Romeo and Juliet essay by William Shakespea. Essay question: Why did 'The pair of star-crossed lovers' take their lives?

Essay by MitchsnakeHigh School, 11th gradeA, May 2005

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Romeo and Juliet essay by William Shakespea. Essay question: Why did 'The pair of star-crossed lovers' take their lives?

The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is one of the most dramatic and influential love stories of all time. The play, written by William Shakespeare in the late sixteenth century tells the anguishing tale of 'star-crossed lovers' taking their lives to be together in death. This essay will discuss three points that I believe to be partly a cause of their deaths. Was it the prolonged feud that caused them to die? Was Friar Lawrence at fault, or could it have been merely fate? I will discuss these topics in detail and evaluate what I think was to blame for their tragic deaths.

The first point I am going to discuss is whether the family feud was to blame. The Capulets and the Montagues, two families of the famous conflict in fair Verona.

This was inevitably a part of their difficulties, but was it the only factor at fault? In the prologue at the start of the play, it tells how the 'ancient grudge broke into new mutiny' as the deaths of Tybalt (Juliet's cousin), and Mercutio (Romeo's best friend) sparked new conflict between the rival families. As this strife surrounded their lives, Romeo and Juliet tried to keep it from breaking their strong love but it was intensely arduous. Act 1, prologue line 8, 'Doth with their death bury their parents' strife'. This is yet another symbolic quote from the introduction of the play. It shows how their love, whether in life or in death was trying to end the conflict by showing how enemies can become comrades.

The second point I am going to discuss is fate. This played a big part in the play, as it was...