Romeo and Juliet

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Young love; a questionable topic since the early days of mankind. Even after centuries have passed, many still wonder whether it is considered true love or just plain lust. This mystery reincarnates itself through Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The question that arises in this tragic love story of young, supposedly star-crossed lovers is who is to be truly blamed for their deaths within the first two acts? With a story as complex as this one, the blame can fall on various characters. However, the most evident characters to take the fall are Benvolio, Romeo and Friar Lawrence.

To begin, Benvolio who is a part of the Montague family and the cousin of Romeo played a huge role in the tragic end of the two young lovers. In the story's beginning he is shown to be engaged in a fight with the Tybalt Capulet. He stated that, "I do but keep the peace. Put up thy sword, or manage it to part these men with me."(i.i, 69-70) One of the main reasons why Romeo and Juliet had a tragic ending was because of the feud between the families. When Benvolio participated in this feud through his fight with Tybalt, he became a part of the problem. If Benvolio had decided he was above the feud and refused to engage in it, the future of Romeo and Juliet's relationship could have been different since they would not have to hide themselves from their family. Also, Benvolio was the person who persuaded Romeo to go to the masked feast to get over Rosaline. He told Romeo, "By giving liberty unto thine eyes. Examine other beauties."(i.i, 235-236) Romeo met Juliet at the masked ball which happened only because of Benvolio's persuasion. If Benvolio had decided to take Romeo somewhere else rather than the masked feast, Romeo most likely would have never met Juliet ...

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...tablished that if Friar Lawrence did not encourage Romeo to get over Rosaline and if he had not given them the consent to be married, Romeo and Juliet would not have committed suicide for one another.

In the end, William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet has a unique portrayal of young love. It opens the reader's mind to the fact that young love is a questionable and controversial topic since it is unknown whether or not it is guided by yearning or by true love. Ultimately, Romeo and Juliet committed suicide for one another because of this love. Within the first two acts of the play, it is clear that many characters played a role in their passing. The most apparent characters were Benvolio, Romeo and Friar Lawrence. Although these three characters had pure intentions and did not expect the outcome that was made, their actions contributed to Romeo and Juliet's demise.

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