Everything happens for a reason, and sometimes that reason is because people let their emotions make their decisions for them. Pertaining to the deaths of Juliet and Romeo in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the hate rooted within both families’ hearts led to decisions that were ultimately regretted in the end. Anthony Robbins, an american author, once said, “It’s in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.” The decisions made by everyone in the play led to the horrible tragedy of Juliet and Romeo’s deaths. However, the individuals who are the most responsible for the tragedy are Friar Lawrence, Romeo, and Capulet.
The person who holds the most responsibility for the tragedy is Friar …show more content…
Romeo holds a lot of responsibility because he murdered Tybalt. When Tybalt killed Mercutio, a friend of Romeo’s, Romeo lost himself in his anger and challenged Tybalt to a fight. This resulted in Tybalt’s death. Romeo knew that killing Tybalt would result in his punishment. When Romeo saw Mercutio and Tybalt fighting, he said, “Gentlemen, for shame, forbear this outrage. Tybalt! Mercutio! The Prince expressly hath forbid this bandying in Verona streets. Hold, Tybalt! Good Mercutio!” (3.1.82-85). As one can see, Romeo definitely knew that killing Tybalt would be breaking the law, yet he still drew his sword when Mercutio died. After Tybalt’s death, Romeo was banished from Verona by the Prince. If Romeo had never been banished, the Friar’s plan might have worked. Romeo would have known that Juliet was not really dead without having to read any messages from the Friar, and the two could have left Verona together. To conclude, Romeo’s decisions ultimately led to the deaths of Juliet and …show more content…
Capulet, the father of Juliet and the head of the Capulet family, is responsible because of his behavior towards Juliet. When Juliet said she did not want to marry Paris, Capulet became cruel and unsupportive. Although Capulet did not know that his daughter was already married to Romeo, he was still unnecessarily uncaring of his daughter’s feelings and even threatened to disown her. Capulet said, “But, if you will not wed, I’ll pardon you! Graze where you will, you will not house with me. Look to’t, think on’t, I do not use to jest” (3.5.198-200). As a result of Capulet’s words, Juliet visited Friar Lawrence’ chamber for guidance. This is when the Friar came up with the plan for Juliet to fake her own death. This resulted in the failure of the Friar’s plan, which then led to Romeo’s suicide. When Juliet woke up and saw Romeo dead, she also committed suicide. In brief, Capulet’s cruelty played a big role in the events leading to the suicides of Romeo and