Characters Most Responsible for Juliets Death in Shakespeares Romeo and Juleit :: Free Romeo and Juliet Essays

In the play Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, Juliet fakes her own death. Some responsibility for this goes to a number of characters in the play, with some characters being more influential and others playing small parts in the matter. Three stand out as contributors to her decision: Tybalt, Capulet, and Nurse. Tybalt did not take a direct role in Juliet’s ‘death’, but he set the course for incidents that lead to it. As a Capulet, he had long participated in the feud between his family and the Montagues. The day after he spotted Romeo at a party hosted by his family, he went out looking for him – and a fight. He accidentally murdered Mercutio, Romeo later killed him in revenge. Juliet, rather than being upset by Tybalt’s death, sobbed for Romeo, who was banished for the murder. The misunderstandings regarding Juliet’s grief led to a marriage she felt she could only escape by faking her own death. While Tybalt was not immediately involved in Juliet’s ‘death’, he played such a major role in starting the events that would ultimately lead to it that he must be deemed partly responsible. Capulet was far more direct a part of Juliet’s death than Tybalt was. Also a Capulet, he had fought with the Montagues on numerous occasions. He did not force Romeo to leave his party, but whether he was prepared to be friendly with the Montagues was another matter. Juliet believed that her father would never approve of her marriage to Rome, so she kept it a secret. As a result of being unaware that his daughter had already married, Capulet arranged Juliet’s marriage to Paris, Capulet assumed that she was crying in grief over Tybalt and would be heartened by getting married. When Juliet insisted she didn’t wish to marry Paris, he would hear none of it. He thought her ungrateful and disobedient, and he refused to change his plans. Juliet could see no way out except to fake her own death. Had Capulet been more understanding and flexible, Juliet’s fake death – and, later, her real one – could have been avoided. Nurse was a fickle character, her changeability was significant in partly causing Juliet’s pseudo death. Juliet confided in Nurse when she met Romeo. Nurse not only encouraged the marriage, but went as far as arranging it. However, when Capulet made plans for Juliet to marry Paris, Nurse told Juliet that Paris was better for her.