Bad Circumstances

     Romeo and Juliet’s deaths was very tragic for both the Capulets and the Montagues. Throughout the play, many events took place, which could have been changed. However, poor decisions were made by many people. It was not fate, but bad decision making and the feud that ended the life of Romeo and Juliet. The feud was a circumstance that got in the way of Romeo and Juliet’s love and resulted in tragedy. Therefore, based on the events that occurred, I believe the deaths of Romeo and Juliet were based on circumstance and strong personalities.

     Strong personalities was one of the main causes of Romeo and Juliet’s deaths. There were several people’s personalities that caused the deaths of Romeo and Juliet including: Friar Lawrence, Romeo and Juliet and Juliet’s father,etc. To start off, Friar Lawrence was supposed to be a father figure, but instead he married the two of them saying, "Young men's love then lies / Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes" (2.3.67-68). Even with this being said, he selfishly marries Romeo and Juliet, to end the family feud. So, therefore by him marrying the two of them, he began the journey to Romeo and Juliet’s death. If he didn’t do this, he would have never tried to right his wrong by giving Juliet the potion. He only gave Juliet the potion, so he wouldn’t get in trouble for marrying two people. They would have never been in this situation of being married, and taking the potion if Friar Lawrence didn’t make his bad decision. Therefore, part of their death was due to his decisions, which could have been changed.

      Romeo and Juliet had very persistent personalities. They wanted to get married so badly, even if it means jeopardizing their lives, because people wouldn’t agree with it.  However, they didn’t things through and made a rash decision of marring each other on the spot. They made this decision, which they knew could threaten their lives. Even after this decision, they both made awful decisions which caused a chain of events that lead to their death. The major event that sparked their deaths was when Romeo killed Tybalt. Friar Lawrence delivered the news that, “not body’s death, but body’s banishment.” This is when Romeo was banished from the city. If he wasn’t so strong headed and looking for revenge, Romeo would have not killed Tybalt. However, Romeo was young and stubborn and was banished. This lead to other poor decisions including Juliet. She was so determined to be with Romeo that she took the poison from Friar Lawrence, even though she was uncertain it would kill her. This is the final event that lead to their deaths.

      The circumstance as mentioned above was the feud. This prevented Romeo and Juliet from loving each other. The feud was something that could have been stopped. It was not fate, it was put there by the Capulets and Montagues who could not get along with each other in peace and harmony. This was a circumstance that Romeo and Juliet since birth and ultimately was the reason they were put into the whole mess. If there was no feud then there would be no reason for Romeo and Juliet to hide their marriage and there would be no deaths, because everyone would get along. However, the feud would always persist on with Juliet’s father’s personality. He was hard man, and always got what she wanted. He would never let this feud end.

     Therefore, I think Romeo and Juliet’s deaths could have been prevented. If the characters would have not been stubborn and made more rational decisions, then they would all be still alive. However, they all made bad decisions, that ultimately killed Romeo and Juliet, who were just teenagers. They were put into this world of bad circumstances, and angry adults. This could have all changed, but nobody was willing to change.