Catastrophes That Plagued The Characters In Romeo And Juliet Essay, Research Paper

Catastrophes that Plagued Characters in

Romeo and Juliet

Many characters in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet invite the catastrophes

they experience. These characters are Mercutio, Romeo, and Friar Laurence. Mercutio

because he never thinks before he acts. He has a very big mouth and will say anything to

create a joke. Romeo because of this fight with Tybalt. If this fight never occurred then

the outcome of the story could have been better for Romeo and Juliet. Maybe there

families could have set aside their differences for there children and live the rest of there

lives in harmony. Friar Lawrence because I do not think he thought about the plan to

unite Romeo and Juliet long enough. He should have gotten a reliable messenger to

inform Romeo of the situation.

Romeo’s friend Mercutio was a very witty energetic man. If he held his tongue

and thought about what he said before acting on them he would not have gotten into so

many fights. His jokes were probably taken lightly be his friends Romeo and Benvolio

because they were accustomed to hearing Mercutio’s voice constantly. Mercutio should

not have tried to tease Tybalt because of the rivalry between Tybalt’s family and Romeo’s

family.

While avenging Mercutio, Romeo should have thought about the consequences of

slaying Tybalt. On one hand he filled the urge to kill the man who had killed his friend.

On the other hand he killed his wife’s cousin. How can one justify killing a member of

their wife’s family? Another consequence he should have taken into consideration was the

punishment he was going to receive from Price Escalus. In act one scene one Prince

Escalus already warned everyone in Verona that if anyone was caught fighting again the

would pay for it with there lives. If Romeo had not gotten into the duel with Tybalt

Romeo would not have been banished from Verona. When Prince Escalus exiled Romeo,

that was the point in the play which was the biggest catastrophe. This is because once

Romeo was exiled he could not see Juliet ever again and Juliet could never see Romeo

again. Friar Lawrence would have never had to devise a plan to put Juliet into a coma and

Romeo would not have needed to take his own life thinking Juliet was dead.

Friar Laurence’s plan to put Juliet into a coma until Romeo rescued her was not

safe nor smart. The only person that knew of the truth was Friar Laurence. First of all he

should have thought about some alternatives rather than to deliberately put Juliet into a

deep sleep. If the poison was too strong it could have killed Juliet instantly. Another

problem about Friar Laurence’s plan was getting the information about it to Romeo. He

should have found a better way to deliver the letter in time.

In conclusion the person that I believe invited the worst catastrophe was Romeo.

This is because when Romeo killed Tybalt everything in his life crumbled. He was exiled

and could never see Juliet ever again. Mercutio should have kept his mouth shut when a

serious conversation like the grudge between the two families was being discussed. Friar

Laurence should have provided a better alternative plan to Juliet instead of the poison.