Responsibility In Shakespeare's The Tragedy Of Romeo And Juliet

With Mercutio’s last moments he cursed the houses Capulet and Montague for his death and events that happen during the course of the play. Could this very well be a fair assumption, with the toxic behavior coming from the Capulets and the passive behavior from the Montagues, would it be any wonder that the adults of the story are the true cause for all the troubles that befall Romeo, Juliet and company?

The house of the Capulets invites loyalty among the people but also hot tempers. Through the inability to understand Juliet and put aside their anger they may have been the cause for the events that transpired during the story. Lord Capulet, patriarch of the Capulets, is a man that demands respect and has quite the temper. When his character is introduced he is a reasonable father, taking Juliet’s age into consideration the first time he is approached by Paris about marriage. He allows Romeo to take part of his party after Tybalt discovers him. This seems to take a complete 180 later on when Juliet disobeys her father, after her cousin’s death, he threatens to hurt her. “I tell thee what: get thee to church o' Thursday, or never after look me in the face. Speak not. Reply not. Do not answer me. My fingers itch.” Act 3, scene 5,

page 8. Here his temper is very clearly quickly arisen when Juliet goes against his wishes, as stated before, he even threatens her with the phrase “My fingers itch.” His wife, Lady Capulet, is not much better than he is. Shown to be a much younger woman than her husband, but also quite the caustic and vindictive person. If Capulet has redeeming qualities, then Lady Capulet has far less. She’s incredibly demanding, and after Tybalt’s death she calls for the death of Romeo, refusing to see the justice with Mercutio’s murder. She also tells Juliet of her plans to poison Romeo through a servant. Through a large majority of the play she is a character who is unsympathetic and unlikeable. With the mood swings of Lord Capulet there is no wonder Juliet might feel ostracized and unable to go to them with the problems she faces. Especially considering the feud between the Capulets and Montagues.
The Montague house acts as a foil to the red hot tempers of the Capulet house. Where Lord Capulet has anger issues Lord Montague is far more controlled and dignified with his actions. He is also less eager to jump into a fight against his enemies, the Capulets. Even if he is shown far less in the play than his Capulet counterpart, his character shines through. He’s quiet, more self-controlled and very clearly loves his son deeply. Showing concern over the strange behavior that Romeo exhibits at the start of the play, even sending Benvolio to make sure Romeo is alright and see what ails him. Lady Montague also acts as a foil for her counterpart. Lady Montague is shown to be a motherly and concerned figure towards her child, so concerned for Romeo that she dies of grief after his exile. Otherwise, not much is known about the Montague House’s matriarch.
The houses of Montague and Capulet both had hands in the series of tragic events that occurred throughout the play.

The arguing that both houses continue to let happen influenced the distrust that Romeo and Juliet have in the judgment of their parents, and in fact is why they even must sneak around in the first place. Many events could have of been prevented if not for the actions of the parents. For example, had Lord Capulet not insisted on marrying Juliet to Paris in an attempt to stall her grief, she would not have of become so desperate as to take the potion that Friar Laurence provided that, in the end, led the two children to take their lives. Had the parents taken responsibility the events of the story would never have of

occurred.
Is it the adults that, in the end, are responsible for everything that happens throughout the play? Ultimately yes. If not for the passiveness of Montague and the temper of Capulet, the issues between them could have of been solved and the sneaking around between Romeo and Juliet never taken place. Romeo and Juliet were innocent victims to the adults actions, and suffered the consequences.