romeo and juliet who is to blame essay

• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar
• Skip to footer

English Works

Who is to blame? Romeo and Juliet notes

WHO IS TO BLAME

“Romeo and Juliet” is a young couple’s play about love and hate, adolescent angst and death by Shakespeare. The continual feud between the Montague and the Capulet families results in ongoing conflict. There are many factors that are responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Friar Lawrence, fate and their parents can be held responsible for their tragic demise. But the lovers too, especially Romeo, makes some poor decisions. Miscalculation and accidents also play a part.

See some Sample paragraphs based on TEEL structure for text response.

THE FEUDING FAMILIES  

The feud is responsible for the tragic deaths. They are born into enemy families and it is expected that both marry a person from the same family. There is a lot of ill-feeling and hatred between the two clans. The feuding families creates a malignant context for the lovers. The play is about ‘The fearful passage of their death-mark’d love, And the continuance of their parents’ rage, which but their children’s end nought could remove. ’

When Juliet first meets Romeo she knows that their relationship is cursed because it is her fate to fall in love with a member of the enemy household. Juliet and Romeo are both determined to find a way to be together and get married despite their enemy status. Juliet regrets that Romeo is a Montague, but she asks, “What’s in a name”. She tells Romeo, “doff thy name … and take all myself.”

Marriage plans:

Lord Capulet insists on the marriage.  (Act 4/1 and Act 3/5)

Lord and Lady Capulet force her to marry Paris without asking her opinion because they assume that she will obey them. They misunderstand the extent and purpose of her grief following Tybalt’s death. They think it is simply unhealthy.

When she does not obey their orders, Lord Capulet gets angry “Hang you, you minx! You disobedient wretch! I’ll tell you now: Go to the church on Thursday, or never look on my face again!” He is very arrogant and shows little concern for Juliet’s feelings. He accuses her of being ungrateful. This makes Juliet extremely unhappy and gives her further reason to be disobedient. As a result she consults Friar Lawrence.

  MERCUTIO AND TYBALT

The continued brawling between clan members such as Tybalt and Mercutio directly leads to Romeo’s exile. BOTH Mercutio (Montagues) and Tybalt (Capulet) are troublemakers.  Shakespeare constructs the two figures as mirror images of their different families. Both and Mercutio incite hatred and inflame the tension between the two clans.  Both bear a grudge against each other. They both use words and phrases to deliberately offend each other.

Mercutio is just as provocative as Tybalt. When they meet in Act III, Mercutio states that “I care not” that Tybalt is coming and that they must prevent a fight. His language and his words are very inflammatory. In response to Tybalt he states “a word and a blow”.  He deliberately misunderstands/ misinterprets Tybalt’s words, “consortst” as an insult. Tybalt deliberately uses the word “consort’st” because of its double meaning.  As a result, Mercutio interprets this offensively. He is the one who draws his “fiddlestick” or sword first and prompts a fight.   He refuses to listen to reason from either Benvolio or Romeo.  He also refers to Romeo’s words of peace as “vile submission”.

Likewise, Mercutio hates Tybalt and provokes him to a fight when he asks if Tybalt, the “Good King of Cats”, is a coward, “Tybalt, you rat-catcher, will you walk” (3.1)

Tybalt is also provocative and greets Romeo with the phrase “here comes my man”.   Tybalt has a grudge against Romeo from the time he comes to the ball. He is stubborn, hot-tempered and provocative. Tybalt says he hates “peace” as he hates “hell, all Montagues, and thee.” He says to Romeo, “thou art a villain”, which refers to the fact that he is intended as an insult and refers to a man of inferior birth, as a peasant.  He tells Romeo, “turn and draw”.

He also feels slighted that Lord Capulet seems to protect Romeo and state that he is a “virtuous” and “well-govern’d youth” with a good reputation. This seems to fuel Tybalt’s sense of inferiority, and, feeling slighted and aggrieved, he is constantly looking for an outlet to vent his anger on Romeo.

He derails R’s attempts to mediate between the clans.  He exacerbates and aggravates the tension between the clans. He refers to Romeo as his “man” which is a pun on servant; it is demeaning. He states that he cannot excuse the “injuries that thou hast done me”.

