Who is to Blame in Romeo and Juliet?

The story people adore; Romeo falls for Juliet and they get married. They are forced into hiding which leads to Juliet pretending to be dead. The love struck Romeo kills him self, when Juliet awakes to actually kill herself, a fantasized love story. However another side to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet tragedy that fans don't look at is who is responsible. The dominant male characters, Friar Laurence, Lord Capulet, and Romeo are most at blame for the story.

Friar Laurence's immature actions make him part of the tragedy. For one, he married Romeo and Juliet. When told that Romeo loves Juliet, Friar replies, "Holy Saint Francis, what a change is here! /Is Rosaline, that thou didst love so dear, /so soon forsaken? Young men's love then lies/ not truly in the hearts, but in their eyes," (II, III, lines 66-69). In these lines, Friar admits that Romeo is only lusting for Juliet. Being the adult, Friar shouldn't have married Romeo until he found true love. However, the Friar was immature and married them anyways. Then, Friar came up with the idea for Juliet to fake death. Juliet is distressed about Romeo being banished so Friar comes up with the plan saying, "Hold, then. Go home, be merry, give consent/ to marry Paris. Wednesday is tomorrow,” Juliet is then suppose to "Take thou this vial, being then in bed/ And this distilling liquor drink thou off." After being buried and awakened, "Shall Romeo bear thee hence to Mantua." (IV, I, Lines 90-119). This bad advise, to give a girl a drink like death and tells her to run away, is only one of many immature actions Friar takes. Finally, Friar did not stay with Juliet after she frantically woke up, in a tomb, next other diseased husband who was supposed to run away with her to Mantua. Inste...

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...till been alive. Finally, Romeo's haste is responsible for his own death. He uses poison saying, "Here's to my love. O true apothecary, /Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die," (IIIII, III, 123-124). Romeo wanted to die quickly and did not waste any time buying the poison after figuring out that Juliet was dead. In conclusion, Romeo's haste was a major part of the tragedy because if Romeo had taken a step back, a lot wouldn't have happened.

There are two sides to every story, even if it is Romeo and Juliet. Behind all the love and roses is a less appealing meaning, something many don’t want to think about. Friar Laurence, Lord Capulet and Romeo brought the tragedy upon themselves, but sometimes, we only have ourselves to blame.

Work Cited

Shakespeare, William. “Romeo and Juliet.” Literature and Language. Illinois: McDougal, Littell and Company, 1992.