Who or what is responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet?

Answer 1

It is difficult to understand why this is such a persistent question. Surely in a world where lawsuits can be brought against anyone, blaming them for any misfortune, we can now understand that blame is not an objective concept, nor a particularly useful one. It is quite possible to build a case that EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THE PLAY is to blame for Romeo and Juliet's deaths, as follows:

1. Juliet. She shouldn't have taken up with a man who hangs around her backyard trying to peek into her window, but should have listened to her parents. She should not have gone along with Friar Lawrence's crazy scheme, or pushed him into proposing it.

2. Romeo. He shouldn't have poisoned himself just because Juliet is dead. His commiting suicide drove Juliet to commiting suicide. If he hadn't gone for suicide, they'd both be alive.

3. Friar Lawrence. Once he knew that his message to Romeo had miscarried, there's no way he should ever have left Juliet's side. He got her into this situation but didn't have the guts to see she got out of it. In addition, it was irresponsible to marry these two people who had just met without the consent of their parents.

4. Friar John. What was he doing, messing around in a plague house? Didn't he know that the message he was carring meant life or death??

5. The Nurse. If you are someone's advisor, give them reasonable advise. Counselling bigamy is ridiculous. If the Nurse hadn't alienated Juliet, she might have approached the issue more calmly and found a solution that wasn't so crack-brained.

6. Capulet. Trying to force his daughter to marry someone she could not marry caused her to take the actions which brought about her death and Romeo's.

7. Montague and Capulet. They had the power to end the feud and reconcile but they did not make the move to do it. If they had, they might have found themselves to be the parents of a happily married couple.

8. Lady Capulet. When you are a mother, you have a responsibility to your children. You can't just brush them off. Lady Capulet was never "there for" Juliet, so Juliet felt abandoned and alone.

9. Tybalt. Here's a guy who was looking for trouble. He wanted to start a fight with Romeo even though Capulet told him not to. The result? He and Mercutio die, Romeo is banished, and Juliet is on her own. If Romeo had been with her, there would have been no suicides.

10. Mercutio. He had no business getting into Romeo's fight. If he had left it alone, Tybalt would not have dared to kill Romeo and might have got into trouble for trying to start a fight.

11. The Prince. He admits it himself--if he had clamped down harder and earlier on street brawling Tybalt would not have tried to start a fight in the market.

12. Samson, Gregory, Abram et al. Have you noticed that it isn't Capulet and Montague who start the fights? No, it's their servants, their wife's relatives (Tybalt) and their friends (Mercutio) who start the thumb-biting. If everyone else wasn't trying to perpetuate the feud, maybe Montague and Capulet would have been able to end it. As it is, they end up being dragged into these conflicts to vindicate those who are "on their side".

13. Benvolio. Not much to blame, perhaps, but who was it that wanted Romeo to go to the party where he would be shown swans that would make Rosaline look like a crow? Also, his efforts to stop Tybalt from fighting with Mercutio were pathetic.

14. The Illiterate Servant. What was he doing, showing the guest list to the first dude he sees walking up the street? If he'd used some sense and asked a Capulet, there would have been no party-crashing and no tragedy.

15. The Apothecary. Selling poisons is illegal and wrong, and it doesn't matter how poor you are.

16. Paris. If you are going to marry someone, don't you think it's a good idea to talk frankly to them and find out if they really want to marry you? He was just as responsible for forcing Juliet into the unwanted marriage as Capulet.

17. Balthazar. He should have made sure of his facts by talking to the friar before blabbing to Romeo.

18. Rosaline. If she hadn't been so cold to Romeo, then maybe he wouldn't have gone after Juliet.

19. Romeo and Juliet seperately. They are ultimately responsible for their own deaths; they both committed suicide, after all.

Pointing the finger of blame is very, very easy, and does not help us or anyone in the least. At the end of the play, we do not see the characters blaming each other. The message is reconciliation and forgiveness

In addition to those who want to blame some person for the tragedy, there are also those who want to blame some larger intangible concept. Frontrunners for this distinction are:

1. The Family Feud. The star- crossed lovers were doomed from the start entirely because of their families hatred of one another.

2. Fate. The Prologue suggests this when it calls them "star-crossed lovers" and talks about "their death-mark'd love"

3. Lack of perspective. They were young, and they couldn't see past their fear of living without each other to make the right choice to go on living. If they could have done that, they probably would have ended up together in the end

4. Love. The love between Romeo and Juliet not only gave them happiness, it caused them pain and heartache, and eventually their lives.

5. Impetuousness. If they had only waited then time would have kept them apart and alive.

6. Society. A conveniently vague concept which can encompass everything else. Could be another way of saying "Everybody".

Perhaps it is very human to want to point the finger at something, but it is hard to know how saying "They died because of Fate" or "They died because of Love" really helps our understanding of the play.

Answer 2

There could be several legitimate answers to this question.

Romeo and Juliet kill themselves (with poison and a dagger, respectively), so it could be said that they are to blame for their own deaths. Their own teenage sentiments produce their downfall, since they are very young and infatuated with one another, believing that their own problems are bigger than the world. Romeo's character flaw of acting on impulse could also be to blame, since he kills Tybalt, resulting in the chain of events that lead to death.

Another answer could be that the messenger sent to deliver the news of the plan to Romeo is to blame, since the message does not get to him on time, causing him to believe that Juliet is actually dead.

The most commonly agreed upon answer is that the parents are to blame, since the feud between the families is the reason for practically every negative aspect of the play, as well as the reason why Romeo and Juliet cannot be together in the first place.

Another Answer

It could also be the man who married them for marrying them when he had concerns about it.

Answer 3

I think that it really depends on your point of view:

If you want to understand it as a definite "who you could blame the Capulets, Montagues, Friar Lawrence, or Romeo and Juliet themselves. It is, however my opinion, that their deaths should be blamed on more substantial themes such as fate, feud, or society in general.

Answer 4

It can actually be anyone's fault. The Nurse and Friar Lawrence for letting them meet. Balthasar for giving the wrong news in too quickly. The mailman's for giving the correct news too late. Romeo and Juliet's because they chose the path where they wanted to go. The whole Montague and Capulet for having a endless and useless family feud.

Answer 5

Juliet faked her death so that she could run away and marry romeo. romeo was not told about this plot. he ran to his lovers side to find that she had taken a "poison". seeing that she was dead he searched for the glass of said poison to kill himself as well. finding it empty, he grabs a dagger and shoves it into his stomach. Juliet wakes from her "death" to find her lover deceased. she takes the blade and kills herself as well. they killed them selves

Answer 6

The prince says that the parents are to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Because of their feudal state between each other, they were forbidden to love, and nobody should be forced away from love. Because they were kids and chose to love, the parents are to blame.

Answer 7

ROMEO BECAUSE IF HE DIDNT GO TO THAT PARTY EVERYTHING WOULD HAVE BEEN OK AND ALSO HE KNEW WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF HE WENT TO HIS ENEMIES PARTY....