Tybalt refuses to take Romeo seriously, when he states that he “loves thee better than thou canst devise”. He goes against the Prince’s orders when he provokes the brawl and kills Mercutio, thus provoking Romeo.  He is so hot-tempered that he takes advantage of Romeo’s attempts to restrain Mercutio and stabs him. He recklessly and impulsively stabs Mercutio thus precipating a chain of action that leads to the death of both Romeo and Juliet.

When Romeo kills Tybalt, Romeo must flee. Because of his fiery nature, he becomes the catalyst for the ensuring tragic events.  He lacks Romeo’s charitable attitude and peaceable nature.

Both Tybalt and Mercutio play a major role in Romeo’s downfall. They refuse to settle for peace. They deliberately use inflammatory words. They both want to fight.

ROMEO has a tendency to be impulsive and this contributes to his exile . Even Friar Lawrence tries to warn him that it is not good to be impulsive. Friar Lawrence is shocked that Romeo has so quickly changed his affection from Rosaline to Juliet. However, Romeo does display his love for Juliet when he tries to restrain Tybalt and states that contrary to expectation he “love(s) thee better than thou canst devise”

After Tybalt kills Mercutio, he decides that he must defend his honour and no longer shows control and restraint. He imagines that his love has weakened him. He worries that Juliet’s “beauty hath made me effeminate” and is determined to change this. He says let “fire-eyed fury be my conduct now”. Only when it is too late, he realizes how foolish he has been. He realizes he is “fortune’s fool” and doomed by their feuding families. Sadly, Romeo also panics when he sees Juliet in the casket.

THE TRAGEDY is a catalogue of errors originating in Fr L’s ill-hatched plan.

• it was too sophisticated and risk-laden (despite its worthy aims) and ends up with disastrous consequences
• he encourages Juliet to deceive her parents; she fakes death which is a very upsetting experience for her parents.
• F L does not have any back-up plans; Friar John was waylaid by authorities and FL fails inform Balthasar who hurries to tell Romeo about Juliet’s death.
• R ends up distraught and unable to think clearly: Romeo is too young and impulsive to evaluate the situation when it backfired

  Ill-hatched plan 

Friar Lawrence’s scheme is not well planned and is perhaps too sophisticated for the young lovers. Juliet blindly places her faith in Friar Lawrence and when the plan backfires both Romeo and Juliet are too young, naive and innocent to think of other remedies.

Friar Lawrence instigates the dangerous plan that has disastrous consequences, although love and peace are his main aims. He states that “ this this alliance may so happy prove to turn your households’ rancour to pure love’ .  Friar organises the risk-laden scheme which seeks to avoid Juliet’s hasty marriage to Paris. (Also he knows that Juliet is threatening to kill herself if he does not find a solution.)  The plan appears simple, but it is full of risks.

It encourages Juliet to deceive her parents.  She feigns death which leads to disaster upon the lack of communication with Romeo.  Friar Lawrence’s scheme is not well planned and is perhaps too sophisticated for the young lovers. Juliet blindly places her faith in Friar Lawrence and when the plan backfires both Romeo and Juliet are too young, naive and innocent to think of other remedies.

He does not have any back-up plans. Friar John is held up by the authorities. He is unable to give Romeo the letter about Friar Lawrence’s scheme because he and another monk were delayed by the authorities and quarantined. (“Where the infectious pestilence did reign, Seal’d up the doors, and would not let us forth”.)

Friar Lawrence fails to inform, Romeo’s servant Balthasar, who hurries to Romeo with the news that Juliet is dead. He begs Romeo to show patience, which may have led to a different outcome. Pale and wildly impetuous, Romeo decides to go straight to her tomb.

When he learns about her “death” Romeo rushes to buy poison. In front of Juliet’s body he remains with their memories. He remembers the memory of her kiss: “Death, that hath suck’d the honey of thy breath.” After his death by “true apothecary”, Juliet wakes up and kills herself with a “dagger”

The rivalry between the M and C were the main reason for the death of Romeo and Juliet. Discuss.

Sample paragraphs. 

