Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

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Romeo and Juliet Essay

In Romeo and Juliet, a tragedy written by the great English playwright- William Shakespeare- “a pair of star-crossed lovers take their life,” due to rivalry of two families (Crowther 1). Simply put, the hatred between two families causes a pair of lovers to commit suicide. Although this case is a suicide, the blame might not be all on the lovers- Romeo and Juliet. The tragedy might be the fault of other people involving in this event, specifically the adults around the lovers. There are three adults around the lovers that might have influenced them and lead them to their death: Friar Lawrence, the nurse, and the apothecary.
In the story, Romeo’s only trusted advisor is Friar Lawrence, the person who agrees to marry the lovers, leading to their death later on. At first, Romeo’s heart belongs to Rosaline, a relative of the Capulet family. Her rejection deeply saddens Romeo, though when he saw Juliet, his heart for Rosaline shifts towards her. Juliet of the Capulet family becomes the love interest of Romeo, as he is also one for her. This puppy love formed by the two lovers is a love at first sight, which is childish and might not last long, and Friar Lawrence knows this for a fact:
Holy Saint Francis, this is a drastic change! Have you given up so quickly on Rosaline, whom you loved so much? Then young men love with their eyes, not with their hearts. Jesus and Mary, how many tears did you cry for Rosaline? How many salty tear-drops did you waste salting a love you never tasted? The sun hasn’t yet melted away the fog you made with all your sighs. The groans you used to make are still ringing in my old ears. There’s still a stain on your cheek from an old tear that hasn’t been washed off yet. If you were ever...

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...e a living Romeo, she would not have killed herself to die after him.
Friar Lawrence, the nurse, the apothecary- these people should have the most blame for falsely influencing the decisions made by the lovers. A person influenced by bad thoughts should not fully take the blame for committing a crime; rather, these bad thoughts influencing him should also be blamed. Without these characters, Romeo and Juliet wouldn’t have died- they might actually be able to live peacefully with each other, away from their families. But without these characters, Romeo and Juliet wouldn’t be such a successful play, containing the essence of a tragedy, “for there never was a story of more woe, than this of Juliet and her Romeo (Crowther 94).”

Works Cited

Crowther, John, ed. “No Fear Romeo and Juliet.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.

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