Woodward


 * Harrison Woodward **

//Paste the appropriate portion of your essay in the spaces below. Note: we may not have enough time to post every part of your essay even though there are sections for each.//

Harrison Woodward 3/20/09 Period 4 Romeo’s Death In //Romeo and Juliet//, Romeo’s death is caused by many people. Three of the people responsible for Romeo’s death are Friar John, Mercutio, and Rosaline. If Friar John had actually sent the letter explaining Juliet’s plan to Romeo, Romeo never would have killed himself. And if Mercutio hadn’t taunted Tybalt and caused a fight, Romeo never would have had to kill Tybalt and get himself banished which separated him and Juliet. If it wasn’t for Rosaline, Romeo would never have gone to the Capulet’s party and met Juliet in the first place. Fate brings all of these people together in the killing; it shows that random things are not actually random. Romeo was actually doomed to die from the beginning. Here Friar John is explaining to Friar Lawrence how he was unable to get the letter sent to Romeo: “I could not send it – here it is again -/Nor get a messenger to bring it thee,/So fearful were they of infection” (5.2.14-16). People were fearful of getting mixed up with an exiled man and wouldn’t take him the letter. It is fate that the letter was unable to be sent to Romeo which was a deciding factor in Romeo’s death. Friar Lawrence then explains the implications of the letter not reaching Romeo. The letter was not just some random communication Friar John realizes, but involves life and death. “Unhappy fortune! By my brotherhood,/The letter was not nice but full of charge,/Of dear import, and neglecting it/May do much danger” (5.2.17-20). Again fate comes to play: Romeo now will not know that Juliet’s death was a hoax and that Juliet is soon to rise from her sleep. Because of his unawares, Romeo is dead when Juliet wakes up and will never know that his beloved actually died after he did and only because he killed himself. Another person responsible for Romeo’s death is Mercutio. Here he is taunting Tybalt and wants to fight him. “O calm, dishonourable, vile submission!/’Alla stoccata’ carries it away./Tybalt, you rat-catcher, will you walk?” (3.1.66-68). As Mercutio says this they draw their swords and fight. Then Romeo is forced to swear vengeance on Tybalt for killing his friend. Fate brings Tybalt to kill Mercutio and then Romeo to kill Tybalt. But it also makes sure that Mercutio is the Prince’s cousin. Because of this fact, the Prince shows mercy on Romeo and instead of killing him, banishes him. “And for that offence/Immediately we do exile him hence” (3.1.178-179). With Romeo in Mantua, Friar John is unable to get him the letter. But Rosaline, Romeo’s first love, is the main culprit in Romeo’s downfall. She causes the death of Romeo more than Friar John or Mercutio. Though she won’t marry Romeo and have children, Romeo still pursues her. “Well, in that hit you miss: she’ll not be hit/With Cupid’s arrow, she hath Dian’s wit;”(1.1.199-200). Romeo is explaining to Benvolio why he is sad one night and so Mercutio and Benvolio try to cheer him up. Fate has Romeo fall in love with Rosaline which brings him to the Capulet’s, the family that his family is in a feud with, party. This is an invitation given to Romeo from a dimwitted Capulet servant explaining who is going to be at their party: “Mine uncle Capulet, his wife and daughters,/My fair niece Rosaline, and Livia,/Signior Valentio and his cousin Tybalt” (1.2.68-70). Cruel fate would have this servant “accidently” run into Romeo and his friends. The servant doesn’t even recognize that they are Montagues. Even though Romeo knows that Rosaline will not have sexual intercourse with him, he still wants to go to the party, even if that means he only gets to look at her. After a good 30 or so seconds at the Capulet’s party, Romeo has totally forgotten about Rosaline and is now madly in love with Juliet. “O she doth teach the torches to burn bright!/It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night/As a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear-“(1.5.43-45). Rosaline was just a tool in Fate’s eyes to bring Romeo and Juliet together. By bringing Romeo to Juliet, Rosaline was the key person to bring about Romeo’s death. Through fate, Friar John, Mercutio, and Rosaline, all minor characters at first glance, are crucial in bringing Romeo, and through him Juliet, to the grave. They discreetly lure him towards Juliet, and then force him away from her and therefore prevent him from learning of Juliet’s mastermind plan to getting them away from their feuding families. So because of a communication error, a duel in a courtyard, and Rosaline just being some hot chick, Romeo dies.

Period 4 Home Page

Period 4 Essay Page