Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet
In the play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by profound writer William Shakespeare, there is a tragic outcome to the story due to the various acts of the characters, whether it was intentional, because of pride or simply in their nature to do so. I believe there is no true culprit due to the fact that everyone had a part to play even if in the end you could say it was Romeo’s fault for being impetuous or Juliet’s for being too ignorant.
The story starts with a prologue making the reader aware of the fact that Romeo and Juliet will die in the end. The structure was made to be tragic so that the aim was not for the audience to be happy with the ending but learn from the mistakes made through the duration of it and that is why the middle parts are more important. Firstly it’s a build up in spirits as Romeo and Juliet are in love and go off together unaware of their consequences and when Mercutios death arrives it is a sign that from here on no good will come and so the atmosphere turns bad. "A plague o' both your houses!” this is a curse in which indicates the turning point. When Romeo dies it indicates that the worst has gone but yet the act is the finalisation of the tragedy which is the only way for the enmity to be uplifted.
“In fair Verona”. The story is set in a town called Verona in Italy, beautiful and peaceful but yet the fighting between the two families takes place here. The contrasts between the peaceful nature of the land and the disruptive damage both the Montague’s and the Capulet’s makes the story a bit odder. The settings of all the events are made so that all the good things happen in the darkness whilst all the bad things happen during daylight. Romeo and Juliet sneak around in the darkness so that no one can see what they are doing until its consequences are revealed in the daylight.
The main character in the play is Romeo, son the Montague’s and is very much what you would expect from a leading male; good looking, charming but the twist Shakespeare adds is that this guy has a fatal flaw which makes into a tragic hero and he dies from the outcome of his flaw. Romeo is a very eager person who is so excited by the way life is treating him which has been good and so invites fate to take over his life.“He that hath the steerage of my course direct my sail.” Romeo unknowingly ask fate to do what is best for him yet Romeo thinks that the best must be his happiness When Romeo says this, we see the role of faith as he basically implies that he does not have control over his life as he asks another power above himself to direct him. He does not feel that he is the one who can make decisions; it is a different power. Fate is the puppet master controlling him but the reality is that fate is destined and it doesn’t matter if he invited fate in or not he was chosen to die to signify something and he only realises that fate had played him in its game that is life when he kills Tybalt, “O, I am fortune's fool!” Romeo is enamoured by the idea that is love and everything that comes with it. He is very new to these types of emotions and it overwhelms him so much that he ends up doing anything to see Juliet knowing that it is forbidden. You cannot choose whom you fall in love with which could be used to blame for Romeos behaviour because he couldn’t help himself from loving Juliet. Romeo’s input in the tragedy is the fact that he is so caught up in love that he forgets that his good intentions can affect the world around him.
Juliet on the other hand is a strong girl with an ignorant way of thinking due to the fact that she is only thirteen years of age. Her parents the kind of parents who would like her to be seen and not heard and so they ruled her life not allowing her to make her own decisions. So when she falls in love with Romeo and spontaneously marries him and does a lot of things her parents would not approve of it gives her a sense of freedom. But she wasn’t ready to take control of life and so whilst she is sneaking off with Romeo; her parents are none the wiser to what she is doing. Juliet often doesn’t think things through either as Romeo thought she was dead when he found her in the tomb making it a big misunderstanding and thus allowing Romeo to kill himself.
The main obstacle that the lovers face in the play is the fact that the feud between the two families prevents them from being open with their relationship. Juliet’s parents care not to listen to what she has to say pushing her to her limits and essentially pushing her to go against their wishes. If Juliet’s parents were more supportive then they could have maybe understood her situation but all they cared about was the status Juliet would gain from marrying Paris. The death of the two lovers ends the feud that separated the two families and complicated their lives more than they needed to be, “Do with their death bury their parents' strife.”
Fate and Destiny are one of the main themes as even in the beginning their fates were set and so it told us that it doesn’t matter what they do the end will be the same, “A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life”. It also says that they their love is “death-mark'd” and so their very essence of love was tainted with death. Fate and destiny are the forces that determine how your life will pan out and it also teaches you your true purpose even if it doesn’t seem appealing to you. Romeo realised that fate had played him when before he died and cursed fate for being such a cruel force.
I think that the blame of the deaths in Romeo and Juliet is because the characters all influenced each other and consequently lead them to their doom. Shakespeare wanted to make it a tragedy so that we could learn from the mistakes in the play and I believe that the only way for the Montagues and the Capulets to reunite was for a major event to impact their way of thinking and realise what damage their behaviour has created.

By Bangi Mweemba 3.6