Jason He Wu

Mr. Janosch
Coney Island
4/9/14
Romeo and Juliets Death

In the play, Romeo and Juliet, there were many scenes which included romance
and tragedy. In fact, the prologue of the story stated, "Two households, both alike in
dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scenes. From ancient grudge break to new
mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these
two foes A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life..." Also, it is demonstrated that
Romeo and Juliet's obsessive love is understandeble because there are studies shown
that people who are in love, they have the feeling of staying together. In the "Brain on
Love" article by Diana Ackerman, she stated, "When two people become a couple, the
brain extends its idea of self to include the other;" These star-crossed lovers are Romeo
and Juliet; both had a happy beginning and a tragic end. There are many characters in
the play book that has caused the death of Romeo and Juliet. The characters who
should be blamed for their deaths are Friar Lawrence and Tybalt because they made a
lot of mistakes that lead to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet; however, the character who
should not be blamed is Benvolio because he never was never involved in situations
with Romeo and Juliet.
Friar Lawrence is the main person to be blamed for the deaths of Romeo and
Juliet because he has made many bad decisions throughout the story. Decisions that
caused the downfall of Romeo and Juliet. The Friars biggest mistake is that he trusted
Juliet, an unstable teenage girl, with a poison that would fake her death, and cause the
death of both her and Romeo. This decision was a very poor choice on the Friars
behalf. In the play, Friar showed his irresponsibility in page 97, lines 71 of Act 4 Scene 1
by saying, If thou hast the strength to slay thyself take thou this vial no warmth,
no breath shall testify thou livest; This quote shows the true meaning of his
responsibility, because when he says this, her life rested on his hands. Friar Lawrences
plan for Juliet was very risky and he shouldve know better than to try it. Because of
what happened, everyone thinks Juliet dies and was buried in a tomb. If Friar Lawrence
did not gave the poison to Juliet, she wouldve never been put in the position that she
was in, which eventually lead to her death. Friar Lawrences next biggest mistake was
that he trusted Friar John to send a very important letter to Romeo. However, Friar John
wasnt informed about how important the letter was, and failed to send the letter. In fact,
Friar Lawrence said in page 115, lines 18 Act 5 Scene 2, The letter was not nice but full
of charge, of dear import, and the neglecting it may do much danger. Because Romeo
wasnt informed correctly of Juliets death, he decided to kill himself besides Juliets
when shes clearly not dead. Romeo laid next to Juliet and killed himself. Once Juliet
woke up and saw Romeos dead body, she was in shock and decides to kill herself.
The second person to be blamed is Tybalt for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
Tybalt was always ill-tempered and will pick a fight with anyone without thinking. This
behavior of his was shown in page 30, lines 55 of Act 1 Scene 5 when he says, This,
by his voice, should be a Montague.(to his PAGE) Fetch me my rapier, boy. What,
dares the slave Come hither, covered with an antic face, To fleer and scorn at our
solemnity? Now, by the stock and honor of my kin, To strike him dead I hold it not a sin.
This quote is saying by Tybalt shows that he is easily angered and will fight without
thinking. His irrational behavior has caused Romeo to be exiled from Verona, and
forced him to stay in Mantua. Tybalt wanted to duel Romeo, but Romeo didnt want to,
so instead, Tybalt fought with Mercutio to make Romeo fight him. Mercutio died and
caused Romeo to be furious, which led to the fight with him and Tybalt. Romeo beat
Tybalt and killed him, and when the Prince found out, they exiled him from Verona. If
Tybalt never fought in the first place, then Romeo wouldve still been with Juliet by now.
Because Romeo was exiled, it caused Friar Lawrence to come with the plan that faked
Juliets death. In fact, this is shown when Friar in page 99, lines 114 of Act 4 Scene 1
says, "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. This quote clearly states that Friar Lawrence have a
plan to bring Romeo back from Mantua by poisoning Juliet, so that Romeo believes
shes dead, and all of this plan was because of Tybalts ill-temper.
The person that is least to blame is Benvolio. This is because Benvolio never had
any involvement with the Romeo and Juliet. In fact, it seems to that he is frustrated over
Romeo being so love-sick to Juliet, which caused their Romeo-Mercutio-Benvolio
friendship to weaken. In page 36, lines 17 of Act 2 Scene 1, Mercutio had a
conversation with Benvolio and Mercutio said, I conjure thee by Rosalines bright eyes,
By her high forehead and her scarlet lip, By her fine foot, straight leg, and quivering
thigh, and the demesnes that there adjacent lief, That in thy likeness thou appear to us.
This both shows that Mercutio and Benvolio actually wanted to stop the two lovebirds to
separate by reminding Romeo about how beautiful Rosaline was. This fact alone shows
that Benvolio, in addition to Mercutio, that they wanted to stop them from being couples
and nothing more, which shows that Benvolio is innocent.
Whatever the case may be, the star-crossed lovers had many people who
contributes to their deaths. But the characters who are the most for their deaths are
Friar Lawrence and Tybalt; in contrast, Benvolio was the one who was the least to
cause their death. Friar Lawrence has made many drastic decisions that causes the
deaths of Romeo, like giving the poison to Juliet, and when he trusted Friar John with
his important letter. Tybalts bad attitude and fight with Romeo was also a poor decision.
This is what causes the Friar to come up with the plan to fake Juliets death, but in
reality, its for her to die. Finally, Benvolio is the least to blame because he never had
any real involvement in Romeo and Juliets death.


Reference
Ackerman, D. (March, 2012). The Brain on Love. The New York Times.

Shakespeare, W. (1970). Romeo and Juliet. Penguins Book Inc.