end the feud, which tells he was not very positive about the decision. This failure to think ahead led to a series of unfavorable events, such as how Romeo murdered Tybalt and was exiled from Verona, and how Paris discussed and made final plans with Lord Capulet for his marriage with Juliet. When Juliet came to Friar Lawrence to find a solution, he gave her a sleeping potion which he failed to tell Romeo about, and this lack of knowledge ultimately led to both Romeo and Juliet’s death.
Some may suspect that Friar Lawrence is guilty for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, but I have found that this is false.

After investigating further, I believe that the Nurse was responsible for their deaths mainly because of her inability to care for Juliet which, in time, led to her betraying Juliet. She told her to marry Paris, even though the she knew what Juliet really wanted to do. She states, “I think you are happy in this second match, for it excels your first. Or if it did not, your first is dead…” (pg 204, lines 223-224). This shows that she did not care for Juliet’s love with Romeo anymore and how she gave up on her, which proves that she did not care for Juliet very

well.
Another reason why I believe the Nurse is responsible is because she did not help Juliet to find a solution in order to rejoice with Romeo again, and decided to leave it up to the friar.

Juliet comes to the Nurse to ask for help, but she failed to help and told her to forget Romeo and marry Paris instead. When the Nurse left, Juliet said to herself, “Go, counselor. Thou and my bosom henceforth shall be twain. I’ll to the friar to know his remedy. If all else fail, myself have power to die.” (pg 206, lines 240-243). The actions of the Nurse has made Juliet have a feeling of distrust for her, and now she seeks Friar Lawrence for help. Juliet has also directly stated that she will commit suicide if everything else fails, and this sense of depression has been caused by the

Nurse.
Lastly, I believe that the Nurse is responsible for their deaths mainly because she did not tell Juliet’s parents, Lord and Lady Capulet, about her current marriage with Romeo. Throughout the whole discussion about Paris planning to marry Juliet, the Nurse did not mention even once how Juliet and Romeo had already gotten married. When Lord Capulet was yelling at Juliet and making her feel miserable, the Nurse said, “God in heaven bless her! You are to blame, my lord, to rate her so.” (pg 200, line 169). This shows that she was on Juliet’s side, but later on she betrayed her and went along with Lord Capulet about her marrying Paris. If she had told them in the beginning, then the outcome of the events that occurred could have drastically changed, which would result in both Romeo and Juliet living a happy life, and that, in turn, would prevent their deaths.
In conclusion, many people could be blamed for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, but I believe that the Nurse is most responsible because she failed to care for Juliet when she was in need, she did not help her find a solution in order to be with Romeo again, which led to her betraying Juliet, and she failed to inform Lord and Lady Capulet about Romeo and how he was currently married to Juliet. This series of actions ended up in Juliet drinking the potion while appearing to be dead, with Romeo’s reaction turning into suicide, and eventually, Juliet’s was the same. Romeo and Juliet is a very interesting and thought-provoking play, with the writer, William Shakespeare, being very talented and creative in his words, which makes a very good story.