Who might Shakespeare have intended the audience To blame for Romeo and Juliet’s deaths?

GCSE: English Literature

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This story is one of the tragedy themed plays by William Shakespeare. The story of the young lovers Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. The themes running through the play address the issues of the consequences of hatred and prejudice. Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet are young teenagers who fall deeply in love but their families are bitter enemies. Regardless of the feud between their families and the arguments and fights they knew they would cause once found out, they marry in secret. This causes many undeserved deaths. They make every effort to conceal their actions but the story ends in tragedy when Romeo, Juliet, Tybalt, Mercutio and Paris all die.
Romeo could be responsible for his own death and Juliet’s death for many reasons. Firstly he could be to blame for the deaths because he gate crashed the Capulet’s ball, which helped him fall in love with Juliet as this is when they met. This could of caused the deaths because if he didn’t go to the ball and didn’t meet Juliet both of them would have still been alive as there would of been no trouble or arguments between both families about them two seeing each other. Another reason that Romeo could be to blame is that he married Juliet in secret. This could have caused the deaths because if he didn’t marry Juliet they wouldn’t have planned to run away together in which Juliet faked her death which lead to Romeo killing himself in grief. After Juliet finds out that he killed himself she did exactly the same and killed herself in grief. That was another reason he could be to blame. A main part which Romeo could of played in the deaths is when he came in between Mercusho and Tybalt and that causes Tybalt to kill Mercusho. After all this happens Romeo gos after Tybalt and kills him, I think overall that Romeo has had a big part to blame for all the deaths as he is somehow connected with each one.
Juliet could be blamed by the audience for the deaths for many reasons for example; One of the same reasons as Romeo, getting married in secret. This could have caused their deaths as her plan of pretending to kill herself to run away with Romeo backfired which caused him to kill himself in grief. This also caused her own death as she did the same thing as Romeo; killed herself in grief. Another reason that Juliet could be blamed for the deaths is because she kept arguing with her dad. This could have caused some of the deaths because it was a sexiest society and the females didn’t really have a say in decisions. For example her dad arranged for her to marry Paris but she wanted to marry Romeo, but as she was a female she couldn’t have a say in this decision. Another reason that the audience could blame Juliet for the deaths is because the way she planned with the nurse and friar to run away with Romeo so she didn’t have to marry Paris. This could have caused some of the deaths because if she didn’t drink the ‘potion’ friar Lawrence gave her to fake her death then Romeo wouldn’t have killed himself. Lastly I think that Juliet could be blamed for the deaths because she was so young and desperate for love she didn’t think of what she was doing first. This caused nearly all the deaths as she was the one who got everyone involved to help her marry Romeo and to help her run away. If Juliet was more mature and thought about everything she was doing I don’t think that some of these deaths would have happened.
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