Who’s to Blame for the Deaths of Romeo and Juliet?

            In “Romeo and Juliet,” by William Shakespeare, Friar Lawrence is to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. It was his idea for the two of them to fake their deaths so they could run away together, and it was his letter that was supposed to tell Romeo about the plan and Juliet’s “death,” but was never delivered. Therefore, Friar Lawrence is to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.

            Friar Lawrence came up with the idea for Juliet to fake her death. In Act 4, scene 1, Friar Lawrence says to Juliet, “If… Thou hast the strength of will to slay thyself… take thou this vial… no warmth, no breath shall testify thou livest.” In this scene, Friar Lawrence is telling Juliet of his plan for her to fake her death, have a burial, and then Romeo will be there when she wakes up and they will run away together. This plan is very risky, because if Romeo doesn’t receive the message that Juliet is still alive, the plan could fall apart. Friar Lawrence doesn’t warn Juliet about the risks of this idea, and just assumes that everything will go according to plan. This shows that Friar Lawrence is to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.

            Friar Lawrence sent a message to be delivered to Romeo that would let him know about Juliet faking her death so they could run away together. In Act 5, scene 2, Friar Lawrence tells Friar John, "The letter was not nice but full of charge, of dear import, and the neglecting it may do much danger." In this scene, Friar Lawrence is asking Friar John to deliver the message to Romeo. This plan is also risky, because the message is extremely important and there could be a miscommunication, or the letter could be misplaced, or any other number of possibilities could go wrong. Friar Lawrence clearly didn’t think everything through, and didn’t realize how much could go wrong when delivering the message. Also, he trusted someone else who had no part in the conflict with a life or death situation. He should have delivered the letter himself, or he should have told Romeo in person. This probably would have led to less confusion, and Romeo and Juliet might have survived. This shows that Friar Lawrence is to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.

            Some people might argue that it was Romeo and Juliet’s fault for wanting to run away in the first place, but Friar Lawrence could have given them a safer way to run away together, or he could have paid closer attention and made sure the message was delivered to Romeo so he would know that Juliet wasn’t actually dead and he would know of their plan to elope.

            Although there were many variables as to why Romeo and Juliet died, Friar Lawrence played a key role in both of their deaths. If Friar Lawrence hadn’t come up with the idea for Juliet to fake her death, or if he had made sure the message was delivered to Romeo, they might have survived. In the play “Romeo and Juliet,” by William Shakespeare, these reasons and more show that the deaths of Romeo and Juliet can be blamed on Friar Lawrence.