Minor Characters' Irresponsibility in Romeo and Juliet Essay Example

A tragedy is an event that causes suffering, destruction, and distress. Oftentimes, others play a role in creating tragedies. This is especially true in the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. At the end of the play, both main characters die tragically due to others actions. Shakespeares writing showcases the minor characters irresponsibility through their countless bad decisions. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet, three minor characters responsible for the play’s tragic outcome are Tybalt, Lord Capulet, and the Friar.

Tybalt is responsible for the tragedy due to his hatred for the Montagues, the aftermath of his death gets Romeo banished and forces Juliet into an unwanted marriage. Firstly, Tybalt’s hatred towards the Montagues causes many problems. Tybalt says, “I hate the word [peace] as I hate hell, all Montagues” (1.1.69-70) These words display his hostility towards the Montagues. Shortly after, he initiates a fight which kills Romeo’s friend. Secondly, the aftermath of Tybalt’s death leads to Romeo’s banishment and Juliet’s unwanted marriage. When Tybalt kills Romeos friend, Romeo seeks revenge and kills Tybalt. The punishment Romeos receives for Tybalts death is “body’s banishment” (3.3.11). This banishment, keeps Romeo and Juliet apart, creating many problems ultimately leading to the tragic ending. Lastly, Tybalt’s death forces Juliet into an unwanted marriage. The Capulets mistake Juliet’s sadness about Romeo, with Tybalts death. They show their concern when lady Capulet says “evermore weeping for your cousin’s death” (3.5.70).  Against Juliets wishes, they arrange a marriage in hopes to cheer up Juliet. This wedding leads to Juliet’s death because she did not want it causing her to make bad decisions. Tybalt is responsible for the tragic ending because of his hostility towards the Montagues, his death leads to Romeo’s banishment and an unwanted marriage.

 Capulet contributes to the tragic ending of the play due to the Capulet and Montague family feud, his forcefulness on Juliet getting married, and the anxiety he induces on Juliet causes her to act impulsively. Capulet makes no effort to prevent the Capulet and Montague feud. This can be seen when Juliet says, “My only love sprung from my only hate!”  (1.5.138) showcasing that she is conditioned to hate the Montagues. Without the feud, which Capulet does nothing to prevent, Romeo and Juliet’s love story would not end in tragedy. Secondly, Capulet forces Juliet into an unwanted marriage. By stating, “Get thee to church o’Thursday”, or never after look me in the face” (3.5.161-162), Capulet threatens to disown Juliet if she does not get married. Due to this pressure, Juliet begins making unwise decisions ultimately leading to her demise. Lastly, by forcing Juliet into marriage, Capulet induces a lot of anxiety in Juliet. Rather than get married, Juliet, “[would] slay herself” (4.1.71-72). By threatening to kill herself, she overlooks other options and acts impulsively. Since Capulet does nothing to prevent the family feud and he forces Juliet into marriage causing her to feel anxiety and act impulsively he plays a large role in this tragedy. 

The Friar contributes to the tragedy by marrying Romeo and Juliet, encouraging impulsive behaviour, and initiating a  poor plan which kills the lovers. Firstly, the Friar marries Romeo and Juliet even though he is aware that it is a bad idea. The Friar says to Romeo, “wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast” (2.3.94), proving that he knew it was a bad idea to marry Juliet. Despite this, the Friar marries them, leading them to their tragic deaths. Secondly, he encourages impulsive behaviour when he proposes a risky plan to Juliet which gives her “no pulse”(4.1.96)“and ”no breath” (4.1.98). He offers this plan to avoid  Juliet’s irrational threat to kill herself. Instead of addressing her problems logically, he encourages her impulsive behaviour and offers a plan mimicking death. Yet, this plan fails, leading to many casualties, indirectly causing the tragedy. The Friars’ plan has many flaws including nobody informing Romeo about the plan. Romeo’s lack of information causes him to take his own life and go on his “bed of death” (5.3.28) while “[holding] his lady’s face”(5.3.29), proving that if the plan was stronger Romeo would have survived, avoiding the tragedy altogether. Since the Friar marries the young couple, encourages impulsive behaviour, and creates a plan that backfires, he is to blame for the tragic ending of Romeo and Juliet.

To conclude, Tybalt, Lord Capulet, and the Friar are responsible for the tragic outcome because of the many irresponsible decisions they make. Their characters impact the result of the play drastically by creating suffering, destruction, and distress proving that they were responsible for the tragic outcome of the play. These characters perfectly showcase that others’ mistakes can cause dire consequences.