The ending of Romeo and Juliet was not fate...the characters caused it.
Warning: This is a nerdy literature post...
In Shakespeare's play, "Romeo and Juliet," a series of events leads up to the deaths of two love-stricken teens - Romeo and Juliet. Many argue that the ending of the play was simply fate...it was unavoidable. I completely disagree though. Shakespeare made the events in the play a series of completely avoidable coincidences. What happened definitely could have happened differently. The deaths of Romeo and Juliet were caused by the actions of many different characters. Romeo and Juliet, the Nurse, Lord and Lady Capulet, Lord and Lady Montague, Friar Lawrence and others all contributed to the ultimate deaths of the two main characters. If certain characters had made different decisions, the ending of the play could have been different.
So, the first event that really made a difference was whatever caused the on-going feud between the Capulets and Montagues. It was never made clear why they don't get along, but whatever it is definitely had a big impact on the ending of the play. If they could have just been adults and gotten over their feud, Romeo and Juliet could have been together. Then, they wouldn't have had to take such drastic measures to be happy.
The feud also led to the deaths of Juliet's cousin Tybalt, and the Montague's close friend Mercutio. In Act 3, Scene 1, Mercutio, Romeo, Benvolio and Tybalt all got into a big fight. In the end, Mercutio and Tybalt both ended up getting stabbed. That enraged the citizens and the Prince. When other people came across the scene of the fight, a citizen yelled, "Which way ran he that killed Mercutio?" Then, the Prince came and said, "Where are the vile beginners of this fray?" Everyone was sick and tired of everyone always getting hurt of because of the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets. They thought if they exiled Romeo from the city, the feud would end, and no one else would get hurt. That led to Juliet becoming extremely depressed and desperate. She was willing to do anything to find a way to be with Romeo.
After Juliet found out Romeo had been exiled, she went to her Nurse for help. Her Nurse agreed to find Romeo, so they could be together. Juliet was a child, and the Nurse was an adult. It was her responsibility to act like an adult, and keep Juliet safe. She should have helped Juliet grieve and get over Romeo instead of encourage her desperation. If she had done that, there would have been no need to create the plan that led to the double suicide that closes the play.
Earlier on in the play, Juliet had gotten into a huge argument with her father over who she was going to marry. Lord and Lady Capulet wanted Juliet to marry the Prince, but Juliet refused. Lord Capulet was so angry, he threatened to disown Juliet if he disobeyed her. Juliet felt like nothing was going to work out the way she wanted it to. She thought everyone was against her and that she didn't have a way out. Friar Lawrence explained to Juliet that he had a plan that would fix the problem. They decided that they would tell her parents that Juliet would marry Paris so they wouldn't suspect anything. Then, Juliet would drink a potion that made her appear dead for a few days, and once she was put into her family's tomb, Romeo would come meet her. They wrote a letter to Romeo explaining the plan.
When Juliet told Lord Capulet that she had had a change of heart, and would marry Paris, he completely believed her. He was so excited that Juliet had changed her mind, that he chose to move the wedding up to only a few days away. Because the wedding was going to be so soon, Juliet had to drink the potion sooner, and Romeo hadn't gotten the letter yet. When he heard she was dead, he actually thought she was dead, so he killed himself. When Juliet woke up and saw that he was dead, she was so heartbroken, she killed herself as well.
Overall, everything that happened could have been prevented in one way or another. The characters are absolutely to blame for the ending of the play. If the Capulets and Montagues had been more mature about their feud, maybe they would have gotten over it sooner, and no one would have gotten hurt. Even if they never got over their feud, if they had at least listened to their children, Romeo and Juliet would have felt more comfortable coming to them for help. They wouldn't have been doing things secretly behind their backs. Mercutio, Tybalt and Benvolio were way too eager to fight, so they also played a role in the tragic ending. They were always ready to fight each other, which caused them to always be on guard and ready for something to happen. That made it easy for a fight to break out. If none of them hadn't gotten hurt, Romeo would have stayed in Verona, and there wouldn't have been a need for risky plan. That brings me to my next point...Friar Lawrence and the Nurse are also at fault. Romeo and Juliet trusted both of them enough to go to them when they needed help. That gave them a responsibility as parental figures to lead them in the right direction. They should have been the voice of reason. They didn't need to encourage them to behave illogically. They enabled the dangerous behavior that ultimately led to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
I'm well aware that this was a fictional play written many many years ago, so you might be wondering why I felt the need to analyze it in this way. The prologue to the play refers to Romeo and Juliet as "star-crossed lovers." The definition of "star-crossed lovers," is two lovers whose relationship is doomed to fail. The phrase came from the astrological belief that the stars control human destiny. I love Shakespeare, so I wanted to try to get into his head and try to think about whether or not he truly thought of Romeo and Juliet as "star-crossed lovers." Did he really think the ending of the play was destiny, or was he just giving the readers something to think about? In my opinion, all of the events that occur throughout the play aren't just coincidences. They all had a direct impact on the decision that Romeo and Juliet ended up making. It wasn't fate, the characters caused it.
