The Capulet and Montague Families Are Responsible for Romeo and Juliet's Deaths Essay Example

📌Category: Plays, Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare, Writers
📌Words: 1104
📌Pages: 5
📌Published: 22 April 2022

“The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare is considered one of the finest romances in literature. Romeo and Juliet is a play written by William Shakespeare about two young lovers. The two belong to houses that have despised each other for a very long time. They have to deal with the struggles of loving an enemy, which ends violently due to tragic events. The Capulet and Montague families are responsible for the tragic events in the play because of the never ending feud between each other and not allowing family members to love someone from the opposing family.

To begin with, the Capulet and Montague families take the blame for the tragic events in Romeo because of the feud they have had since ancient times. In Act 1 Scene 1 on pages 11-13 the author writes, “Sampson: No, sir, I do not bite my thumb at you, sir, but I bite my thumb, sir. Gregory: Do you quarrel, sir? Abraham: Quarrel sir! no, sir. Sampson: If you do, sir, I am for you: I serve as good a man as you. Abraham: No better. Sampson: Well, sir. Gregory: Say “better”: here comes one of my master’s kinsmen. Sampson: Yes, better, sir. Abraham: You lie. Sampson: Draw, if you be men. Gregory, remember thy swashing blow. [They fight]” This shows how the Capulets and Montagues have an impulse to fight each other even though there is no clear reason. Sampson decided to bite his thumb at the passing Montagues only because the families had been fighting since ancient times. If the families were not always feuding, many deaths and tragic events would have been avoided. More evidence supporting this point is in Act 3 Scene 1 on pages 121-125 the author states, “Romeo: Draw, Benvolio; beat down their weapons. Gentlemen, for shame, forbear this outrage! Tybalt, Mercutio, the prince expressly hath forbidden bandying in Verona streets: Hold, Tybalt! good Mercutio! [TYBALT under ROMEO’s arm stabs MERCUTIO, and flies with his followers] MERCUTIO: I am hurt. A plague o’ both your houses! I am sped. Is he gone, and hath nothing?”... “ Romeo: Either thou, or I, or both, must go with him. Tybalt: Thou, wretched boy, that didst consort him here, Shalt with him hence. Romeo: This shall determine that. [They fight; TYBALT falls]” This is another instance of unnecessary brawling only because of the families disturbed history with each other. This also further supports the fact that the feud between the families has caused almost all the deaths in the play. Even Mercutio, a Montague, is enraged with both families as they are disturbing the peace in the city of Verona.

Furthermore, the Capulets and Montagues are responsible for the trauma in the play because they did not allow family members to love someone from the opposite family. In Act 5 Scene 3 on pages 241-243 Shakespeare writes, “JULIET: Not proud, you have; but thankful, that you have: Proud can I never be of what I hate; But thankful even for hate, that is meant love. CAPULET: How now, how now, chop-logic! What is this? “Proud,” and “I thank you,” and “I thank you not”; And yet “not proud,” mistress minion, you, Thank me no thankings, nor, proud me no prouds, But fettle your fine joints ’gainst Thursday next, To go with Paris to Saint Peter’s Church, Or I will drag thee on a hurdle thither. Out, you green-sickness carrion! out, you baggage! You tallow-face!” This part of the text explains how Juliet is being forced into a marriage with Paris whom she does not truly love. Juliet’s true love is Romeo and since Capulet does not allow Juliet to marry anyone he disapproves she has no say in the decision. This arranged marriage is what leads to the ultimate suicide and death of Romeo and Juliet. Another instance of Juliet not being able to love someone from the opposing Montague family is is Act 3 Scene 5 on page 171 where the play states, “JULIET: Not proud, you have; but thankful, that you have: Proud can I never be of what I hate; But thankful even for hate, that is meant love. CAPULET: How now, how now, chop-logic! What is this? “Proud,” and “I thank you,” and “I thank you not”; And yet “not proud,” mistress minion, you, Thank me no thankings, nor, proud me no prouds, But fettle your fine joints ’gainst Thursday next, To go with Paris to Saint Peter’s Church, Or I will drag thee on a hurdle thither. Out, you green-sickness carrion! out, you baggage! You tallow-face!” This part of the text means that if Juliet does not marry County Paris she will be thrown out to the streets with no food, water, or shelter. This is yet another instance in which Juliet cannot choose to marry Romeo because he is not loyal to the Capulets. In this part of the play, Capulet introduces punishment if Juliet does not marry the person he wants her to, which pressures Juliet. This outlook on marriage is what causes many deaths and tragic events to happen throughout the play.

On the other hand, critics argue that Romeo is responsible for the tragic events in the play due to the fact that he fell in love with Juliet who is a Capulet. However, If the Capulets and Montagues were not fighting with each other in the first place he could have fallen in love with Juliet and no consequences would have followed. According to Act 1 Scene 5 on page 61, “NURSE: His name is Romeo, and a Montague; The only son of your great enemy. JULIET: My only love sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late! Prodigious birth of love it is to me, That I must love a loathed enemy.” This part of the play shows how only hearing that Romeo belongs to the Montague family, Juliet and other Capulets are forced to automatically think of him as an enemy. Without getting to properly know each other, the stereotype set is that every Montague/Capulet is bad, which had all been caused by an ancient feud between the families. If the families had not loathed each other, almost every tragedy in the play would have been avoided.

To conclude, the opposing Capulet and Montague families are responsible for all the trauma in the play Romeo & Juliet because of their ancient fight against each other and the fact that members of a family could not love someone from the supposed enemy family. The interactions between members of opposite houses caused many deaths due only to hatred on impulse. Members of the different families not being able to love each other was what led to almost all tragic events in the play. Even though some say Romeo is the one to blame for the trauma in the play, this is an incorrect statement as if the families had not been turned against themselves there would not be any disastrous events. The Montagues and Capulets started the brawl in the first place and it took the deaths of two young lovers to end it.

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