The Tragic Deaths of Romeo and Juliet Essay Example

In William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, Romeo is the cause of his own tragedy and death. Although Romeo decides to take his life because of his belief that Juliet has died, he ultimately carries it out. This is shown when Romeo says “Come bitter conduct, come, unsavory guide! … Here’s to my love! O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die” (Shakespeare 5.3.116,119-120). If Romeo had not been so fast to take his own life, Juliet might have woken up with him still alive, and they could have continued to live together. Romeo is not forced to kill himself, and is not pressured by anyone other than himself to take the drugs, but does anyway because he can not imagine life without Juliet. He wants to be with Juliet so badly that he will do anything, even die when seeing that she is dead, to continue being with her. This is why Romeo is the reason behind his downfall, and not anyone else.

In William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, Romeo, and not fate, orchestrates his own tragic end through a characteristic rashness in the way he acts. His downward spiral begins with Mercutio’s death, after which Romeo in the heat of the moment murders Tybalt. Then rather than appreciating a lighter sentence of banishment instead of death for his actions, he instead brashly scoffs: “Ha banishment! Be merciful, say ‘death’; For exile hath more terror in his look, much more than death” (3.3.12-13). Then he rushes into his ultimate foolish action. Romeo knew Friar Lawrence would support him and find a way for him and Juliet to be together. Had he only complied with the Prince’s order and waited patiently for the man, Juliet might not have died at all. Instead, when he learns of his beloved’s supposed death, he impulsively opts for suicide. Of course, her death would have shaken him to his core. However, his propensity to leap without thinking–or in this case, confirming Juliet’s death–leads to his unnecessary death by his own hand.