In Shakespeare's play, "Romeo and Juliet," a series of events leads up to the deaths of two love-stricken teens - Romeo and Juliet. Many argue that the ending of the play was simply fate...it was unavoidable. I completely disagree though. Shakespeare made the events in the play a series of completely avoidable coincidences. What happened definitely could have happened differently. The deaths of Romeo and Juliet were caused by the actions of many different characters. Romeo and Juliet, the Nurse, Lord and Lady Capulet, Lord and Lady Montague, Friar Lawrence and others all contributed to the ultimate deaths of the two main characters. If certain characters had made different decisions, the ending of the play could have been different.
So, the first event that really made a difference was whatever caused the on-going feud between the Capulets and Montagues. It was never made clear why they don't get along, but whatever it is definitely had a big impact on the ending of the play. If they could have just been adults and gotten over their feud, Romeo and Juliet could have been together. Then, they wouldn't have had to take such drastic measures to be happy.
The feud also led to the deaths of Juliet's cousin Tybalt, and the Montague's close friend Mercutio. In Act 3, Scene 1, Mercutio, Romeo, Benvolio and Tybalt all got into a big fight. In the end, Mercutio and Tybalt both ended up getting stabbed. That enraged the citizens and the Prince. When other people came across the scene of the fight, a citizen yelled, "Which way ran he that killed Mercutio?" Then, the Prince came and said, "Where are the vile beginners of this fray?" Everyone was sick and tired of everyone always getting hurt of because of the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets. They thought if they exiled Romeo from the city, the feud would end, and no one else would get hurt. That led to Juliet becoming extremely depressed and desperate. She was willing to do anything to find a way to be with Romeo.
After Juliet found out Romeo had been exiled, she went to her Nurse for help. Her Nurse agreed to find Romeo, so they could be together. Juliet was a child, and the Nurse was an adult. It was her responsibility to act like an adult, and keep Juliet safe. She should have helped Juliet grieve and get over Romeo instead of encourage her desperation. If she had done that, there would have been no need to create the plan that led to the double suicide that closes the play.
Earlier on in the play, Juliet had gotten into a huge argument with her father over who she was going to marry. Lord and Lady Capulet wanted Juliet to marry the Prince, but Juliet refused. Lord Capulet was so angry, he threatened to disown Juliet if he disobeyed her. Juliet felt like nothing was going to work out the way she wanted it to. She thought everyone was against her and that she didn't have a way out. Friar Lawrence explained to Juliet that he had a plan that would fix the problem. They decided that they would tell her parents that Juliet would marry Paris so they wouldn't suspect anything. Then, Juliet would drink a potion that made her appear dead for a few days, and once she was put into her family's tomb, Romeo would come meet her. They wrote a letter to Romeo explaining the plan.
When Juliet told Lord Capulet that she had had a change of heart, and would marry Paris, he completely believed her. He was so excited that Juliet had changed her mind, that he chose to move the wedding up to only a few days away. Because the wedding was going to be so soon, Juliet had to drink the potion sooner, and Romeo hadn't gotten the letter yet. When he heard she was dead, he actually thought she was dead, so he killed himself. When Juliet woke up and saw that he was dead, she was so heartbroken, she killed herself as well.
Overall, everything that happened could have been prevented in one way or another. The characters are absolutely to blame for the ending of the play. If the Capulets and Montagues had been more mature about their feud, maybe they would have gotten over it sooner, and no one would have gotten hurt. Even if they never got over their feud, if they had at least listened to their children, Romeo and Juliet would have felt more comfortable coming to them for help. They wouldn't have been doing things secretly behind their backs. Mercutio, Tybalt and Benvolio were way too eager to fight, so they also played a role in the tragic ending. They were always ready to fight each other, which caused them to always be on guard and ready for something to happen. That made it easy for a fight to break out. If none of them hadn't gotten hurt, Romeo would have stayed in Verona, and there wouldn't have been a need for risky plan. That brings me to my next point...Friar Lawrence and the Nurse are also at fault. Romeo and Juliet trusted both of them enough to go to them when they needed help. That gave them a responsibility as parental figures to lead them in the right direction. They should have been the voice of reason. They didn't need to encourage them to behave illogically. They enabled the dangerous behavior that ultimately led to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
I'm well aware that this was a fictional play written many many years ago, so you might be wondering why I felt the need to analyze it in this way. The prologue to the play refers to Romeo and Juliet as "star-crossed lovers." The definition of "star-crossed lovers," is two lovers whose relationship is doomed to fail. The phrase came from the astrological belief that the stars control human destiny. I love Shakespeare, so I wanted to try to get into his head and try to think about whether or not he truly thought of Romeo and Juliet as "star-crossed lovers." Did he really think the ending of the play was destiny, or was he just giving the readers something to think about? In my opinion, all of the events that occur throughout the play aren't just coincidences. They all had a direct impact on the decision that Romeo and Juliet ended up making. It wasn't fate, the characters caused it.
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