The Death Of Romeo And Juliet: Who Is Responsible For The Death Of Romeo And Juliet

Juliet caused the death of herself and Romeo because she faked her death which caused Romeo to kill himself and then kills herself when she sees that Romeo is dead. Also she jumped blindly into a marriage with someone from her family's mortal enemy. These are all prime examples of how Juliet throughout the book is blinded by her love for Romeo and acts rashly out of emotion instead of logic.

Juliet caused her and Romeo's death for many reasons that are shown throughout the book. Firstly, she was willing to marry Romeo and give up her name hours after meeting him, even after finding out he was the son of the Montagues, “Nurse- “His name is Romeo, and a Montague, The only son of your great enemy. Juliet- My only love, sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late! Prodigious birth of love it is to me That I must love a loathèd enemy… Juliet- O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Capulet.Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow, By one that I'll procure to come to thee, Where and what time thou wilt perform the rite; And all my fortunes at thy foot I'll lay And follow thee my lord throughout the world.”. Everyone knows that the Montagues and the Capulets have been enemies for years but she still went through with the decision to marry him. Secondly, after Romeo was banished and she was going to be forced into marriage, she went crazy. She went to Friar Lawrence and threatened to kill herself right then and there if he did not come up with a plan to get her back with Romeo “Juliet- Tell me not, friar, that thou hearest of this, Unless thou tell me how I may prevent it. If in thy wisdom thou canst give no help, Do thou but call my resolution wise And with this knife I'll help it presently... Give me some present counsel; or, behold ‘Twixt my extremes and me and this bloody knife Shall play the umpire, arbitrating that Which the commission of thy years and art Could to no long to speak. I long to die If what thou speak’st not of remedy”. Of course like all plans that are made up on the spot, the plan does not work as expected.

Which leads us to reason number three, she faked her death. There is so many things wrong with the idea of faking her death. Juliet faking her death could have lead to so many problems. She even ignored her own fears that could have been very possible outcomes, “Juliet- Come, vial. (holds out the vial) What if this mixture do not work at all? Shall I be married then tomorrow morning? No, no. This shall forbid it. Lie thou there. (lays her knife down) What if it be a poison, which the friar Subtly hath ministered to have me dead, Lest in this marriage he should be dishonored Because he married me before to Romeo? I fear it is... How if, when I am laid into the tomb, I wake before the time that Romeo Come to redeem me? There’s a fearful point. Shall I not, then, be stifled in the vault To whose foul mouth no healthsome air breathes in, And there die strangled ere my Romeo comes? Or, if I live, is it not very like The horrible conceit of death and night... So early waking, what with loathsome smells, And shrieks like mandrakes torn out of the earth, That living mortals, hearing them, run mad—?Oh, if I wake, shall I not be distraught, Environèd with all these hideous fears, And madly play with my forefathers joints, And pluck the mangled Tybalt from his shroud, And, in this rage, with some great kinsman’s bone, As with a club, dash out my desperate brains? Oh, look! Methinks I see my cousin’s ghost Seeking out Romeo, that did spit his body Upon a rapier’s point. Stay, Tybalt, stay!

Romeo, Romeo, Romeo! Here’s drink. I drink to thee (she drinks and falls down on the bead, hidden by the bed curtains).”. Her “death” also caused Romeo to kill himself because he thought she was dead and was completely heartbroken and could live without her, “Romeo- A grave? O, no, a lantern, slaughtered youth, For here lies Juliet, and her beauty makes This vault a feasting presence full of light. Death, lie thou there, by a dead man interred... A lightning before death. O, how may I Call this a lightening? O my love! My Wife!... Here’s to my love! (Drinks.) O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die. (He kisses Juliet, falls, and dies)”. Sadly after Romeo kills himself she wakes up almost instantly and follows his leads and kills herself when she realizes he is actually dead because she is heartbroken as well and can't live without him, “Juliet- What's here? A cup, closed in my true love’s hand? Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end. O churl! drunk all, and left no friendly drop To help me after? I will kiss thy lips. Haply some poison yet doth hang on them To make me die with a restorative. (Kisses him.) Thy lips are warm!... Juliet- Yea, noise? Then I'll be brief. O happy dagger! (Takes Romeo’s dagger.) This is thy sheath; there rust, and let me die. (She stabs herself, falls, and dies.) ”.

Now there are some people who may disagree and say that the deaths of Romeo and Juliet are not her fault. They might try to blame their deaths on other people. Like Friar Lawrence, “Hold, daughter. I do spy a kind of hope, Which craves as desperate an execution As that is desperate which we would prevent. If, rather than to marry County Paris, Thou hast the strength of will to slay thyself, Then is it likely thou wilt undertake A thing like death to chide away this shame, That copest with death himself to ’scape from it. An if thou darest, I’ll give thee remedy... Hold, then. Go home, be merry. Give consent To marry Paris. Wednesday is tomorrow. Tomorrow night look that thou lie alone… (shows her a vial) Take thou this vial, being then in bed, And this distillèd liquor drink thou off, When presently through all thy veins shall run A cold and drowsy humor, for no pulse Shall keep his native progress, but surcease… Shall, stiff and stark and cold, appear like death… Thou shalt continue two and forty hours, And then awake as from a pleasant sleep… In the meantime, against thou shalt awake, Shall Romeo by my letters know our drift, And hither shall he come, and he and I Will watch thy waking, and that very night Shall Romeo bear thee hence to Mantua. And this shall free thee from this present shame, If no inconstant toy, nor womanish fear, Abate thy valor in the acting it.”, for his terrible plan, Romeo instead for getting him self banished by killing Tybalt “Benvolio- O noble prince, I can discover all The unlucky manage of this fatal brawl. There lies the man, slain by young Romeo, That slew thy kinsman, brave Mercutio... Prince- And for that offence

Immediately we do exile him hence. ”, the Montague and Capulets for having a fued, and the Capulets for wanting to marry Juliet to Paris “Capulet- Monday! Ha, ha! Well, Wednesday is too soon. A Thursday let it be - a Thursday, teller her, She shall be married to this noble earl.”. But it all comes back to Juliet. Juliet threatens to kill herself if the Friar didn't make a plan, Juliet went against her family's wishes and didn't want to marry Paris, and she married Romeo, the son of her family’s enemy.

In conclusion, Juliet caused the death of herself and Romeo for multiple reasons. Juliet, throughout the story, let's her emotions towards Romeo blind her and lead her to making rash emotional decisions. Even though there are many different ways for you to blame someone other than Juliet. All of them lead back to Juliet and her feelings.

Works Cited

1. Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. Edited by Peter Holland, Penguin Books, 2015.
2. Rose, Ivanna. “Who Is Responsible for the Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.” Prezi.com, 11 June 2015, prezi.com/bqc-xnp5uwij/who-is-responsible-for-the-tragedy-of-romeo-and-juliet/.