The simmering brawl between warring clan members such as Tybalt and Mercutio directly precipitates the chain of tragic events that leads to Romeo’s exile and the lovers’ death. Shakespeare constructs the two figures as mirror images of their different families which bear an ancient grudge that is difficult, or impossible, to resolve. Both Mercutio, a Montague,  and Tybalt, a Capulet, are clearly troublemakers; both are antagonistic towards the Prince’s decree that … “if you ever disturb our streets again, your lives shall pay the price of it”.   Initially at the masked ball, Tybalt is warned by Capulet to bury his resentment, but instead he is left smouldering from what he feels as an offensive intrusion by a Montague. During the later street encounter, Mercutio is just as provocative as Tybalt. When they meet in Act III, Mercutio states that “I care not” that Tybalt is coming and that they must prevent a fight. Shakespeare constructs the scene in such a way to show how their continued enmity obstructs reconciliation and peace. He employs puns that are used by both Tybalt and Merc to inflame the situation. For example, Mercutio deliberately misunderstands/ misinterprets Tybalt’s words, “consortst”, used because of its double meaning, as an insult. M is the one who draws his “fiddlestick” or sword first and prompts a fight.   He refuses to listen to reason from either Benvolio or Romeo.  He also refers to Romeo’s words of peace as “vile submission”.   Likewise, Mercutio hates Tybalt and provokes him to a fight when he asks if Tybalt, the “Good King of Cats”, is a coward, “Tybalt, you rat-catcher, will you walk” (3.1) Eventually the death of M and then Tybalt leads to Romeo’s exile and the ill-hatched plan of Friar Lawrence.

If Mercutio and Tybalt act as catalysts, Shakespeare also depicts Lord Capulet as a contributing partner to the tragedy owing to the misuse of his power and authority. His misguided arrogance and despotic nature seal her fate owing to the hasty order to marry Paris, in complete disregard of her wellbeing. Whilst there are some redeeming features to Capulet such as his conciliatory attitude displayed towards Romeo at the masked ball, Shakespeare does place considerable emphasis on his unreasonable order to hastily marry Paris. He clearly misunderstands Juliet’s wishes and the purpose of her grief following Tybalt’s death.   Shakespeare depicts Tybalt as clearly sharp despotic ordering her to marry. “Hang you minx …” (quotes…) Shakespeare continues to show how the misuse of his authority and power, which could have been used to solve the feud, instead contributes to the tragic chain of events that leads to the death of the lovers

Whilst most members of the feuding families have a direct influence on the outcome, Friar Lawrence’s ill-hatched plan has an indirect influence on the hasty deaths of the lovers as Romeo is bound for exile. However, in the scheme of the play, Shakespeare would suggest that his role, whilst unfortunate, is less blameworthy because of his motives to secure peace. Also, he acted in the best interests of the lovers aware of the depth of their feeling.  (Quotes for F L …) However, the plan was nevertheless too sophisticated and risk-laden to withstand the degree of bad luck and unfortunate circumstances. …   the passionate lovers took drastic and impetuous measures.

See some Sample paragraphs based on TEEL structure for text response. Return to  Notes: Romeo and Juliet

For Sponsorship and Other Enquiries

Keep in touch.

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• We're Hiring!
• Help Center

Download Free PDF

Who is to blame for the death of Romeo & Juliet?

Related papers

Romeo and Juliet: Critical Insights

Teaching Statistics, 1988

This brief essay presents the idea that in Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare offers us a window in time through which we can witness an event of immense impact on the world of late medieval and early Renaissance Europe – an event that changed values, authority, religion, government – in short, an event that altered the course of Western intellectual, moral, political and economic history forever. We feel its effects even today. Henry VIII’s declaration of total sovereignty in matters of both Church and State, as supreme head of the church, forced upon his people a radical, devastating choice. They had to choose between their faith, with the Pope as head of the Church, and their country, with their loyalty and allegiance given only to their King. Abandonment of the former would lose them their immortal souls. Disobedience to the latter would lose them their property and very likely their heads. Henry forced his people to accept a new religion, under the guise of reformation. The story of the Montagues and the Capulets can be seen, in brief, as an allegory of the continuous warring of the Church and the State, respectively, and the resulting dislocation and relocation of the soul and body of humankind (or the concepts thereof) in the new combination created by Henry VIII.

Shakespeare Quarterly, 2012

Published in Journal of Historical Pragmatics 7 (2006):73-88. Abstract: The joint sonnet of the two lovers-to-be at the Capulet feast towards the end of the first act is rightly regarded as the dramatic and poetic climax of the first part of the play. Yet it constitutes, from an interactional point of view, merely a first move and the declarations of love proper occur only later in the orchard scene of the second act. This article explores the complex negotiations that precede the actual confessions of love and investigates how Shakespeare modified his rather simplistic source text, Arthur Brooke’s Romeus and Juliet (1562), in order to exploit the full interactional and dramatic potential of the situation.

