Romeo And Juliet Death Analysis

Good morning, members of the jury, and your honour.
Today an important verdict will be passed that will bring justice to Juliet, and help her soul rest in peace. Over the years there has been an ongoing feud between both the Capulets and the Montagues, which has not softened over time, but has only grown generation by generation. Both houses have never benefited from this feud, but have only lost their loved ones, their only heirs. Here, we are of course talking about both Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. Gentlemen, during the proceedings you have heard what both sides have had to say regarding the inevitable demise of young Juliet. Now the question can finally be answered as to, WHO is to be blamed for her premature death? Sources reveal
that Juliet, on that unfortunate night brought an end to her life by stabbing herself with her beloved Romeo’s deadly dagger. However, this event wasn’t the only thing that led to Juliet’s untimely death; various other elements played a key role in causing this tragic happening. These events include: The ongoing deadly feud between the Capulets and the Montagues which has shaken fair Verona, Lord Capulets continuous pressure on Juliet to marry County Paris, and of course Friar Lawrence’s good plans to unite both families by marrying Romeo and Juliet which went amiss.
Before we start, let’s address the direct causes of Juliet Capulet’s untimely decease. It has been proven and confirmed by our expert forensics that Juliet on that very unfortunate night in Act V, Scene iii, had died at her own hands, as her fingerprints were traced on the bloody dagger which Romeo used to carry around. Forensics had also found traces of an illegal drug in Juliet’s body that produced the symptoms of death, causing her family, the Capulets to bury her in the Capulet tomb. It is alleged that when Juliet had woken up from the “poison” that Friar Lawrence had provided her with to avoid marrying Paris the very next day, she was exposed to the dead body of her dear Romeo. Upon seeing him dead, she grasped his dagger and without a second thought stabbed herself through her liver, piercing severe injuries resulting in a damaged organ and internal bleeding which eventually caused blood to clot and compress the liver, preventing it to function properly – ultimately leading it to shut down. Forensic evidence has proven these details of Juliet’s direct cause of death after conducting numerous tests.
Gentlemen of the jury, now that we have identified the direct causes of Juliet Capulet’s death, let’s move on to detecting the vital indirect factors that played a central role leading Juliet to take her life, beside Romeo. As mentioned previously, these indirect causes include, the ongoing venomous feud between the Montagues and the Capulets, Lord Capulet’s incessant force on his daughter Juliet to marry County Paris, and the misguided plans of Friar Lawrence.
To a large extent, the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets is responsible for the inevitable demise of these two young lovers, Romeo and Juliet.
If there was no family feud in the first place, or if the family had at least tried to sit down together and resolve their differences, Romeo and Juliet wouldn’t have had to hide their love and marriage, which could’ve avoided their tragic deaths. But did they even try? The answer is NO. As you all heard yesterday by our witnesses: Abram, Balthasar, Gregory, Samson and Benvolio, they clearly heard Lord Capulet say to Lord Montague in Act I, Scene I when he was approaching the street fight, “My sword, I say! Old Montague is come/ And flourishes his blade in spite of me.” This statement emphasises the hatred the Capulets had towards the Montagues, which resulted in Romeo and Juliet to marry secretly without the permission of their families. There is a lot of ill-feeling and loathing between the feuding families which traps both Romeo and Juliet as they have to marry within their own family, and cannot marry each other. Therefore, when Paris asks Juliet’s hand in marriage, Juliet dare not reveal to her family that she has married one of their enemies. Thus, to avoid marrying County Paris she was forced to go to Friar Lawrence to find a solution, which ultimately lead her to her inevitable death. If it weren’t for the feud between the two families, numerous lives could’ve been spared, including dear
Juliet’s.
Lord Capulet, without blame is certainly responsible for young Juliet’s death. Although, Lord Capulets intentions were pure as he wanted the greatest for his only heir Juliet, his actions weren’t. He was forcing Juliet to marry county Paris without her initial consent, not realising the pain he was putting his daughter through. He was negligent in his actions, and was not fulfilling his duty of care towards Juliet as a parent, and because of his negligent actions it lead Juliet on a path to her untimely death. Let’s recall what our witness, the Nurse had to say yesterday, she had overheard the argument between Juliet and Lord Capulet in Act III, Scene v, where Capulet rebukes Juliet, “Hang thee, young baggage! Disobedient wretch! / I tell thee what – get thee to a church a Thursday/ Or never after look me in the face…” Here Capulet verbally abused his daughter and wanted to disown her when she admitted that she didn’t want to marry Paris. Even though Juliet was his only heir, he did not let her have a say in regards to her own marriage, when this decision is about HER life. If Lord Capulet did not continuously force Juliet to marry County Paris, then Juliet wouldn’t have had to find a fatal way out of the marriage.
Friar Lawrence too played a big role in bringing not only Juliet, but Romeo too, to his untimely demise. The Friar makes three mistakes that lead to a tragic event unfolding. The first mistake he makes is agreeing to marry the couple in secret, as he thought it would help unite the two feuding families, and remove their ancient grudge. Considering that the Friar was a man with knowledge, he should’ve been aware to the fact that Romeo and Juliet were still too young and reckless to understand the true value of the wedding vows, and they were just rushing into things. The second well-intentioned mistake Friar Lawrence makes is making Juliet Capulet fake her own death in order to help her avoid marrying County Paris and unite her with her dear Romeo in Mantua. Friar Laurence, being a man of God, could have gone to both the feuding families and told them about the marriage instead of keeping it a secret. We all know that Romeo and Juliet were both childish and immature, however, was Friar Lawrence? According to our witness Friar John, in Act IV, Scene I Friar Lawrence had given Juliet a potion that would make her appear in a near death state for 48 hours; even though this plan was executed with a good intention, it didn’t turn out as well as thought. The letter that was meant to be sent to Romeo from Friar Lawrence, through Friar John containing the vital information about Juliet’s fake death didn’t reach him on time in Mantua as an outbreak of plague prevented him from completing this task. Therefore, later when Romeo received the word of Juliet’s death through Balthasar without realizing it was fake, he bought poison with the intention to kill himself upon seeing Juliet “dead.” The third and final mistake Friar Lawrence makes is leaving distraught Juliet behind at the tomb with her dead lover after hearing a noise outside, causing her to suicide by Romeo’s side. If he had taken her with him, instead of fleeing from the scene, too scared to be discovered, Juliet’s lives would’ve been saved, and she would’ve been here with us today. Perhaps, if Friar Lawrence himself had personally gone to deliver this crucial piece of news to Romeo, a tragic ending could’ve been evaded.