The tragic tale of Romeo and Juliet was written by William Shakespeare as a creative way of expression the author’s opinion on some of life’s tragedies and loves in the fifteen hundreds. One of his opinions was a warning against rashly making the wrong decisions. All of the hastily made decisions in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ lead to the unfortunate death of the star-crossed lovers and the eventual reformation of the rift between the two families. This essay will discuss the decisions made by the characters of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and show the ill-fated consequences of the choices. The ill-considered decisions of Romeo and Juliet to marry, and Friar Laurence’s quick agreement to their marriage subsequently led to the death of the couple. Capulet’s acceptance of Paris’ proposal without proper thought or consideration pushed his daughter, Juliet into an impasse between choosing Romeo or obeying her father’s wishes. This then impelled her to plan an unwise scheme with Friar Lawrence that eventually led to her and her husband’s unfortunate death.
Romeo and Juliet fell in love at first sight and were extremely hasty in making their decision to marry one another, forgetting to think about the consequences of their love. Romeo and Juliet fell in love at first sight and were extremely hasty in making their decision to marry one another, forgetting to think about the consequences of their love. The pair were so engrossed in their reckless love that they didn’t stop to ask if what they were feeling was real, or whether it was wise. The “pair of star-cross’d lovers” (Act 1, Prologue, Line 6) didn’t once think about the consequences of their misplaced adoration for one another so they fell headlong into the trap that Love and Fate had placed for them. Death was the result of their mislaid love. Tragically, death was the only way to repair the rift of hatred between the two feuding households. Thoughtless and misconceived love combined with the feud between the families led to the tragic death of Romeo and Juliet, and their love for one another.
Friar Laurence may have thought he was helping to resolve the feud between the Montagues and Capulets when he agreed to marry Romeo and Juliet, but he didn’t consider the scheme long enough to realise the other problems that the marriage may cause. The pair had to face the problem of their family’s hatred for one another. The Friar’s ill-conceived plan may have been ‘To turn your households’ rancour to pure love.’ (Act 2, Scene 3, Line 92) but due to neither household knowing of that, they couldn’t reconcile until their children commited suicide. Friar Lawrence may have meant well but he didn’t spend enough time considering Romeo’s request of marriage before he agreed to it, which caused two unfortunate deaths.
Juliet’s father, Lord Capulet, made the quick decision to hand his daughter over to the County Paris, trying to gain favour and power for both himself and his beloved daughter. However, he was unaware of the horrible path of fate laid out for Juliet and her love, Romeo. By accepting County Paris’ request for Juliet’s hand, Capulet believed that he was providing Juliet with a life worth living while he also gained extra power and stature for himself. Capulet didn’t spend long enough considering his options and Juliet’s feelings so therefore couldn’t make a decision about her happiness. He made the deal for Juliet’s hand out of what he believed was love, not thinking that Juliet would disagree. When Juliet refuses him he shouts, ‘…Thursday next, To go with Paris to Saint Peter’s Church, Or I will drag thee on a hurdle thither.’ (Act 3, Scene 5, Lines 153-155), claiming that Juliet must marry Paris or he will force her to. Due to Capulet quickly deciding Juliet’s marriage and anger over Juliet’s refusal, she killed herself so she didn’t have to live without her Romeo.
The Friar may be an expert in herbs but he does consider his actions before administering his medical remedies. Due to the unthought scheme of Juliet and Friar Lawrence, Romeo and Juliet died heartbroken for their lost love. The Friar claims there is no hope for Juliet and she cries as she hears this. However, only a few lines into their conversation of woe Friar Lawrence says ‘Hold daughter, I do spy a kind of hope.’ (Act 4, Scene 1, Line 68) and without even considering the consequences he creates a fake poison to give to Juliet. In the space of only a few moments the Friar and Juliet have concocted a plan and a poison. So many things went wrong with Friar Lawrence’s scheme, from the concept, to the letter not getting to Romeo. Neither Juliet nor Friar Lawrence thought up any alternative routes if their original plan should fail. Admittedly, Friar Lawrence was rushed for time when he conceived the plan but perhaps if he considered the consequences fate would have been kinder to Romeo and Juliet.
Not one singular choice, but a multitude of rash decisions, caused catastrophic consequences of the death of two beloved children. However, the reformation of two feuding houses also occurred. The combined rash decisions of Romeo and Juliet, Capulet and Friar Lawrence, and multiple other characters caused the loss of two innocent lives. Not one person stopped to consider whether their thoughts and feelings were real or if they should pursue them. Romeo and Juliet’s superficial infatuation with each other ended up saving the two households from further bloodshed as Friar Lawrence had hoped, but both houses lost more than they were willing to lose.