This Essay is about who is to blame for Romeo and Juliets deaths. It argues that Romeo was the person to blame for their deaths. Because of his inability to understand true love with Rosaline, his impatience and impulsiveness, and his poor self control. This essay also uses quotes from the play to support the arguement.
Romeo & Juliet: Who Caused their Untimely Deaths?
In the play Romeo and Juliet, lives are changed and bitterness between two houses lies deep in their hearts. As two young characters, Romeo and Juliet, begin their path to true and peaceful love, but their path is somehow always obstructed by something or event. These events in time have now led to their deaths. Romeo and Juliet’s deaths are tragic but are caused by Romeo himself because of his inability to understand true love in the beginning, impatience, and his poor self-control.
To begin with Romeo’s inability to understand true love with Rosaline helped their deaths because he believed every woman he looks at must love him and they are to give him sexual pleasures. Romeo expresses his thoughts to Benvolio about how Rosaline will not give him a second glance and she will not fall in love with him with these words:
…she’ll not be hit
With Cupid’s arrow…
She will not stay the siege of loving terms,
Nor bide the encounter of assailing eyes,
Nor ope her lap to saint-seducing gold
O, she is rich in beauty….(I, i, 205-213)
The quote above can also imply that she will not give him the sexual favors even for money “… Nor ope her lap to saint-seducing gold” (1, 1, 212) Furthermore, Romeo sees only the physical features of a woman not their true personality and emotions. For instance when Romeo is speaking with Benvolio about Rosaline’s physical features and that no one can compare to her beauty in addition he never speaks of her beauty inside:
… To call hers exquisite, in question more:
These happy masks that kiss fair ladies’ brows
Being black put us in mind they hide the fair;
He that is strucken blind cannot forget
The precious treasure of his eyesight lost:
Show me a mistress that is passing fair,…(I. i, 224-231)
This helps their death because after Romeo supposedly breaks up with Rosaline he is forced to a party held by the Capulets to try to raise his spirits. This leads to Romeo meeting Juliet and their short path to true love.
Secondly, Romeo is very impatient and impulsive. For example when Romeo meets Juliet, they immediately fall in “love”. However, in the span of one night, they want to be married despite the fact that Juliet is a Capulet and Romeo is a Montague. When Juliet says “Where and what time thou wilt perform the rite” (II, ii, 146) shows clearly that both Romeo and Juliet want to be married. In addition, when Romeo is angered by Mercutio’s death, he pursues Tybalt to extract revenge. Although Romeo may seem to do the moral thing he forgets completely about Juliet and the consequences of killing Tybalt: Death. Before Romeo fights with Tybalt he expresses his fury to Tybalt and this shows how Romeo acts on his impulsiveness:
Now, Tybalt, take the villain back again,
That late thou gavest me; for Mercutio’s soul
Is but a little way above our heads,
Staying for thine to keep him company:
Either thou, or I, or both, must go with him. (III, i, 124-128)
After Tybalt is murdered by Romeo, Romeo must flee because the penalty for his action is death. Since Romeo is nowhere to be found the Prince banishes him. If Romeo is to be seen he is to be killed on that very spot. This makes Romeo realize what the consequences were to kill Tybalt as now he is not able to see Juliet or his family without being put in grave danger. Romeo then tries to kill himself:
…Murder’d her kinsman. O, tell me, friar, tell me,
In what vile part of this anatomy
Doth my name lodge? tell me, that I may sack
The hateful mansion (III, ii, 105-108)
In response to Romeo, the Friar tells him about what they will do and how they can reunite Romeo and Juliet so that everyone knows and giving hope to a desperate Romeo:
For then thou canst not pass to Mantua;
Where thou shalt live, till we can find a time
To blaze your marriage, reconcile your friends,
Beg pardon of the prince, and call thee back
With twenty hundred thousand times more joy
Than thou went’st forth in lamentation.(III, iii, 149-154)
After Romeo regains self-control he enters Juliet’s bedroom to spend his last few hours with her before he must leave to Mantua which meant he could not see her and led to Juliet’s marriage arrangement with Paris.
Lastly, Romeo’s poor self-control had the greatest effect on their deaths because of killing Tybalt, Juliet had to marry Paris as her father believed she was grieving for Tybalt and wanted her to be happy:
Sir Paris, I will make a desperate tender
Of my child’s love: I think she will be ruled
In all respects by me; nay, more, I doubt it not.
Wife, go you to her ere you go to bed;
Acquaint her here of my son Paris’ love…(III, ii, 12-16)
When Juliet learns of this arranged marriage and its date she alarmed and distressed by it. She believes the only way to protect her real marriage is to kill herself. When she goes to meet the Friar he gives her a potion to fake death after Juliet tries to kill herself. When Juliet says “Twixt my extremes and me this bloody knife/ Shall play the umpire”(IIII, i, 62,63) she is attempting to get a cure to her suffering by death or by one of Friar Lawrence’s potions.
Friar Lawrence then sends a letter to Romeo with Friar John about how Juliet is not really dead but he should be there when Juliet awakes and then they can let everyone know that they are married. Unfortunately Romeo finds out of Juliet deaths before Friar John can give the message. This allows Romeo to fear the worst and buys poison from an apothecary, Romeo’s poor self control leaves him dead before he can see Juliet awake. Juliet sees Romeo dead and with these words kills herself:
Yea, noise? then I’ll be brief. O happy dagger!
This is thy sheath;
there rust, and let me die.(IIIII, iii, 169-170)
In conclusion, Romeo and Juliet’s deaths were tragic but also the fault of Romeo himself as his struggle to understand true love with Rosaline, actions without thought, and his poor self-control. All of Romeo’s problems affected their deaths greatly.
