The Truth Behind the Tragedy - Romeo and Juliet

Murphy's Law states "if something can go wrong, it will go wrong." Even when something as happy as love or a best friend come along, things do stray from the initial plan. In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Romeo's initial plan includes a happy end with his true love, Juliet, and his good friend, Mercutio. Sadly, both love and Mercutio play major roles in the untimely deaths of Romeo and Juliet.

The love between Romeo and Juliet was partly at fault of their demise. When Romeo was banished by Escalus, the prince of Romeo and Juliet's birthplace, he begs out loud for Escalus to "be merciful, say "death,"/for exile hath more terror..." (III:iii:13-14). Romeo prefers to die rather than being taken away from Juliet. This is what leads him to willingly commit suicide when he hears of Juliet's death. Juliet later assures Friar Lawrence, the man that married Romeo and Juliet together, that he can "chain [her] with roaring bears, / ... and [she] will do it without fear ..." (IV:II:81-89). Juliet makes this pledge for Romeo, and it shows that she is willing to do anything in the name of Romeo. She admits that even if Friar Lawrence's plan for her to be with Romeo is brutal, detestable, or likely to end with death, she will not back. This willingness allows Juliet to feel comfortable about killing herself when she sees Romeo dead. Overall, both Romeo and Juliet's love for each other clouded their judgment so that it was easier for them to accept death.

Mercutio was also to blame for the tragic deaths of the two young lovers. It was Mercutio's persistence in saying that "...[they] must have [Romeo] dance" that lead Romeo to meet Juliet in the first place (I:iv:13). If Romeo and Juliet had never met, then no tragedy would have occurred at all. Mercutio was trying to do well by Romeo by encouraging a little fun when Romeo was depressed over his one sided love with another girl, but ultimately Mercutio's determination would be Romeo and Juliet's downfall. Later, when Mercutio confronts Tybalt, one of his enemies who is also Juliet's cousin, Mercutio instigates a fight by saying to "make it a word and a blow" instead of Tybalt just teasing the Montagues (III:i:41). This was the point that turned events from bad to worse. After that day of fighting, Romeo is banished, both Mercutio and Tybalt are dead, and these events only complicate Romeo and Juliet's plan to be together. Finally, Mercutio was a major factor leading to Romeo and Juliet's death.

In total, the major causes of Romeo and Juliet's deaths are the love between each other and Romeo's best friend Mercutio. Although love and friends are meant to make life better, a sequence of misfortunes brought on by Murphy's Law end Romeo and Juliet's lives early. There were no bad intentions or wishes for Romeo and Juliet to die, but a combination of luck and fate ultimately decided the lengths of their lives. The best things in Romeo and Juliet's short lives also ended up being the worst.