Three People, Two Deaths, one Great Tragedy

In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet two young lovers lost their lives when hate and love collided. From the Montagues came Romeo and from the Capulets was Juliet. The two families were feuding and Romeo and Juliet could not stand being without each other. They both killed themselves because they thought life was not worth living without the other. Though there are many who can be blamed for this tragic ending, there are three that are the most responsible. Mercutio, The Nurse, and Friar Laurence are the three that deserve the most blame.

Mercutio, though a minor character, had and enormous impact on the outcome of the play. Before the Capulet Ball, Romeo had been debating whether to go or not. Mercutio persuaded him to go by giving a big speech to him about a dream he had. This makes him partially responsible because the Ball is where Romeo first met Juliet. Mercutio also caused Romeo to be banished from Verona. Mercutio got in a fight with Tybalt and ended up dead. His death enraged Romeo enough to make him kill Tybalt in revenge. When the Prince saw what happened, he sent Romeo into exile. Romeo’s banishment to Mantua made it near impossible for Romeo and Juliet to see each other. Mercutio was to blame, though only partially for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.

The Nurse was also responsible for the tragic ending of the play. When Romeo and Juliet met, the Nurse became their messenger. She helped them be together even though she knew Romeo was a Montague and that Juliet’s family would disapprove. The Nurse brought news to Juliet from Romeo telling her to sneak out so they could get married. She helped Juliet get out of her house by bringing her a rope ladder to climb off her balcony with and telling her parents that she went to shrift. The Nurse kept Romeo and Juliet’s marriage a secret from the families. When Juliet’s parents said she should marry Paris, the Nurse agreed and said that Juliet should forget about Romeo because he was in Mantua. With the Nurse no longer on her side she had no one to help her and back her up but the Friar. In this way she had a large impact on the terrible ending of Romeo and Juliet.

Friar Laurence had the biggest impact on the young people’s fate. If not for the Friar Romeo and Juliet would not have been married. He had good intentions