International Journal of Research, 2015

Romeo and Juliet think the grandness of their passion is enough for them to defy their parents will but the fault in their stars is that the environment around them grows so hostile to their passion as a series of events involving the conflict between the two families escalated by the slaying of Mercutio and Tybalt will lead them to take their own lives to escape the violence. It is thus futile for this pair of teenage lovers to defy providence and their parents’ will as it ends in their own destruction. Romeo and Juliet is then a play about idealized metaphysical love that fails to realize itself in the material world because it is fallen and hostile to their desire.

Edizioni ETS eBooks, 2018

Loading Preview

Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.

Social Science Research Network, 2019

International Journal of Comparative Literature and Translation Studies, 2013

Jordan Journal of Modern Languages and Literatures

D H Lawrence Review, 2003

Jurnal Culture, 2014

International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research, 2024

Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, 1996

Australian International Academic Centre, Australia, 2013

English Literary Renaissance, 2005

Cahiers Élisabéthains: A Journal of English Renaissance Studies

Related topics

•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024

Essay Service Examples Literature Romeo and Juliet

Romeo And Juliet: Who Is To Blame?

• Proper editing and formatting
• Free revision, title page, and bibliography
• Flexible prices and money-back guarantee

Our writers will provide you with an essay sample written from scratch: any topic, any deadline, any instructions.

Cite this paper

Related essay topics.

Get your paper done in as fast as 3 hours, 24/7.

Related articles

Most popular essays

• Romeo and Juliet
• William Shakespeare

What if we change the ending of Romeo and Juliet into a happy ending, that Romeo and Juliet...

• Modern Society

“To be or not to be, that is the question.” Romeo and Juliet in this day and age, is obviously not...

• Literary Criticism

The original text of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ was written in 1594 by the famed William Shakespeare,...

As fundamentally is the situation with numerous others, Romeo and Juliet began to look all starry...

Both Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet explore the nature of patriarchal values and the...

• Expectations

In William Shakespeare’s famous play, ‘Romeo and Juliet’, there are many themes and factors...

William Shakespeares’ play Romeo and Juliet continues to engage audiences over 400 years after its...

• Life Lesson

There is no doubt that everyone has heard the name of the man who was gifted by God, and is...

William Shakespeare performed his last play over 400 years ago, but he is still outrageously...

Join our 150k of happy users

• Get original paper written according to your instructions
• Save time for what matters most

Fair Use Policy

EduBirdie considers academic integrity to be the essential part of the learning process and does not support any violation of the academic standards. Should you have any questions regarding our Fair Use Policy or become aware of any violations, please do not hesitate to contact us via [email protected].

We are here 24/7 to write your paper in as fast as 3 hours.

Provide your email, and we'll send you this sample!

By providing your email, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy .

Say goodbye to copy-pasting!

Get custom-crafted papers for you.

Enter your email, and we'll promptly send you the full essay. No need to copy piece by piece. It's in your inbox!

Who is to Blame for Romeo and Juliets Death?

This essay will examine the various factors and characters that may be held responsible for the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet. It will consider the roles of feuding families, impulsive actions of the protagonists, and the societal constraints of the era. The piece will offer a nuanced exploration of culpability in the play. Moreover, at PapersOwl, there are additional free essay samples connected to Death.

How it works

Who is to blame for Romeo and Juliet’s death? There is no one in particular to blame ,however it is every single person that should be blamed for their death.Romeo and Juliet are two star crossed lovers who fail in love at first site. The play opens with servants from both houses engaged in a street brawl that eventually draws in the family lords and the city officials, including Prince Escalus. The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet took their lives.

The people to blame for the death of the two lovers are the Capulet servants.

Who is to blame for the Romeo and Juliet death is the capulets servants. In the book Romeo and Juliet scene 2 act 1 the capulets servant ask Romeo and his cousin Benvolio to read there list for there party tonite. So of course when Romeo see Rosaline name the girl who Romeo is in love with he determines to have an idea to sneak in the capulet’s party. Then peter handed Romeo the paper go little fellow, walk all around Verona find the people on this list and tell them they are welcome to my house tonite’. So if the servants would have never gave Romeo the party list he would have never seen Roseline name and snuck to there party and met Juliet.

