“O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?” (II.ii.33). These are the famous lines that Juliet spoke of in The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. In this two hour play, Romeo and Juliet are in love with one another. They soon find out that their love is forbidden because of an ancient rivalry between the two families, but that does not stop them from secretly getting married at Friar Laurence's cell. Just hours after Romeo marries Juliet, he is exiled from Verona and goes to Mantua, a neighboring town, and settles there. Romeo and Juliet's love for one another and their family's continuing feud eventually leads to their own demise. The main contributors to Juliet's death include the Nurse, Lord Capulet, and Friar Laurence.
Many could say that the Nurse should not be held responsible for Juliet's death; however, it is through the Nurse's thoughts and actions that lead Juliet to her death. Those who say that the Nurse does not contribute to Juliet's death could easily say that Juliet does not have to listen to the Nurse in the first place. Toward the very end of Act III, the Nurse tells Juliet that she should just marry Count Paris instead of staying loyal to Romeo because Romeo is banished and Paris is handsome, if not, more handsome than Romeo. Juliet is shocked to hear these words from the Nurse and threatens to kill herself if the Friar does not agree with her. Thus, the fact that Juliet is aware of that she does not have to listen to the Nurse proves that the Nurse should not be help liable for Juliet's death. Yet, even though this argument is valid, there are plenty of other reasons why the Nurse is responsible. First, the Nurse delivers messages between Romeo and Juliet. By doing so, it allows Juliet to talk to Romeo, indirectly. Every time they meet the risk getting caught by other people. Also, each time they talk/meet, they are more attached to one another, until something bad happens to them, like when Romeo gets banished. This, however, just makes Romeo and Juliet want to meet each other more. Thus, delivering messages between Romeo and Juliet contributes to Juliet's death. Second, at the end of Act III, when Lord Capulet forces his daughter to marry Count Paris, Juliet turns to the Nurse for some advice. The Nurse tells Juliet to forget Romeo and marry Paris because the relationship with Romeo is basically dead and that Paris is as handsome, if not, more handsome than Romeo. Hearing this, Juliet threatens to kill herself if the Friar does not help her. So, by disagreeing with Juliet on a very stressful situation, the Nurse contributes more to Juliet's demise. Lastly, the Nurse kept a huge secret from her employers, the Capulet's. Romeo and Juliet get married and the only people who know about this are the Nurse, Friar Laurence, Romeo, and Juliet. Right when the Nurse knew about the situation, she should have told the Capulet's that Juliet is in love with Romeo and has already wedded Juliet. By doing this, Romeo would not be banished because Tybalt would have known that the person he wants to kill is actually his cousin and would have probably not fought him anymore. But because the Nurse kept it a secret, it led to more family feuding and, most of all, Juliet's death. Thus, delivering messages back and forth between Romeo and Juliet, not helping Juliet cope with a stressful dilemma, and keeping secrets from the Capulet's are some ways the Nurse contributes to Juliet's death.
Another main contributor to Juliet's death is her own father, Lord Capulet. One way Lord Capulet contributes to Juliet's death is by letting Romeo stay for his traditional ball. If Romeo had not stepped into the house or was forced to leave immediately after he was detected, then Romeo would not have met Juliet. But Lord Capulet, with no idea of what this will eventually lead to, thought that there is no harm to let Romeo, a well-behaved youth, on attending the ball. So, because Lord Capulet let Romeo stay at the party, he contributes to Juliet's death. Another contribution made by Lord Capulet is when he forces Juliet to marry Count Paris. Still grieving about the death of her cousin, Tybalt, and her recently banished love, Romeo, she weeps even more. She knows that it is illegal to be married to two men at the same time and she also knows that the Friar cannot wed two men to the same woman, so this leaves Juliet in a sticky situation. While this is going on in Juliet's mind, Lord Capulet is still enraged at his daughter and has no idea how big the problem is for Juliet. Consequently, forcing Juliet to marry Count Paris within a short time period is another way Lord Capulet contributes to the death of his daughter. Finally, continuing an ongoing feud that has no particular meaning is the final reason why Lord Capulet contributes to Juliet's death. The whole feud is the reason why Romeo and Juliet cannot be together. They cannot express their love for each other publically because there are too many people watching. They also cannot speak or meet without having other members of their family butting in. By continuing a pointless feud that lasted for centuries, Lord Capulet causes the death of Juliet. Thus, letting Romeo stay at the traditional ball, forcing Juliet to marry Count Paris, and continuing an endless feud between the two families are just some ways Lord Capulet contributes to his daughter's death.
