Who Was Responsible For Romeo And Juliet's Death

A number of people are responsible for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, such as the two lovers, the feuding families, Friar Lawrence, and Balthasar.

The lovers are the most responsible for their own deaths. “Yea, noise? Then I’ll be brief. O happy dagger! / This is thy sheath; there rust, and let me die,” (Shakespeare 842) are the dramatic lines Juliet recites before stabbing herself in the chest. People can conclude that if Juliet had not stabbed herself, she would not have died at the age of thirteen. It was impulsive of her to do this as well as foolish because she did not take the time to absorb all the new information presented to her and instead made a split-second decision in the heat of the moment. Romeo says, “Here’s to my love! O

true apothecary! / Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die” (Shakespeare 841) as he drinks the poison, believing Juliet to be dead. It shows him to be a bit dramatic, as he decides to join his wife in death rather than simply mourning. As well as dramatic, it implies that he would rather die than live with the sorrow of having a loved one be dead. Hi. To conclude, most of the blame for the tragedy falls on the lovers themselves.
The families are also responsible for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. In the prologue their violent feud is established with the lines “From ancient grudge break to new mutiny. / Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean” (Shakespeare 731). This quote shows that the families were violent with each other, making it obvious why Romeo and Juliet kept their love a secret. The families were childish to hate each other so much, and since the reason for their feud is never mentioned it leads the readers to believe that the families had forgotten why they began hating each other in the first place. Evidence that the families would not have accepted the children’s marriage is shown when Tybalt sees Romeo at the Capulet party and tells Lord Capulet, “Uncle, this is a Montague, our foe,” (Shakespeare 751). This quote in its context show that even in the relaxed and fun setting of a party the hatred between the two houses is prominent, making it no wonder why Romeo and Juliet kept their love a secret. It also shows with the word choice that although the Capulets despise the Montagues, they do not consider the other family to be evil. Tybalt is shown to be an angry person throughout the play, so it would make sense for him to call Romeo a dog or a villain, but he chooses to call Romeo a foe. The feud between the families was definitely a factor in the lovers’ deaths.
Friar Lawrence and Balthasar are partially responsible for the deaths of the two lovers.

Friar Lawrence says, “Come good Juliet, / I dare no longer stay,” (Shakespeare 842) before abandoning Juliet in the tomb with her dead husband. This shows that he was irresponsible enough to leave an emotionally unstable child alone with new and shocking information without trying to help her handle it. It also shows that that he is a bit of a coward, as he ran from the possible repercussions of helping Romeo and Juliet get married. His cowardice would likely have kept him from intervening in Juliet’s suicide, instead planning how he would avoid the blame. Balthasar is not innocent either, making the similar mistake of leaving an emotional teenager with their presumed-to-be-dead lover and instead promising, “I will be gone, sir, and not trouble you,” (Shakespeare 840). Although Romeo did threaten to violently murder Balthasar if he followed, he could have gone and found someone who could have kept Romeo from killing himself. Balthasar even admits to being suspicious of Romeo’s intentions and says aside, “For all this same, I’ll hide me here about: / His looks I fear, and his intents I doubt,” (Shakespeare 840) yet does nothing to protect Romeo from himself. This shows a lack of common sense on Balthasar’s part, because if someone is behaving in an incredibly suspicious manner, it only makes sense to try and get help. The incompetence of Friar Lawrence and Balthasar certainly played a part in the death of the

lovers.
To summarize, there are many people responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet including the lovers themselves, the two families, Friar Lawrence, and Balthasar.