Because of the servants decision and different point of view, the person most responsible for the death of Romeo and Juliet death is the capulets servant Peter. Peter who was never taught to read for some reason seen Romeo and his cousin on the beach and ask them to help him read the names on the list so he can give them the invite and get back. ‘I’ve been sent to find the people whose names who are on this list but i can’t read’ ‘I got to find someone who that can read to help me’.

Some may say that Rosline is the reason for Romeo and Juliet death because Romeo was looking for her.When Romeo and his cousin was on the beach Romeo was saying how he was out of love and he don’t know what to do and his cousin was trying to get her off Romeo mind. ‘What’s sad is that love is supposed to be blind, but it can still make you do whatever you want’. Romeo told his cousin that because romeo loved a girl that didn’t love him back. So many say that rosline had him in love so it was her fault because he was in love.

In conclusion peter the capulets servants is the reason for Romeo and Juliet death. In my opinion the servants well the whole capulets killed them because they didn’t teach there servant to read. Not only that if they knew that he couldn’t read why would they send him to invite people.So thats why the capulets servant peter is the reason for romeo and juliet’s death.

Cite this page

Who Is to Blame for Romeo and Juliets Death?. (2019, Jun 20). Retrieved from https://papersowl.com/examples/who-is-to-blame-for-romeo-and-juliets-death/

"Who Is to Blame for Romeo and Juliets Death?." PapersOwl.com , 20 Jun 2019, https://papersowl.com/examples/who-is-to-blame-for-romeo-and-juliets-death/

PapersOwl.com. (2019). Who Is to Blame for Romeo and Juliets Death? . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/who-is-to-blame-for-romeo-and-juliets-death/ [Accessed: 29 Sep. 2024]

"Who Is to Blame for Romeo and Juliets Death?." PapersOwl.com, Jun 20, 2019. Accessed September 29, 2024. https://papersowl.com/examples/who-is-to-blame-for-romeo-and-juliets-death/

"Who Is to Blame for Romeo and Juliets Death?," PapersOwl.com , 20-Jun-2019. [Online]. Available: https://papersowl.com/examples/who-is-to-blame-for-romeo-and-juliets-death/. [Accessed: 29-Sep-2024]

PapersOwl.com. (2019). Who Is to Blame for Romeo and Juliets Death? . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/who-is-to-blame-for-romeo-and-juliets-death/ [Accessed: 29-Sep-2024]

Don't let plagiarism ruin your grade

Hire a writer to get a unique paper crafted to your needs.

Our writers will help you fix any mistakes and get an A+!

Please check your inbox.

You can order an original essay written according to your instructions.

Trusted by over 1 million students worldwide

1. Tell Us Your Requirements

2. Pick your perfect writer

3. Get Your Paper and Pay

Hi! I'm Amy, your personal assistant!

Don't know where to start? Give me your paper requirements and I connect you to an academic expert.

short deadlines

100% Plagiarism-Free

Certified writers

Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Romeo and Juliet — Romeo and Juliet: Responsible for the Death

Romeo and Juliet: Responsible for The Death

• Categories: Romeo and Juliet

About this sample

Words: 709 |

Published: Jun 13, 2024

Words: 709 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

Table of contents

The feud between the capulets and montagues, the impulsive actions of romeo and juliet, the interference of fate, bibliography.

Cite this Essay

To export a reference to this article please select a referencing style below:

Let us write you an essay from scratch

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Verified writer

• Expert in: Literature

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

1 pages / 619 words

3.5 pages / 1634 words

2 pages / 1003 words

2 pages / 922 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is a timeless tale of love, tragedy, and the consequences of impulsive decisions. This iconic play has been the subject of numerous adaptations, interpretations, and analyses, and continues to captivate [...]

William Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet, is a timeless tale of love and tragedy. Set in the city of Verona, the play explores the ill-fated love between two young individuals from feuding families. This essay will delve [...]

In the classic tale of "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, the character of Romeo has often been scrutinized for his actions throughout the play. Was Romeo truly guilty of the tragic events that unfold, or was he simply a [...]

In Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare presents his audience with a collection of dynamic characters who undergo significant transformations throughout the play. These characters not only play crucial roles in the tragic [...]

In dark and dire situations, humor is often needed to lighten the atmosphere in order to ensure sanity. This proves to be very true in William Shakespeare’s tragic play, Romeo and Juliet. As the plot of the play continues to [...]

Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, is a tragic play that tells the story of two young lovers from feuding families, the Montagues and the Capulets. The play is often seen as a cautionary tale about the dangers of [...]

Related Topics

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free