essay

Romeo and Juliet is a story driven by its characters they literally make the story each with his own theme, and everyone’s theme is completely over the top Tybalts proud-ness gets him Mercutio Romeo and Juliet killed while had Mercutio been serious once people may have believed him when he was stabbedalso ending with Romeo Juliet and himself alive while Tybalt likely banished instead of Romeo.

            Tybalt rather than suffer the damage dealt to his ego when Romeo entered Capulet party uninvited as any level headed person would even after Capulet himself told him not to do anything Tybalt still had to go to challenge Romeo. Although Romeo refused Mercutio did not and Tybalt rather than letting bygones be bygones decided to fight Mercutio ending with a enraged Romeo and a very dead Mercutio. of course It would have been possible for Shakespeare to have done the same thing with less extreme a character but it wouldn’t have felt the same when Mercutio dies you get a sense that it was Tybalts anger that did the killing and not Tybalt making not only Mercutio’s death but also Tybalts feel like a unneeded disaster Rather than Romeos rightful revenge. Then if no one had fought Romeo wouldn’t have been banished and Juliet would never had to have faked her death.

            Mercutio is as much at fault as Tybalt while he didn’t go out looking for a fight he still ended up in one, which was never even intended for him if he had left it alone he wouldn’t have died and Romeo wouldn't have killed Tybalt and been banished meaning he could’ve stayed with Juliet. Not only in his anger did Mercutio error but also in his madness where he failed to inform a crowd of onlookers that he had been wounded in the fight leading to his preventable death. After his death his madness passed to Romeo who slew Tybalt not long after leading to his banishment and eventually his death.

            Had Friar Lawrence talked sense into Romeo the entire book would’ve been impossible Romeo wouldn't have married Juliet and likely would have fought Tybalt when he was challenged keeping Mercutio alive and the two families alike in dignity likely would've lived in a state of war even after both Romeo and Juliet were nothing more than dust in a tomb but still relatively happy having known nothing else, or possibly with the marriage between Paris and Juliet leading to a truce forced by the prince.

            Finally we have Romeo the helpless romantic who if he had kept his composure upon the discovery of Juliet’s body would've given himself just enough time for friar Lawrence to find him. (As a side note why was he carrying a vial of poison with him was he hoping to convince an attacker to take it) his impatience when it came to the issue of Juliet caused many of the issues in this story. For one it caused him to rush to her tomb rather than wait for news from friar Lawrence it also caused him to take his life.

This is why I feel that Friar Lawrence Mercutio and Tybalt are at fault for the tragic end to the story and why without them the story would’ve ended much less tragic ending.